The exhibition by the Ostkreuzschule’s first Mahler Class brings together 16 photographic approaches. Over the course of the one-year seminar, the participants developed documentary projects under the guidance of Ute and Werner Mahler. Their observational and socially conscious perspective is reflected in a variety of contemporary themes—ranging from everyday life and social change to the search for identity in the 21st century.
With works by Nina Brand, Mischa Christen, Johanna Eckhardt, Tobias Gelb, Sven M. Gerhardt, Lena Giovanazzi, Nikolas Hagele, Nancy Jesse, Gökhan Kayal, Elvira Kolerow, Vanessa Nicette, Christina Sacher, Mieke Strand, Katja Strempel, Thomas Tiltmann, Heike Zappe, Zuckerholz.
The photographers and their series
Elvira Kolerow – THE STORY IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Through the lens of dream logic, this work focuses on the gaze and the emotions evoked by photographs, documenting solitary, in-between spaces where memory and imagination begin to merge.
kolerow@web.de | @elvira.kolerova
Gökhan Kayal – DER LEBENSHOF
At the Odenwald Sanctuary Lebenshof, so-called farm animals find a home close to nature. Guided by love, respect, and compassion, people here recognize the animals as distinct personalities and dedicate themselves to the well-being of these living beings.
Heike Zappe – LETZTE RUNDE
Village pubs were once central hubs for social interaction, conviviality, and community life. This work paints an atmospheric portrait of rural life, telling the story of structural change while offering a glimpse into loss, memory, and community.
post@heike-zappe.de | @heike_zappe
Johanna Eckhardt – GETEILTER HIMMEL
In 1973, Gunhild and Bodo Gerth were sentenced to several years in prison in the GDR for plotting to flee the country. Their children were placed in a children’s home and later with their aunt. These insights into the family’s story recount the experience of political persecution in the GDR and its enduring legacy.
mail@johannaeckhardt.com | @johannaeckhardt
Katja Strempel – BERLIN VON HINTEN
From construction site to construction site, across construction sites.
Lena Giovanazzi – BLACK BLACK FOREST
Here, the Black Forest is at once a landscape, a space of memory, and a culturally shaped concept. A personal, semi-fictional world emerges from real fragments—a space where memory and the present, the familiar and the foreign, overlap.
hello@lenagiovanazzi.de | @lenagiovanazzi_
Mieke Strand – ECHO WHETTED ON THE WIND
When the photographer moved to Germany, she longed for the sense of belonging she had felt in the small US town of her childhood. Outside Berlin, she discovered places that reminded her of home: close-knit communities grappling with abandonment and loss.
miekestrand@gmail.com | @miekestrand
Mischa Christen – DER SOMMER IST EINE HAND, DIE DEM LICHT DEN SCHATTEN RAUBT
This long-term project emerged in Switzerland’s border regions, where the country’s self-image begins to dissolve. Here, the geographical border becomes a metaphor for personal boundaries, ruptures, and transitions that often lie beyond our control.
photo@mischachristen.com | @mischa_christen
Nancy Jesse – ODER KANN ICH MICH NUR NICHT ERINNERN (AT)
The photographer re-explores the small East German town of her youth—a place shaped by its GDR past and structural change. Amidst a time of social division, she examines origins, growing up, and the return to a once-familiar place that now feels both known and alien.
nancy@nancyjesse.com | @_nancyjesse_
Nikolas Hagele – THE ELEPHANT
The gaze is directed at minor disruptions within the urban, man-made landscape—at fractures, obstacles, and unexpected encounters between nature and human order. “The Elephant” represents that which lies right before us, impossible to miss, yet rarely noticed.
nikolas.hagele@gmx.de | @luisantoine
Nina Brand – ANGELA GREEN
“Angela Green” was the name the photographer had to adopt after moving from Germany to the USA at the age of 14 without legal residency status. Only her eventual return to her homeland allows her story to be deciphered anew, revealing the fragile web of a family defined by closeness, distance, and secrets.
hello@ninabrand.art | @ninabrand.art
Sven M. Gerhardt – SPREEBORN
The geographical subject transforms into a narrative space where eras, memories, and lived realities converge. The Spree River appears as a connecting line between disparate social realities—and simultaneously as a symbol of change and continuity.
sven.m.gerhardt@gmail.com | @svenmgerhardt
Thomas Tiltmann – MAJOR TOM
Isolated and exposed to the elements, the quarry becomes a place suspended between Earth and the Moon. Amidst this solitude, the photographer becomes Major Tom. Weightless and untethered from the familiar, he drifts with his camera through an infinity of his own making.
Tobias Gelb – PLANET PŘEDLICE
In the Předlice district of the Czech border town Ústí nad Labem, the photographer encountered a local Roma community and gained rare insight into the world of its young people. Planet Předlice is a quiet portrait of youth, belonging, and the everyday moments that shape this generation.
info@tobiasgelb.de | @gelbtobias
Vanessa Nicette – A LOVE LETTER TO THE UNCONVENTIONAL
The project explores people and their passions—an unwavering enthusiasm for scientific worlds, pop culture, or interests shared by only a few.
fotografie@vanessa-nicette.de | @vanessanicette
Zuckerholz – MÄDCHEN SACHER
After an operation, the photographer learned she was infertile. Shortly thereafter, a pregnancy test showed a positive result. Amidst the greatest uncertainties she has ever felt, she tries not to lose herself.
Framework program
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Friday, Oct 16, 2026, 7 pm
Opening Reception
with an opening speech by Ute and Werner Mahler.
Sat, Oct 17 & Sun, Oct 25, each 2 & 5 pm
Guided Tours (de)
Exhibition Venue
Kunstquartier Bethanien | Projektraum
Mariannenplatz 2 · 10997 Berlin
Opening hours for this exhibition: Mon – Fri 1 – 7 pm, Sat & Sun 11 am – 7 pm
Admission: free
