What do I love so much about art exhibitions? They allow you to exist fully in the moment, away from everything happening online. Even though we often experience an exhibition on our own, a quiet sense of togetherness emerges. Berlin is known for its diverse exhibition venues. But if you’re ever in the mood for a trip to Potsdam, a visit to Das Minsk is worth it. It’s a place that brings together art, history, and food. For a long time, it didn’t look that way at all. The former GDR restaurant was on the verge of demolition in the mid-1990s, before Potsdam residents campaigned to preserve it. In 2019, the Hasso Plattner Foundation acquired the building and made its reconstruction possible. Today, it’s become an art house, and yet something of its original purpose has remained. Because Das Minsk is not simply an exhibition venue, it also has plenty to offer when it comes to food. The Art Breakfast is especially recommended. What could be better than being inspired by art and then treating yourself to a good breakfast? First, guides lead you through the current exhibition with background information on selected works. Until 09.08.2026, the exhibition Oscar Murillo. Collective Osmosis is on view. From 05.09.2026, there will be a retrospective of artist Annemirl Bauer and a cabinet presentation with ceramics from the workshop of Wilfriede Maaß. After that, breakfast at Cafébar Hedwig awaits. The bar counter is still in its original place, while the newly installed tiles come from Hedwig Bollhagen’s Bauhaus-influenced workshop. But that isn’t the only reason to take a look. Hedwig is also an exhibition space. On the walls are drawings by Romanian artist Dan Perjovschi, which humorously refer to the history of Minsk and the art world.

Events also take place at Cafébar Hedwig that play on the history of the building as a terrace restaurant. On 08.08., for example, painter and author Ulla Walter, Patrick Schwatke from the Michelin-starred restaurant Alte Überfahrt in Werder, and author and journalist Anja Reich-Osang come together for a panel discussion with snacks to discuss the facets of cultural and culinary change in eastern Germany. The nice thing about it is that you do not simply go home again after the exhibition. Instead, you sit together, talk about the works, and notice how differently they affect people. What thoughts did a painting trigger? What did it do to you? If breakfast is not your thing, there is a second option: Art & Aperitif. Here, too, everything starts with a guided tour through the current exhibition. Afterward, you head to the terrace on the upper floor, where you can enjoy aperitifs in the evening sun and start the weekend with a view. My personal highlight, however, is how art here suddenly becomes something you can experience with several senses. Using elemental materials, Argentinian artist Gabriele Chaile created the sculpture, Brenda. At first glance, it’s a clay sculpture with human facial features. During the 2026 summer season, however, it becomes a pizza oven on Saturdays for special occasions. Art and pizza are two things I would be reluctant to do without. Together, they create my personal heaven. As you can see, Das Minsk is more than just an art house. After a visit, you can be sure to return home with new impressions and a satisfied stomach.

Text: Isabelle Marten / Photos: Clemens Poloczek, Linus Müllerschön

Minsk, Max-Planck-Str.17, 14473 Potsdam; map

Art Breakfast, 05.07., 19.07., 02.08.2026. Find tickets here.
Art & Aperitif, 10.07., 24.07., 07.08.2026
Pizza on Saturdays & special occasions during summer 2026.

@dasminsk
@lacachepli
@perjovschidan
@soychaile

Open the windows and let the fresh air in. At the Schlüterhof of the Humboldt Forum, this idea becomes the name of a festival for the sixth time. Durchlüften – Festival at the Humboldt Forum (09.07.–01.08.2026), a free open-air program that refreshes listening habits. Curator Melissa Perales describes the Schlüterhof as a place where musical and biographical threads come together, shaped by migration, diversity, and the question of how traditions change when they are carried forward. For her, this movement forms the starting point of the program. Under the theme “Living Archives: Cultures in Sound”, 24 live acts and 12 DJs will fill the courtyard over four weekends. Mauritanian desert blues meets electronic sounds, Kurdish poetry meets club music, and Afro-Colombian rhythms meet contemporary bass.

We are especially curious about Seppuku Pistols from Japan, whose taiko punk is rooted in a history all its own. Nana Benz du Togo will also be part of the lineup, named after a group of women in Togo who once built economic networks by importing Mercedes-Benz cars. The band takes up this name and blends it with soul. Then there is Noura Mint Seymali from Mauritania, who brings the desert blues of her heritage into the present, combining electronic elements with traditional playing styles. 100lbs of Summer from Berlin work with reggae grooves, while Charlotte Colace brings together vintage soul and her French-Cuban influences. See you in July at the Schlüterhof, when the courtyard feels as though someone has thrown the windows wide open.

Text: Emma Zylla / Photos: Marlon Hambrusch, Frank Sperling, Tonje

Humboldt Forum, Schloßplatz, 10178 Berlin–Mitte; map
Durchlüften – Open Air at the Schlüterhof 09.07.–01.08.2026. 

@humboldtforum

When the first qraqeb sounds on the roof of the HKW at the end of June, the Sonic Pluriverse Festival begins. This year’s program is dedicated to Gnawa traditions, a music and ritual practice rooted in West African migration history. Across five weekends, Gnawa ensembles meet desert blues, flamenco, tarantella, and other sonic worlds. Among those performing are Vieux Farka Touré, Baaba Maal & Daande Leñol, Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou, Bab L’Bluz, and the Garifuna Collective. The concerts, workshops, and talks open up new perspectives: connections between Gnawa and Yoruba traditions, transatlantic religious and musical practices, and the question of why repetitive rhythms can induce trance-like states. Particularly striking is the nocturnal Lila ceremony in mid-July at Savvy Contemporary, where music, ritual, and collective experience merge until the early hours of the morning. Those who prefer to start dancing earlier can join the Gnawa parade across the HKW grounds at the opening, or later find their rhythm at DJ sets by Kabylie Minogue, Kawtar Sadik, Zine & Siroko.

Text: Inga Krumme / Photos: Lais Pereira, Jeremy Lewis, Mathias Voelzke

Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin–Tiergarten; map
Sonic Pluriverse Festival 06.–08.2026. Find the full program here.

@hkw_berlin