Opening Party: Helga Paris - für uns

Overview

Join us as we open für uns and celebrate the legacy of Helga Paris (1938–2024), one of the most important photographic voices to emerge from East Germany – who lived in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg until her passing in February 2024.

This landmark exhibition offers the first comprehensive survey of Helga Paris’ work since her passing. Spanning five decades, it showcases her most iconic series alongside lesser-known bodies of work and personal snapshots.

A central figure in the cultural landscape of once-divided Berlin, Helga Paris is known for her raw, empathetic portraits of everyday life in the GDR - the people she encountered, their surroundings, the streets, shops, and homes. The evening begins with opening remarks from Marina Paulenka (Curator and Director of Exhibitions, Fotografiska Berlin), who will share the curatorial vision and welcome special guest Jenny Paris (Head of the Helga Paris Estate), joined by friends and companions of the artist.

This will be followed by a panel discussion exploring how Helga Paris’ work reflects Berlin’s social and cultural fabric – from East Berlin before the fall of the Wall to the city’s ongoing transformation – and examining photography’s role in shaping collective memory and chronicling urban and societal change.

Moderated by Elke Buhr (Chief Editor, Monopol), the discussion features Marion Brasch (author and journalist), Mark Reeder (DJ and producer), Marina Paulenka (curator of the exhibition and Director of Exhibitions, Fotografiska Berlin), and Udo Kittelmann (exhibition curator).

After the talk, let’s celebrate the legacy of Helga Paris together, with DJ sets by Rupert, Rajko, and Mark Reeder – and don’t miss our special GDR-inspired food menu in the Café Bar.

This event is free and open to all, but capacity is limited – please secure your free ticket above.

Access to the event can only be granted during the selected timeframe with a ticket ordered on this page. Therefore, entry at 19:30 is only possible with the corresponding panel talk ticket. No extra tickets will be available at the door. A limit of 4 tickets per booking applies.

Image credit: © Nachlass / Estate Helga Paris
 

Schedule

Ballroom

• 19:30: Doors Open
• 20:15: Opening Speeches & Panel Talk
   

Café Bar

• 19:30 – 22:00: DJ Rupert
• 22:00 – 01:00: DJ Rajko
   

Bar Verōnika

• 22:30 – 01:00: DJ Mark Reeder
   

Tickets

• This event is free and open to all, but only accessible with ticket.
   

PANEL TALK

Moderator: Elke Buhr

Elke Buhr is a journalist, art critic, and editor-in-chief of Monopol – Magazin für Kunst und Leben. She studied in Bochum, Dortmund, and Bologna, completed a traineeship at Westdeutscher Rundfunk, and later headed the arts section of the Frankfurter Rundschau. Her work includes award-winning radio essays. She lives in Berlin with her family.

Marina Paulenka (Curator of the exhibition)

Marina Paulenka is Director of Exhibitions at Fotografiska Berlin, a role she has held for the past three years. With over 17 years of experience in curating, artistic direction, and cultural leadership, she is the founder and former Artistic Director of the Organ Vida International Photography Festival in Zagreb, a leading platform for contemporary photography in the Balkans. She has held prominent curatorial positions at UNSEEN in Amsterdam, the Bristol Photo Festival, FUTURES Photography, and FORMAT21. Born in Croatia, she holds two MA degrees from the University of Zagreb and maintains her own artistic practice alongside her curatorial work.

Udo Kittelmann (Curator of the exhibition)

Udo Kittelmann (born 1958 in Düsseldorf) is one of Germany’s most respected museum directors and curators. From 2008 to 2020, he served as director of the Nationalgalerie, State Museums of Berlin, and previously led other major German institutions. In 2001, he was commissioner and curator of the German Pavilion at the 49th Venice Biennale, winning the Golden Lion for Best International Pavilion. Known for his conceptual rigor and critical engagement with contemporary issues, he has curated landmark exhibitions on themes such as identity, globalization, and the intersection of art and technology, and has served on numerous prestigious advisory boards and juries.

Marion Brasch

Marion Brasch (born 1961 in East Berlin) trained as a typesetter before working in a printing house, for various publishers, the Composers’ Association of the GDR, and for radio. Since the early 2010s, she has worked as a writer, publishing several novels including Ab jetzt ist Ruhe. Roman meiner fabelhaften Familie (From Now On, Silence. Novel of My Fabulous Family) and, most recently, the children’s book Winterkind and Herr Jemineh, which she also adapted into a play (nominated for the Mülheimer Theater Prize 2024). She is a freelance author and presenter for Radioeins.

Mark Reeder

Mark Reeder is a Berlin-based musician, producer, remixer, DJ, graphic designer, and filmmaker who has lived in the city since 1978. Originally from Manchester, he became the German representative for Joy Division and Factory Records (1978–1983) shortly after moving to Berlin. He performed with the synthpop bands Die Unbekannten and Shark Vegas, managed the avant-garde band Malaria!, and organized secret punk shows in Budapest and Prague—earning the label “subversiv-dekadent” from the East German Stasi. In 1990, he founded MFS, East Berlin’s first independent electronic music label after the fall of the Wall. In 2015, he produced the soundtrack for B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin, chronicling his role in the 1980s West Berlin scene. He continues to DJ internationally and collaborate on new music.
 

DJ LINE-UP

• DJ Rupert
• DJ Rajko
• DJ Mark Reeder