May 27, 2026
The Project Space Festival launches its month-long program this week, highlighting the independent visual arts scene in Berlin with a common interest in mutual support and visibility. From May 30th until June 28th, the Project Space Festival revolves entirely around Berlin’s self-organized spaces—30 days, 30 project spaces across Berlin, and an inspiring roster of artists.
Each project space has 24 hours to realize an event, presenting an ever-shifting program that features exhibitions, installations, workshops, concerts and performances. This year’s participating spaces include ACUD Galerie, diffrakt, GUTS, Mehringplatz 20, SAP Space and Tropez, among many others.
Philippe Durand: ‘Höhle,’ 2024 at GUTS // Photo by Charlie B. Click
The festival will open on May 30th with the exhibition ‘Body Multiple’—a critical examination of the complex intersections between queer masculinities and exoticism—at Scherben. The group show brings together historical works by German photographer Albrecht Becker with contemporary works by Jean-Ulrik Desert, Richard Hawkins, Hervé Joseph Lebrun and Lucas Odahara.
Throughout the festival, artworks also pop up in unexpected places. At the Hermannplatz station, a technical sculpture is installed in a glass container embedded in the original station architecture, located directly on the U7 platform. The curatorial platform PASSAGE presents Pedro Moraes’ work ‘Groteske,’ which explores a micro-event familiar from public transportation or crowded urban environments. The work replicates a fundamental physical process: the fogging of glass by human breath. Here the isolated and condensed moment turns into a minimalist and fleeting visual event.
Gerd Rohling: ‘Ercoland Underground,’ 2025 at Passage // Photo by Passage Art Hermannplatz
During the second week of the festival, on June 6th, Tropez will celebrate its 10th summer at the Humboldthain outdoor pool with the exhibition ‘PRÉSENT.’ The show brings together artists Selin Acarbaş, James Bantone, Maty Biayenda, Ileana Farabini, Neda Naujokaitė, Thuy Tien Nguyen, Malin Kuht, Virginie Sistek, Divine Southgate-Smith and Nomin Zezegmaa, whose works draw on collective memories of the swimming pool and link them to contemporary questions.
On June 12th, Neun Kelche invites visitors to join curator Canberk Akçal on a walk through the district of Weissensee. At several locations in the vicinity of the project space, Aurélie Pertusot, Monika Gabriela Dorniak, Paulette Penje and Sarah Reva Mohr will present interventions ranging from sound-based works to performative readings with a plant-related focus to the activation of objects in public space.
Sunny Pfalzer: ‘I know what to do,’ 2023 at Neun Kelche // Photo by Ink Agop
Pickle Bar—a non-profit art space located in Berlin’s Moabit district and founded by the artist collective Slavs and Tatars—will present Kexin Hao’s hand-puppet performance ‘Revolution Is a Dinner Party’ on June 26th. Set on a hand-painted puppet stage, the piece depicts a dialogue between a sparrow and a rat. The two debate class conflicts and historical injustice in the afterlife, highlighting how humans and vermin are entangled in political violence and colonial redevelopment measures.
On the final night of the program, the open gathering ‘Organized Meals for Times of Uprisings’ invites artists and culture enthusiasts to exchange ideas and discuss pressing social, political and aesthetic issues that affect their work and their struggles. Initiated by Arts of the Working Class in collaboration with Osservatorio Futura (Turin) and Terzospazio (Venice), the event begins with a reading from the Arts of the Working Class newspaper, followed by an open discussion and a shared meal that continues and deepens the conversation. Following two iterations in Turin and Bologna, the project—led by artists Gabriele Longega of Terzospazio and Havin Al-Sindy—will take place in Berlin as a one-time summer canteen and network of mutual support.
SAP Space, ‘A Question of Intervals and Scales,’ works Nadja Verena Marcin, Project Space Festival 2024 – Day 03 // Photo by Joe Clark
As part of the Project Space Festival 2026, there will also be two guided tours through Kreuzberg/Neukölln and Mitte, on Sunday, June 7th and Sunday, June 14th, respectively. Both tours begin at noon and take participants to three stops within walking distance of each other, giving additional insight into some of the projects on view this year.
As Berlin’s independent art scene evolves, this edition of the Project Space Festival offers a timely reminder of the vital role project spaces play in shaping the city’s cultural landscape. Through exhibitions, performances, walks, discussions and collective gatherings, the festival not only highlights the diversity of artistic practices across Berlin, but also creates opportunities for exchange, solidarity and experimentation. This year’s program celebrates over a decade of grassroots cultural production while looking ahead to the future of collaborative and socially-engaged art in the city.
Additional Info
Project Space Festival Berlin
Festival: May 30-June 28, 2026
Kreuzberg / Neukölln Guided Tour: Sunday, June 7th; 1pm
Mitte Guided Tour: Sunday, June 14th; 1pm
projectspacefestival.berlin
Various Venues
