Relations in Place | Exhibition

In the organizer's words:

Relations in Place
Exhibition with Özcan Ertek, Zhenru Liang, Vanessa Amoah Opoku & Joy Weinberger
November 14, 2025 - January 25, 2026

The spaces in which we move and meet every day are more than just our built environment. They are the product of our actions, decisions and relationships - and shape where and how we experience care or exclusion and control. Relations in Place examines spaces as networks of relationships in which social, political and cultural tensions come to the fore.

Based on the historically charged exhibition venue - a former bear cage in the heart of Berlin - the exhibition focuses on the ambivalences of spatial practices: How and where are power, care and control negotiated? What dynamics leave their traces in the architecture and use of space? The works of Vanessa Amoah Opoku & Joy Weinberger, Özcan Ertek and Zhenru Liang address these questions on different spatial levels: from the transnational perspective of the diaspora to the urban landscape of Berlin and the specific context of the Bärenzwinger itself.

Program:
November 13, 2025, 6-9 p.m.
Opening with sound intervention "Acoustic Horizon" by Özcan Ertek from 7 pm

November 15, 2025
Mapping Care around Bärenzwinger: What space does care occupy in the city?

• 3-4:30 pm: Traces of Care - a care walk around the Bärenzwinger with the Feminist Spaces Collective
• 11-17 h: In-Between. Listening as an Everyday Practice - public intervention by Yun-Chu Liang in Köllnischer Park

January 25, 2026, 4-7 p.m.
Finissage
"on-site Bärenzwinger" - participatory action with Zhenru Liang

Location: Bärenzwinger Berlin, Rungestraße 30, 10179 Berlin.
Opening hours: Mon - 11:00 - 19:00, Free admission

Exhibition Opening Relations in Place
with a sound performance by Özcan Ertek

The spaces we inhabit and encounter each other in every day are more than just our built environment. They are the product of our actions, decisions, and relationships - and thus influence how and where we experience care and togetherness or face exclusion and control. Relations in Place examines spaces as networks of relationships in which social, political, and cultural tensions become visible.

Set against the historically charged backdrop of a former bear pit in the heart of Berlin, the exhibition highlights the complexities of spatial practices: How and where are power, care and control negotiated in space? What traces do these dynamics leave on the architecture and use of space? The works by Vanessa Amoah Opoku & Joy Weinberger, Özcan Ertek, and Zhenru Liang address these questions across different spatial dimensions: from the transnational perspective of the diaspora, to the urban fabric of Berlin, and the specific context of the Bärenzwinger itself.

Program:

November 13, 2025, 6-9 pm
Opening with sound intervention Acoustic Horizon by Özcan Ertek from 7 pm

November 15, 2025
Mapping Care around Bärenzwinger: What space does care occupy in the city?

3:00-4:30 pm: Traces of Care - A care walk around the Bärenzwinger with the Feminist Spaces Collective
11:00 am-5:00 pm: In-Between. Listening as an Everyday Practice - Public intervention by Yun-Chu Liang in Köllnischer Park

January 25, 2026, 4-7 pm
Closing event
"on-site Bärenzwinger " - Participatory action with Zhenru Liang

Bärenzwinger Berlin, Rungestraße 30, 10179 Berlin.
Opening hours: Mon - 11:00 am - 7:00 pm, free entry