Berlin Stories

Rise up for Sudan demo

Gather at 16:00 on Thursday, 19 December, (in front of the UAE Embassy in Berlin) for a demonstration marking the anniversary of the 2019 Sudanese Revolution. The rally calls for renewed solidarity with Sudan. Organised by Global South United, alongside Decolonise HU, Egyptian Diaspora Resists, Kandakat 4 Sudan, and Students for Liberation, the demonstration rejects the UAE’s domination over Global South regions, including Yemen, the DRC, and Palestine. It is a call to action to freeze arms exports and hold accountable those profiting from the war, and encourage material and logistical support for Sudanese communities confronting displacement and extermination. For those joining the rally, look after your neighbours and stay safe! More info here.

Migrant worker & student canteen

From 19–20 December, the Migrant Worker & Student Canteen returns for its third edition. Hosted in Neukölln, the programming over two days will centre on stories, solidarity, and food. The space is created for skill sharing and intercultural exchange, legal advice, CV and job-seeking support, a free hip-hop lyric-writing workshop in English, Hindi, and Urdu, and a Sprachcafé offering space to practice German at any level. This event is run by Gerechte Arbeit, a Berlin-based organisation supporting migrant workers, in collaboration with Antifascist Curries, who will provide South Asian cuisine. More info here.

Emerging solidarities & spontaneous care exhibition

Join off:hybrid’s artists from Fall 2025’s residency in showcasing their work. off:hybrid is a third space that centres the voices and visions of BIPoC individuals here in Berlin. As a process-oriented rather than product-oriented program, off:hybrid welcomed four artists over two months to explore the artistic experimentation that can arise from collective dialogue, and the creative possibilities when postcolonial thought intersects with different forms of lived BIPoC realities.

The residency began as a question and grew through the people who gathered around it. To introduce the creative capacities of this unique approach, the exhibition will open with an artist talk taking place 18:00-20:00 this Friday, 12 December at off:hyprid. Participating artists include decolonial architectural researcher Vipua Rukambe, Haitian artist Youde Monga, who takes a decolonial approach to exploring diasporic identity, film and somatic artist Sarah Batul Naqvi, and Droster Aesthetics multidisciplinary artist Abdul Dube. The exhibition will take place at off:hybrid, with works displayed and accompanying workshops until 09 January. Pop by to see what has emerged from two months of exploring what it means to live in solidarity, exchange decolonial knowledge, and cross-disciplinary artistic collaboration. More info here.

Embodied resistance workshop

From 18:00–20:30 on Thursday, 12 December, a session from this ongoing workshop series invites women*, refugee women*, queers, and activists to come together through movement, rhythm, and embodied practice. Grounded in drums, dance, and storytelling, the workshop centres movement as a tool for healing, resilience, and community. Through reclaiming the body from marginalisation and systemic isolation, the workshop teaches tools for active political resistance, through encouraging wellbeing, and fostering solidarity through collective movement and storytelling: embodied forms of care and liberation. This session is free for participants, part of a monthly series running throughout the year and is exclusively for FLINTA*, refugees, queers, and activists. The workshop will be facilitated in English by Pamoja Rhythms. Registrations are open via email. More info here.

Against police violence demo

As tensions between police and protesters continue to rise in Berlin, a demonstration will take place at S+U Warschauer Str. from 18:00 on 13 December. Organised by Antimilitarist Conversion, the demo is a protest against police violence, as well as a day of remembrance for all victims of police violence, calling attention to police brutality, racial profiling, deportations, and broader structures of oppression, both in Germany and worldwide. Organisers frame the demonstration as a stand for accountability, solidarity, and resistance, remembering victims of police violence and challenging entrenched systems of control. Join the comrades in collective presence to reclaim freedom of speech and take up space in the city. For those who attend, dress warm and stay safe! More info here.

