Performance by Kvirtet
5.30 – 6.30 pm

The performances by Kvirtet, a young collective from Kyiv, unify the artistic, performative, singing and fashion backgrounds of the four members BOJI, DIMETRA, DIM, and MALYUK COUTURE upcycle fashion. The collective’s extravagant shows feature live music, lavish dress and vocals in Ukrainian and English. They are rooted in Ballroom culture, a movement with a long legacy that originated in the POC and queer underground scene of 1970s New York with intricate dance acts that recontextualised poses from the cover of high fashion magazines. As a consequence of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kvirtet is now based in Berlin, but remains active throughout Europe.

Conversation with Giorgi Rodinov, Boji and Sasha Malyuk
6.30 – 7.30 pm 

Following their performance, Kvirtet members Boji and Sasha Malyuk will offer an insight into their work and the contemporary art scene in Ukraine and its connection to Berlin. For many queer artists from Ukraine, Berlin has become a safe haven. Giorgi Rodionov, founder of the art space UNTITLED TBILISI that operates on the intersection of art and human rights, will join the conversation. Giorgi will speak about his work in Berlin and Tbilisi, Georgia and the increased importance of supporting the queer art communities in exile in the times of wars and political pressures. The event is moderated by Charlotte Knaup, curator at Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart.

Kvirtet is a Berlin-based collective made up of non-binary performers, upcycle designers, singers and entertainers, founded in 2021 in Kyiv. The members of the collective are BOJI, DIMETRA, DIM, and MALYUK COUTURE upcycle fashion. Members of the collective have further performed at Berghain (Berlin), Closer (Kyiv), Otel (Kyiv), Neue Nationalgalerie (Berlin), IZOLYATSIA (Kyiv), Fabbrica del Vapore (Milan), Berlin Art Week, Cashmere Radio (Berlin), PinchukArtCentre (Kyiv) and Dzherelo (Kyiv), among others.
Giorgi Rodionov is an artist and a curator based in Berlin and Tbilisi. Most of Giorgi’s works are research-based and take shape as projects in collaboration with different artists, institutions or activists. In early 2019, he founded the art space UNTITLED TBILISI which unites artists from the Caucasus region using art as the space for promoting women, queer, and ethnic minority rights. Under Giorgi’s direction, UNTITLED TBILISI has organized exhibitions, film screenings, festivals, conferences, symposiums, and publications. In 2021, in collaboration with ARTISTS at RISK (AR), Giorgi founded the residency program AR-Tbilisi. So far, AR-Tbilisi has funded and hosted 15 artists and art activists facing political persecution in their countries of origin.

The talk in English will take place in the Aktionsraum.

The event is in the framework of Making Spaces: A Programming Series in Solidarity with Ukraine of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, curated by Charlotte Knaup.

Admission and participation are free of charge.

To the booking

The COVID-19 regulations valid on the day of the event apply.

VOLKSWAGEN ART4ALL
Since 2018 the admission to the Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin is free on the first Thursday of every month from 4 pm to 8 pm. As part of the VOLKSWAGEN ART4ALL initiative, visitors are invited to discover new approaches to works in the collection and current exhibitions. The initiative is supported by special educational events and a corresponding artistic programme aimed at reaching a broader public.