Commonly known as footpaths, “desire paths” initially appear to be casual traces of everyday movement. Yet they reveal how space is shaped through use, exclusion, and appropriation. Situated between established paths and lived deviations, they offer perspectives on social power relations and the question of who can move through spaces and how. The group exhibition Desire Paths // On traces of longing and (re)making space (June 17–20, 2026) at the Kleine Humboldt Galerie invites visitors to follow these traces. Through five artistic approaches, it explores alternative ways of thinking and living and establishes new points of reference that specifically engage with local current events. In interdisciplinary formats—ranging from installations to painting, photography, audiovisual art, and performance—the works address questions of community, digital realities of life, as well as memory, identity, and visibility.

In addition, an educational program consisting of participatory formats such as Desire Walks, a reading, a performance, and a map to be collectively designed is offered. Building on this, the closing event is designed as a grand festival day and becomes a space for experimentation in its own right. In a performance, artist Itchi Fleischer (they/them) makes their own body tangible as both an object and a vessel of violence and the dehumanization of the feminine. Through the incorporation of mythological symbols and iconographic references, the relationship between body, space, and memory is made visible. Thus, the performance becomes a situational event: a “Desire Path” that unfolds fully, both spatially and symbolically, on the festival day. Visitors are then invited to rediscover the former retail space through the artistic installations. At the end of the closing event, we leave the exhibition venue and set out together to celebrate community and club culture with the “Abartig” event series. New paths emerge when we walk them together.

Kleine Humboldt Galerie

The Kleine Humboldt Galerie (KHG) is a volunteer-run project initiative dedicated to the conception and implementation of cultural events. Since 2009, the KHG has been organized by students from all of Berlin’s universities and has staged a variety of exhibition projects and events each year. The collective offers students the opportunity to experiment with a wide variety of curatorial formats based on their own interests. In doing so, we asa collective benefit from the individual expertise and diverse backgrounds of our members. We have made it our mission to organize a free program that engages visitors and participants through a comprehensive range of educational activities. We aim to create formats in which young people can engage with topics relevant to them and become familiar with artistic practices. Since the KHG does not have a permanent exhibition space, we take advantage of the opportunity to use new venues on a regular basis. In the past, we have explored various themes of Berlin’s contemporary culture from the perspective of young artists living in the city.

Founded: 2009