Act II – Does the cosmic space, we dissolve into, taste of us?

With the second act, titled “Does the cosmic space, we dissolve into, taste of us?”, the artistic program running from August 7–9, 2026, focuses the theme of transformation. The opening act is Nina Guo’s radio performance BEARBONED on Friday evening. On Saturday, an artist talk with Qusay Awad will address the status of his artistic research project on the multifaceted history of the Bärenzwinger. This will be followed by a sound performance by Marina Cyrino, invited by Qusay Awad. The evening program features a set by DJ Sex, as well as the performance I was better Until I changed by Bilgesu Akyürek and Buğra Büyükşimşek, which explores healing as a process of simultaneous letting go and becoming. The event concludes on Sunday with somatic exercises led by Alvin Collantes and Thesea Rigou, which allow participants to physically experience the Bärenzwinger and the current annual exhibition “Furore” through guided movements.

Friday, August 7th

7 – 8 PM: BEARBONED with Nina Guo
Nina Guos performance practice includes interpreting notated music and improvising. Radio and humor play large roles in her work. She often creates and voices a host of inventive characters.

Satuday, August 8th

4 – 4:45 PM: Artist Talk with Qusay Awad moderated by Rand Abou Fakher
Architect and multimedia artist Qusay Awad is currently developing an artistic research project in response to this year’s annual theme, Heimsuchungen / Hauntings. The research envolves archival material, site-specific spatial observations and field recordings, the project investigates the Bärenzwinger as a place where multiple historical layers overlap. It asks how architecture stores memory and how traces of former uses continue to resonate within the site. Join us for an artist talk between Qusay Awad and moderator Rand Abou Fakher as they delve deeper into Awad’s artistic practice and his research process.

 5 – 6 PM: Fuça with Marina Cyrina
 Marina Cyrino is a Brazilian flutist, sound artist and researcher based in Berlin. Her flute playing is shaped by techniques developed through the use of a hyper-amplification system, combined with a wide variety of DIY preparations, objects, toys and balloons attached to the instrument. Sometimes fabrication, sometimes deconstruction, sometimes fabulation, these techniques emerge from a search for a radical reimagining of how a flute could sound, reclaiming an intimate sonic imagination, an embodied materiality that challenges the masculine constraints of a heteropatriarchal tradition in both flute playing and flute construction.

6:30 – 8 PM: DJ Set with DJ Sex

8:30 – 9:30 PM: I Was Better Until I Changed with Bilgesu Akyürek und Buğra Büyükşimşek
I was better until I changed explores healing as a fragile state rather than a linear journey. Through shifting identities, masks, ritual, and intimacy, the performance questions whether healing offers relief or demands the loss of who we once were. As performers mourn former selves and move between resistance and adaptation, the boundary between repair and erasure dissolves. The work leaves the audience with an open question: what kind of loss do we accept when we choose to heal?

Sunday, August 9th

5 – 7 PM: Somatic Excercises with Alvin Collantes and Thesea Rigou
Moderated by Alvin Collantes and Thesea Rigou, this workshop invites participants to explore the exhibition “Furore” by Nina Paszkowski, through movement and physical response. Over two hours, Alvin and Thesea will guide participants through individual and group exercises inspired by the exhibition, the architecture and history of Bärenzwinger. The workshop is open to all abilities – no prior experience is required. Wear comfortable, movement-friendly clothing and shoes.

The workshop concept was originally commissioned by KW Institute for Contemporary Art and developed by Thesea Rigou and Alvin Collantes, in cooperation with Alexia Manzano.

Curated by Luise Haubenreiser, Philipp Hennch, Pauline Kling, Kaya Peters, Nicola Reißer, Niva Sann und Josephine Steffens.