DIFFRACTIONS—Transforming at Kunst Raum Mitte / Berlin

Artist(s): Jesse Darling, Green Papaya Art Projects (Norberto Roldan & Joaquin Roldan), Robert Lippok, Minh Duc Pham, Katrin Steiger, Pam Virada
Curator: Natalie Keppler, Agnieszka Roguski
Art space: Kunst Raum Mitte
Address: Auguststraße 21, 10117 Berlin
Credits: Jannis Uffrecht

DIFFRACTIONS––Transforming
13 September 2024 – 5 January 2025
Opening on 12 September 2024, 6 – 9 pm

On September 12, Kunst Raum Mitte opens with the exhibition Transforming. It is part
of the DIFFRACTIONS program, which uses various research processes to create new
relationships between the history and building of the art space. The exhibition will be
accompanied by performances and an open studio by artist Anna Zett.
With Jesse Darling, Green Papaya Art Projects (Norberto Roldan & Joaquin Roldan),
Robert Lippok, Minh Duc Pham, Katrin Steiger, Pam Virada, Anna Zett (Research
Residency), exhibition display by Martha Schwindling
Curated by Natalie Keppler & Agnieszka Roguski (Artistic Directors Kunst Raum Mitte)

The program DIFFRACTIONS stages an “interference pattern” (Karen Barad) of the various
layers of time and their compositions. Unlike reflection, which mirrors a specific counterpart,
diffraction—the bending of waves around an obstacle—reveals the overlap of impulses. It

transcends conventional linear and hierarchical orders. How is the history of a place written?
And how do affects, materials and gatherings inscribe themselves into these stories?
The exhibition Transforming recontextualizes the spatial, material, and historical relationships
of the place formerly known as the galerie weisser elefant. Founded in East Berlin in 1987,
the municipal exhibition space was renamed Kunst Raum Mitte by the Department of Art,
Culture and History in 2024 to look back on the history of the gallery with new perspectives
and to link it with current debates in a pluralistic urban society. Transforming presents
contemporary artistic positions and connects them with artistic and curatorial research
processes, setting them in relation to one another.
The exhibition challenges the forces of commercialization and gentrification mechanisms of
the present—particularly those in the Mitte district—by activating resistant and immaterial
structures. It makes historical material accessible through an exhibition display developed by
Martha Schwindling, including invitation cards, photos, posters, and documents. These
materials reveal how the place was shaped by the move from Almstadtstraße to
Auguststraße, as well as by the political regime of the GDR in the 1980s and the media and
aesthetic conventions of that time. These historical and geopolitical components, in turn,
create relationships with related contexts. By exploring deviant and invisible aspects, the
exhibition opens up contemporary perspectives that question power structures, especially
through implicit and everyday actions.

Transforming
13.09.2024 – 05.01.2025
12.09.2024, 6–9 pm Exhibition Opening DIFFRACTIONS–Transforming
Reading Performance of Pam Virada‘s the room I
entered was a dream of this room, 2024, with Johanna
Ekenhorst
Activation Altar des Ungeteilten, 2024, with Green
Papaya Art Projects (Norberto Roldan & Joaquin
Roldan)

12.09.–13.09.2024, 4 pm Guided tours with Raoul Zöllner as part of Berlin Art

Week

12.–15.09.2024 Open Studio with Anna Zett (Research Residency)
14.09–15.09.2024, 1 and 4 pm Guided tours with Raoul Zöllner as spart of Berlin Art

Week

14.09.2024 Reading Performance of Pam Virada‘s the room I
entered was a dream of this room, 2024, with Johanna
Ekenhorst
Activation Altar des Ungeteilten, 2024, with Green
Papaya Art Projects (Norberto Roldan & Joaquin
Roldan)

Opening times
Tuesday – Sunday, 11 am – 7 pm
Admission to all exhibitions and events is free of charge.

About Kunst Raum Mitte
Kunst Raum Mitte, formerly galerie weisser elefant, is an institution of the Department of Art,
Culture and History in the district Mitte. The gallery’s renaming was initiated by the
department in 2023 and accompanied by an evaluation process. It aims to further open up
the gallery’s concept for contemporary discourse and the art of a new generation, linking it to
current debates about a pluralistic urban society.
Artistic Direction: Natalie Keppler & Agnieszka Roguski
Department of Art, Culture and History of the Mitte District Office
Head of Department: Dr. Ute Müller-Tischler
Chief Curator Division Contemporary Art: Eylem Sengezer
Exhibition Management: Katrin Winkler
Program Coordination and Curatorial Assistance: Annika Reketat
Press and Communication: Elias Pietsch
Website Design: Form und Konzept
Design DIFFRACTIONS: Sibel Beyer
Instagram/Facebook @kunstraummitte

www.kunstraummitte.berlin

Contact: Annika Reketat
Tel. +49 30 28884455
E-Mail: