Locations:

Nollendorfplatz, Bülowstraße, and Schönhauser Allee subway stations (U2)

From:

June – September 2025

Artists:

Adrian Marie Blount, İpek Burçak, Lola von der Gracht, Franziska Pierwoss & Siska, Nadin Reschke

Online-Magazine with contributions by:

Sara Ahmed, Gürsoy Doğtaş, Mia Göhring, Audre Lorde, Poligonal, Paul B. Preciado, Anh Trieu u.a.

Event program curated by:

Marenka Krasomil, Sandra Teitge und Franziska Zahl mit Bella Bram und Letícia Oehlgardt

nGbK working group:

Yeşim Duman, Lorena Juan, Marenka Krasomil, Sandra Teitge, Franziska Zahl

This year, the nGbK is once again presenting the results of its biennial art competition, „Art in the Underground,“ this year under the title „flexen, flirren, fantasieren – mapping the queer city.“ Five artistic projects will engage the Nollendorfplatz, Bülowstraße, and Schönhauser Allee subway stations along the U2 line with large-scale posters on the platforms behind the tracks, as well as with performances. A concurrent online magazine combines artistic contributions with historical and socio-political analyses.

The Western European metropolis was essentially conceived by white, cisgender, upper-class men. In Eastern Europe, urban planning took a different form, but was ultimately also patriarchal. However, cities and their inhabitants are multifaceted and diverse. People have different needs and strategies for using public space. flexen, flirren, fantasieren therefore develops strategies for the use of public space by women, People of Color (PoC), queer and post-migrant individuals, workers, children, retirees, and people with disabilities.

The selected works will be displayed above and below ground at the Nollendorfplatz, Bülowstraße, and Schönhauser Allee subway stations along the U2 line from June to September 2025. Works on the platforms behind the subway stations will be regularly activated through performances. To kick things off on June 28, Franziska Pierwoss & Siska will revive the vibrant legacy of the Turkish Bazaar at the Bülowstraße subway station with a live concert. In July, Lola von der Gracht and Adrian Marie Blount will activate their works at all three stations. Finally, in September, works by İpek Burçak and Nadin Reschke will be on display at Bülowstraße and Schönhauser Allee.

Then, in September, works by İpek Burçak and Nadin Reschke will be on display at Bülowstraße and Schönhauser Allee. For this year’s edition of Art in the Underground, an online magazine has been published for the first time, bringing together diverse perspectives and a multifaceted exploration of urban space. The magazine unites new and existing texts, video and audio works, and invites artists, writers, and activists to contribute their perspectives throughout the project. In addition to artistic contributions, historical and socio-political analyses are also published, underscoring the intersectional nature of the project. Thematically, the magazine connects historical perspectives from East and West Berlin with current issues—particularly in the context of the three subway stations along the U2 line, which was interrupted during the division of Berlin.

For more information go to: https://flexen-flirren-fantasieren.ngbk.de

ABOUT ART IN THE UNDERGROUND

The art competition, originally titled „Art Instead of Advertising,“ was first held in East Berlin in 1958 and called upon artists to design posters for peace. The submitted works were exhibited on the platforms behind the tracks at the Alexanderplatz subway station. While most of the former GDR institutions were dissolved or renamed after 1989, the competition survived. Since the early 1990s, the nGbK (New Society for Fine Arts Berlin) has been realizing artistic projects in or near Berlin subway stations under the project title „Art in the Underground,“ in cooperation with the relevant Senate departments.

Supported by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion and financed from city-wide funds for „Artistic Design in Urban Space“ upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee for Art (BAK).