Support Hildashaus’ Crowdfunding for their New Project “Roots & Pathways"

Hildashaus e.V., a Berlin-based non-profit working with FLINTA* individuals aged 40+ with displacement experiences, particularly those from hard-to-reach groups affected by intersecting forms of discrimination, is currently seeking support to raise funds for its upcoming project, “Roots & Pathways.” Launching in April 2026, the 12-month program is a holistic and multilingual incubator focused on textile art for single mothers.

The program will accompany 15 participants and is designed to make participation truly accessible while encouraging meaningful engagement. It combines multilingual, peer-based facilitation with a trauma-informed, community-based, and co-designed modular structure, alongside wellbeing activities, soft-skills and system-navigation workshops, business capacity building, mentoring, as well as free childcare and transportation tickets.Together, these elements form a participatory, practice-oriented model grounded in textile art that honors participants’ cultural heritage while supporting them in taking concrete first steps toward sustainable cultural livelihoods, such as developing project ideas or creating initial prototypes.

The program is shaped by wishes voiced within the Hildashaus community and by insights from its ongoing work, responding to critical gaps in the social system where migrant FLINTA* from hard-to-reach groups often lack access to long-term, holistic initiatives that center their diverse aspirations, knowledge, and lived experience. Donate here

Lecture: What Palestine reveals about Aryan supremacy in Germany

From 22 - 24 December (daily 19:00–20:30 CET), Berlin-based researcher, educator, and author of Jew.Despite.Germany Udi Raz will host a lecture and Q&A series on how Germany’s contemporary politics around Palestine expose deeper structures of Aryan supremacy. Drawing on their ongoing PhD research, the session examines how narratives of innocence, whiteness, and state power shape public discourse and what this means for those resisting erasure and racism today. More info here.

Walking tour: unrest in Moabit

Demonstrations regularly take place on the streets of Berlin. To learn more about their historical roots, join Revolutionary Berlin on a historical walking tour on Sunday, 21 December at 14:00.

During the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution rapidly reshaped Berlin, transforming former swamplands into dense industrial and metropolitan infrastructure, with Moabit becoming one of the city’s key industrial centres.

In 1910, Berlin experienced the largest riot in its history, when more than 30,000 workers took to the streets across Moabit. The riot began when workers at the coal company Kupfer & Co went on strike after industrialist Hugo Stinnes took over the company. What started as a peaceful strike over wages escalated into nine days of unrest, involving over 1,000 police officers and over 30,000 workers. The riot characterised the fragile social order of a newly industrialised German state, revealing tensions that World War I would later intensify. Join the walking tour to trace the Moabit Riot through the streets where it unfolded, and to understand its place within Berlin’s broader history of resistance, class conflict, and political struggle. More info here.

Activestills – Documenting Life, Death, and Resistance in Palestine photo exhibition

On 13-14 December, Activestills, a collective of activist photographers committed to documenting Palestinian life under Israeli occupation, welcomes the opening of the exhibition Documenting Life, Death, and Resistance in Palestine. This exhibition brings two decades of their work to Berlin, tracing everyday life, loss, and organised resistance across Palestine, showcasing images of the ongoing destruction of Gaza, the continued displacement across Palestine, and the remains of villages depopulated in 1948. Through these visual representations, the exhibition highlights Palestinian’s people’s lived reality, not as victims but as diverse individuals with agency, from Palestine to the world. These continuous visual documentations become irreplaceable archives for the counter-narratives that challenge those in dominant media, which often fail to encompass Palestinian heritage and thereby contribute to the erasure of Palestinian culture. The images also honour the many Palestinian journalists and media workers killed since October 2023, acknowledging their essential role in recording the truth.

The opening weekend will also feature a programme of panels, talks, screenings, and tours running throughout the exhibition period. The exhibition will be showcased until 06 February. More info here.

Winter soli market at Niemetzstraße

On 20 December, Refuge will host a day of solidarity for Palestine and Sudan, taking place from 14:00 to 22:00. The afternoon will feature a market with works from local artists and makers, alongside workshops including an Ableton beginner session with Charlotte Campbell, yarn-making with Geo Knits Slow, and a letter-writing session with Bryony and Helen.

