What if Bardo were yours?

An invitation to feminist and queer collectives to reimagine, inhabit, and activate Bardo Projektraum in Berlin.

Location: Bardo Projektraum, Jessnerstraße 33, 10247 Berlin
Programme: March 2027
Open Call Deadline: 8 January 2027
Curatorial Direction: Marcela Villanueva
Organised by: Karne Kunst gUG

What if an art space could become something else?

A temporary radio station. A feminist archive. A publishing house. A rehearsal room. A collective kitchen. A place to gather, experiment, organise, or simply spend time together.

What if, instead of inviting collectives to participate in a predefined exhibition, we invited them to decide what an art space could become? In March 2027, Karne Kunst invites three feminist and queer collectives to temporarily take over Bardo Projektraum, transforming the space through their own practices, interests, and ways of working.

BARDO IN COMMON — Feminist Takeovers is an experiment in shared cultural infrastructure, collective artistic practices, and alternative ways of organising cultural spaces. Not a conventional exhibition about feminism, the project explores how feminist, queer, and decolonial perspectives can reshape the ways cultural spaces are used, inhabited, and shared.

The central question is deliberately open:

What if Bardo were yours?

Three collectives. Three temporary takeovers. One shared space.

Throughout March 2027, three selected collectives will each be invited to inhabit and activate Bardo for approximately one week.

During this period, they will have the opportunity to shape the artistic and programmatic use of the space according to their own practices.

A takeover might become an exhibition, performance laboratory, sound installation, collective workspace, temporary archive, publishing studio, reading room, or a gathering place for communities and collaborators.

It might involve workshops, conversations, screenings, performances, research, rehearsals, or other forms of cultural experimentation.

There is no requirement to produce new artwork or organise a conventional exhibition.

We are particularly interested in proposals that question what cultural spaces can do beyond exhibiting finished artistic work.

Each collective will develop its programme in dialogue with the Karne Kunst team, with substantial autonomy within the spatial, technical, and organisational conditions agreed in advance.

A shared infrastructure will remain throughout the month, connecting the different occupations and allowing the space to evolve through the contributions of participating collectives.

The programme will conclude with a collective gathering to reflect on the experiences, possibilities, and limits of sharing cultural space.

Who can apply?

The open call welcomes feminist and queer collectives, artist-run initiatives, informal groups, cultural networks, and self-organised communities.

We particularly encourage applications engaging with intersectional, migrant, diasporic, decolonial, anti-racist, trans, queer, and other critical feminist practices.

We understand feminism as a plural field of knowledge, experiences, and political positions. We do not expect applicants to follow a single definition of feminist or queer practice.

Applicants may work across visual arts, performance, music, sound, publishing, writing, research, education, community organising, or interdisciplinary cultural practices.

Collectives do not need to be legally registered or have previous exhibition experience.

We welcome emerging and established initiatives, particularly those based in Berlin or able to organise their participation locally.

What does Bardo offer?

Bardo Projektraum is an independent cultural space in Berlin-Friedrichshain, operated by Karne Kunst.

Situated at street level, the approximately 70 m² space offers a flexible environment for exhibitions, performances, workshops, discussions, screenings, and collective cultural activities.

Selected collectives will receive:

• Temporary use of Bardo during their agreed period.
• Access to available furniture and basic technical equipment.
• General coordination and organisational support.
• Communication through Karne Kunst and Bardo channels.
• Opportunities to connect with other participating collectives.
• Basic documentation, where appropriate and mutually agreed upon.
• Support for essential production expenses, according to available resources.
• Honoraria for workshops and public activations, subject to the agreed programme and available funding.

While we cannot guarantee fees for artistic creation or exhibition, we aim to remunerate workshops and public activations and support the essential production costs needed to realise selected proposals.

Our resources are limited, but we are committed to working closely with participating collectives to identify what we can realistically support.

Applicants will indicate their estimated production costs, proposed fees for workshops or public activations, and any essential technical or accessibility needs.

Our team will review these requirements and discuss them individually.

We will confirm final participation and financial arrangements by mutual agreement. No collective will be expected to personally finance production expenses that have not been agreed upon in advance.

A feminist experiment in sharing cultural space

BARDO IN COMMON builds on Karne Kunst’s ongoing engagement with feminist, migrant, diasporic, queer, and decolonial artistic practices.

The programme asks how cultural institutions might move beyond representation and explore more collaborative forms of cultural production.

Who decides how an art space is used? Who has access to its resources? What kinds of activities are recognised as artistic or cultural practices? And what becomes possible when institutions share some of their decision-making power?

The project does not assume that institutional hierarchies disappear through temporary participation.

Instead, it invites collectives to experiment with the possibilities and limitations of shared cultural infrastructure, acknowledging that autonomy also depends on material resources, mutual responsibility, and transparent agreements.

Curatorial Direction — Marcela Villanueva

BARDO IN COMMON — Feminist Takeovers? is initiated and curated by Marcela Villanueva, an Argentine-born, Berlin-based curator, cultural producer, and founder of Karne Kunst.

Her curatorial practice engages with feminist and decolonial perspectives, migration, collective artistic practices, and alternative forms of cultural production.

Through Karne Kunst and Bardo Projektraum, she develops interdisciplinary projects connecting contemporary art, critical dialogue, and community engagement.

With Feminist Takeovers, Villanueva extends this practice towards an experiment in shared cultural infrastructure, exploring how curatorial authority, institutional resources, and the use of artistic spaces can be negotiated collectively.

How to apply

Submit applications through a simple online form.

We ask you to briefly introduce your collective, describe what you would like to do with Bardo, explain how your proposal connects with feminist and/or queer practices, and outline your estimated production budget, proposed workshop or activation fees, technical requirements, and accessibility needs.

You may also include examples of previous work, such as images, links, or a short portfolio.

Applications are welcome in English, German, or Spanish.

Audio or video applications of up to five minutes are also welcome.

Timeline

Open call launches: 23 October 2026 (proposed)
Application deadline: 23 November 2027 (proposed)
Selection: December 2026
Resource agreements and confirmations: Early February 2027
Programme: March 2027

About Bardo Projektraum

Bardo is an independent art gallery and project space in Berlin-Friedrichshain, developed by Karne Kunst as a platform for contemporary art, experimental cultural production, and interdisciplinary encounters.

The space brings together artists, curators, researchers, and cultural initiatives working across different artistic disciplines and critical perspectives.

Bardo is located on the ground floor and has a portable access ramp. The toilets are gender-neutral but are not currently wheelchair accessible. Applicants are encouraged to communicate any accessibility requirements.

BARDO IN COMMON — FEMINIST TAKEOVERS?
What if Bardo were yours?

An initiative by Karne Kunst gUG
Curatorial Direction: Marcela Villanueva
Venue: Bardo Projektraum, Berlin
March 2027