During Sellerie Weekend, more than a hundred project spaces open their doors, showing how much subcultural art is still thriving in the city. Traditionally, Berlin’s art season kicks off with full force on the first weekend of May (01.–03.05.2026). In recent years, it has gained increased visibility in the subcultural scene, particularly with Sellerie Weekend. Originally initiated by the Spoiler collective, the festival programme brings together off-space art events scattered across the city. So it’s only fitting that the opening event takes place today (30.04.2026) at Spoiler itself: an opening party from 20-02h, interrupted by a performance by the playful and radical Sophia Süßmilch, followed by a concert by Gertie Adelaido (from 21h). And if Moabit feels too far away, Neukölln might be closer: Jens Einhorn’s painterly “Reise ohne Ende” opens from 17h at Paintshop on Hasenheide, which has recently, strictly speaking, stopped being a project space and is moving toward the more serious waters of the gallery world. A few side streets down Sonnenallee, you’ll find the Number One Most Precarious Group Show opening at 18h, featuring works by Robert Barta, Martin Blake, Alice Morey, Anna Virnich and others. As always with this hidden-in-a-backyard space, it will likely be worth the visit. Another group show — of a more unusual nature — opens on Friday (01.05.) from 18h in a passageway at Strausberger Platz in Friedrichshain, organized by Raum www. Ten artists present one freely installed work each, displayed on a curtain. Participants include Marlon Wobst, Daniel Hahn and Ellen Akimoto. Already open since yesterday are works by Alex Heide at the relatively new Schöneberg venue Klix. On Saturday, from 14–18h, an apéro is held here off Grunewaldstraße — essentially supervised drinking in the presence of the artist.
Berlin as a whole (and Kreuzberg in particular) has never been a walk in the park. And yet, on Reichenberger Straße, Kwadrat Galerie is opening a group exhibition this weekend that brings together many of the artists who shaped the city’s scene during the golden years of the 2000s. Curated by Olivia Berckemeyer, the show features works by Philip Topolovac and Philip Grözinger, alongside Michael Sailstorfer, Anselm Reyle, Michael Kunze, Gregor Hildebrandt and others. The time travel begins on Saturday (02.05.), from 14h. Meanwhile, over on Inselstraße, it’s the last chance ever to visit Die Möglichkeit einer Insel before the doors close for good. Titled Enter the Void, Clemens Wilhelm’s exhibition consists of an eight-minute video work. It opened today (30.04.) and only runs until 03.05. — you snooze, you lose. If that’s still not enough, don’t miss the exhibitions at Roam on Lindenstraße (three positions gathered under the intriguingly titled “Pendelnde Rationalität”) and the group show at Bodrum Berlin, circling the question: what happens in social ruins? Or better yet, dive into everything else this lush, verdant programme has to offer. Bon appétit.
Text: Hilka Dirks / Credits: Soziophobie, C-Print, 45×30 cm, 2020, 5+2 A.P.; Mysterious girl I wanna get close to you, C-Print, 60×40 cm, 2022, 5+2 A.P.; Gertie Adelaido; Daniel Theiler, Soziale Ruine, 2026; Jakob Ketzel, Garlands, 2023; Paint Shop Berlin; Lucila Pacheco Dehne; Spoiler; Alex Heide
Sellerie Weekend
@spoiler.zone