From 18:30, live performances will take place by Chali, Merma Suelo, Cavid Chen, and Marlais. All donations raised during the day will go toward supporting Phoenix of Knowledge and Khartoum Aid Kitchen, organisations providing vital aid and educational resources to communities in need. Entry is free, and donations are welcome. Come by Niemetzstrasse for a day of gathering in solidarity through art and music.

If you cannot make it to the event but would still like to show support, you can donate to Phoenix of Knowledge here, Khartoum Aid Kitchen here .

Karne Kunst open call

Karne Kunst is seeking project proposals for its upcoming program in March 2026. Submissions should embody community-based artistic practices that engage with topics centring feminism, migration, care, memory, bodies, creative resistance, or decolonial thinking.

Karne Kunst is a space for feminist, decolonial, and migrant-led cultural work, to hold space for projects that rethink how we live, move, and relate. Artists, collectives, and cultural workers are encouraged to submit performances, exhibitions, workshops, talks, installations, urban actions, or hybrid experiments that challenge dominant narratives and centre migrant, feminist, queer, and local perspectives. Apply by 29 December. More info here.

OMOB @ OHM

On Saturday 13 December, Overthinker Mob returns to OHM with soundscapes that fuse afro-diasporic rhythms with club energy. This time round, the line-up features the international artists Ehua, Mukuna, and Bloomfeld. Enhua is an Italian-born, UK-based musician whose breakbeat sounds combine with melodic vocals to explore identity and meaning. Mukuna, a Swiss-Congolese DJ and curator of the club night Somatic rituals, is characterised by his genre-fluid sound, with his polyrhythmic approach shaped by years of percussion before stepping into the electronic scene. Bloomfeld is a Berlin-based producer and DJ, and the founder of OMOB, who blends the hedonism of club sound with spiritually grounded afro-futurism. Join OMOB this Saturday at OHM for a night of sonic experimentation. Doors from 23:59. Grab your tickets here.

A taste of solidarity Palestine fundraiser

On 14 December, a one-night dinner at Pars Berlin brings together several of Berlin’s chefs for a collaborative evening in solidarity with Palestine. All ticket proceeds from this event support Medico International. Alongside the dinner, guests, including Riad Othman from Medico International, will share reflections from their work. Medico International is a German humanitarian organisation supporting grassroots movements and medical aid in contexts shaped by war, displacement, and structural violence. All proceeds from the evening go directly to Medico International.

Chefs include Florian Sperlhofer from Pars, Lode van Zuylen from Remi, Julian Mancuso from Ada’s Deli, and many more, who will each present a signature dish made using ingredients from Conflict Food, to spark conversations on sourcing, politics, and responsibility through food. The menu will also include a dish by Amina Zoe Papadopoulos, introducing culinary traditions from Palestine. The dinner offers a space to gather, listen, and learn through a shared meal. More info here.

Birdhouse Berlin 3rd birthday bash

On 20 December, Birdhouse Berlin will celebrate its third birthday at Crack Bellmar, the collective’s first home, alongside Birdhouse residents Moehecan and Lea Czychy. The line-up features DJ sets by Aalia Iraki, DJ Chichi, and Jaymie Silk, who will share house tunes and more. Alongside, Viva Ink Stains joins the party, externalising the night’s soundscapes through a live drawing session, capturing sound through art as a representation of emotion. Entry is donation-based, and doors will open from 22:00. Grab your tickets at the door. More deets here!

Roundabout pop-up shop

From 8–14 December, Backhaus Projects hosts the Roundabout Pop-up Shop, a temporary creative space featuring work from a collective of five Berlin-based artists and designers. Visitors can explore illustrations and books by Cynthia Alonso, Elenia Beretta, and Frenci Sanna, as well as ceramics by Agile.Argile, and music from the label Neversleep. The shop is open daily from 10:30–19:00 on Weserstrasse. Special events include an Early Aperitivo on Friday, 12 December at 16:30, and a Friends & Cake gathering on Saturday, 13 December at 15:00, offering moments to connect with the artists and the community. More info here.