Berlin has been the exile capital of Germany for decades. While it used to be dissidents and exiles from the former GDR or the USSR, Chile or Turkey, among others, who sought refuge in the western part of the city, many people from Syria, Ukraine or Iran, including numerous artists, have come here over the past two decades. They are an essential part of Berlin‘s artistic and cultural landscape.

In its exhibition BRÜCHE Haus Kunst Mitte (HKM) is showing paintings, graphics, sculptures, installations and films by fifteen artists from five countries who have been living in Berlin for several years or only recently. They are each at different points in their biographies, have had various experiences of exile and interpret the concept of exile in very different ways. Almost all of the exhibited works thematise the various stages of the exile experience, from fear and flight to arrival and a critical examination of the new living space – Berlin.

With this exhibition, HKM aims to build bridges between the many different exiles and stories of flight and thus to initiate a new perspective on community and commonalities. By communicating through art, a dialogue between Berliners – old and new – is made possible.