CARTOGRAPHIES OF DISPLACEMENT

Bardo Projektraum, Berlin — February 2026
Group exhibition curated by guest curators

ABOUT THE OPEN CALL

Bardo Projektraum invites independent curators and curatorial collectives based in Berlin to submit proposals for the group exhibition Cartographies of Displacement, opening in February 2026. This four-week exhibition will mark the beginning of Bardo’s 2026 program.

We are looking for curatorial proposals that critically engage with the notion of displacement—whether physical, emotional, historical, territorial, spiritual, or symbolic—through experimental, situated, and interdisciplinary lenses.

We welcome proposals that incorporate a wide range of artistic disciplines and hybrid practices, including but not limited to:

• Visual arts: installation, drawing, painting, sculpture, video, photography
• Performance and live art: embodied practices, movement-based interventions, somatic research
• Sound and media art: soundscapes, sonic cartographies, experimental audio
• Archival and research-based practices: counter-archiving, oral histories, memory work
• Digital and spatial practices: mapping technologies, XR/AR works, digital storytelling
• Text and language-based practices: poetics of displacement, speculative fiction, multilingual works
• Socially engaged practices: collaborative processes, community-centered art, site-responsive projects

Themes may include (but are not limited to):

• Speculative or affective cartographies
• Personal archives, counter-archives, and testimonial strategies
• Embodied geographies and narratives of exile
• Spatial, territorial, or performative interventions
• Migrations of memory, language, or lineage
• Rupture, loss, belonging, and (re)mapping identity

We encourage curatorial approaches that are conceptually rigorous, politically engaged, and responsive to Berlin’s complex social geographies.

WHO CAN APPLY

This call is open to:

• Independent curators, curatorial duos or collectives currently based in Berlin
• Proposals must include artists also based in Germany and legally able to issue invoices (Steuernummer or Kleinunternehmerregelung)
• We welcome proposals from individuals of all genders and backgrounds, with special attention to Latinx, migrant, racialized and dissident voices

Please note: This call does not cover travel, accommodation, per diems or material shipments.

WHAT WE OFFER

• A total budget of €5,000, to be allocated across curatorial and artist fees, production, design, documentation, accessibility, and communication costs.
• All expenses must be invoice-based; this is not a stipend or scholarship.
• Full access to Bardo Projektraum for the duration of the exhibition
• Institutional and curatorial support from the Bardo team
• Inclusion in our public program (artist talk, guided tours, and a short publication)

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

Please submit a single PDF (max. 10 MB) to info@karnekunst.com
Subject line: Open Call – Cartographies [Your Name / Collective Name]

Your PDF must include:

1. Name, and contact details of the curator / curatorial team
2. Short bio(s) of all team members (max. 150 words per person)
3. Curatorial proposal (max. 5 pages): including title, concept, list or profiles of proposed artists, and relevance to the exhibition theme.
4. Proposal for public programming (talks, workshops, publication, etc.) – max. 300 words
5. Visual portfolio (up to 10 images) and/or links to past projects or video works

TIMELINE

SELECTION PROCESS

The Bardo Projektraum curatorial team will select one project based on:

• Conceptual clarity and artistic vision
• Relevance to the curatorial theme
• Feasibility within budget and timeframe
• Engagement with social, spatial or political urgencies
• Commitment to intersectional, decolonial or experimental curatorial approaches

Other Open Calls by Bardo / Karne Kunst:

• 💤 OPEN CALL – I am art, estoy harta.
  View Call →
• 🎪 Feria Latina 2025 – Christmas market featuring Latinx visual creators
  Apply here →
• 🧭 Curatorial Research Residency – For emerging curators from Germany & abroad
  See details →

ABOUT BARDO

Located in Friedrichshain, Berlin, Bardo Projektraum is an independent space for contemporary art with a curatorial focus on feminist, decolonial, and transdisciplinary practices. Through exhibitions, research-based residencies, and public programs, Bardo supports work that challenges dominant narratives and platforms artists and curators from marginalized communities. Part of Karne Kunst’s constellation of spaces (Bardo Projektraum, The Pocket Gallery, Projektraum Coswig), forming a translocal network for experimental, feminist, and migrant-led artistic creation across Berlin and beyond

We understand Latinx not as a fixed identity but as a political position—disruptive, diasporic, and expansive—operating beyond national borders and binary categories.

Questions?
Contact us at: info@karnekunst.com
More info: karnekunst.com
Instagram: @bardo_projektraum