Us And Them And Us

A group exhibition curated by Luisa Seipp at Ventana Project in Berlin.

Exhibition Text

Us and Them and Us brings together a group of artists whose works explore the transformative potential that emerges when we begin to dismantle the barriers—physical, emotional, mental, and ideological—that keep us apart. The exhibition opens space for encounter and dialogue in a moment thick with division. It invites a collective shift away from isolation and polarization, toward complexity, diversity, and shared freedom.

At the heart of the exhibition lies a question: who gets to belong, and at what cost? Boundaries—visible and invisible—have long shaped our worlds, defining identities, communities, and exclusions. Throughout history, walls have been built not only to protect, but to declare control: over land, over narratives, over bodies. Today, as nationalism, populism, and protectionism rise in response to globalization, migration, and ecological collapse, new lines are being drawn—and old ones redrawn—with sharpened intent.

Us and Them and Us confronts this moment by turning toward it. Rather than flattening differences, the works here dwell in the tensions between self and other, inside and outside, safety and openness. They explore how the spaces we occupy—geographic, social, psychological—shape who we are, and how we relate. They also recognize that while some communities may strive to dissolve barriers, others must maintain them as forms of protection, care, or survival.

The exhibition holds this paradox: that boundaries can harm, and also heal. That inclusion is not always safe, and exclusion not always hostile. These complexities echo through the artworks, which range from intimate to political, abstract to grounded—each one asking what it means to live, move, and belong in a world of contested borders.

By offering a shared space for artistic dialogue, Us and Them and Us underscores the urgency of mutual understanding—not as a utopian ideal, but as a fragile, ongoing negotiation. It asks us to reconsider the walls we’ve built—within and between us—and to imagine alternative ways of being together that honor difference without fear.

In a time when division is easy and solidarity is radical, the exhibition suggests that “us” and “them” were never fixed. That the ground between us is still shifting—and still ours to shape.

Us And Them And Us

Opening: April 25, 6 - 9pm

Ventana Project
Mehringdamm 91
Berlin, 10965

Artists