The Berlin Art Institute (BAI) proudly announces a landmark celebration on Saturday, September 6, 2025, of it´s 10th anniversary with the special exhibition ‘hugging’ at 404 | BAI, commemorating a decade of artistic dialogue, community engagement, and transnational exchange. The event also features the Open Studios and the annual BAI Fellows Exhibition as part of the institute’s widely anticipated Open House, extending BAI’s doors to Berlin and the world.

Location: BAI | BERLIN ART INSTITUTE
BAI Open House: September 06, 2025, 3 – 9 pm
Exhibition Opening: September 06, 6 – 9 PM
Exhibition Dates “hugging”: September 07 – 25, 2025
Exhibition Dates “BAI Fellows”: September 07 – 12, 2025
Address: An der Industriebahn 12–16, 13088 Berlin, Building 404, Top Floor

At the heart of this occasion is hugging, an exhibition assembling a selection of objects, artworks, mementos, and archival materials contributed by more than 50 BAI alumni who have engaged with the institute since its founding in 2015. To date, the BAI Studio Program has been attended by more than 600 residents from 70+ countries, both independently and through successful collaborations with organizations such as the Ukrainian Institute (Ukraine), Misk Art Institute (Saudi Arabia), Gangwon Art & Culture Foundation (South Korea), and Artis (New York/Tel Aviv).

More than a gesture, hugging serves as a metaphor for closeness, care, and the cross-cultural bonds nurtured at BAI over the last decade.

“‘hugging’ reflects not just physical closeness, but the emotional and intellectual embrace shared across borders, languages, and disciplines within the BAI network,“ say Stephanie Jünemann & Ralf Schmitt, BAI directors.

Visitors will encounter a visual and emotional narrative of arrival, encounter, and creative kinship, reflecting moments of collaboration, displacement, and solidarity. From handwritten letters and personal notes to collaborative works and cultural artifacts, the exhibition invites audiences to reflect on the invisible threads that connect artistic communities across borders and disciplines.

Curated by Stephanie Jünemann and Ralf Schmitt, directors of BAI, the exhibition underscores the institute’s core mission: fostering creative exchange and dialogue among diverse artistic voices, while celebrating the friendships and kinships that emerge through shared studio practice.

With contributions by Fatma Abdulhadi, Akay, Nouf AlMugairi, Daniah AlSaleh, Meshaal Alzeer, Carolina Amaya, Universidad del Atlántico, Gemma Taylor, Shqiprim Balazoski, Tara Bewley, Huda Beydoun, Daniel Coughlin, Valentina Cordoba, Gunner Dongieux, Helen Esberg, Hadass Gilboa, Shay Tova Govhary, James Haley, Hyon Hartberger, Bashaer Hawsawi, Shlomit Hiller, Emily Hunt, Hannah Isennock, Shireen Ikramullah, Ammar Jiman, Bonu Kamalova, Daria Kovaleva, Anna Van Der Kuip, Namhee Kwon, Euan Lynn, Meenakshi Nihalani, Khalid Nadhirah, Raisa Nosova, Carl Rojens, Anat Ofer, Camila Piana, Aarti Pillai, Bernd Reichert, Geneviève Roy, Lisa Schoefer, Rolf Schulenburg, Skyla Schreter, Dahye Sim, Sage Sidley, Elinor Shapiro, Abeer Sultan, Mona Sunbol, Abbey Sy, Tiffany Tang, Solene Tartivelle, Ella Taub, Mukta Tripathy, Tu!, Youseline Vital, Demelza Woodbridge, Abdelhak Yahiaoui, Kristin Zibell, Karla Zurita, among others

404 | BAI is the display & project space of the BERLIN ART INSTITUTE. 404 is derived from the numeric designation of the building while also referring to the well-known HTTP status code: 404 Not Found, familiar from the internet.