Care or Chaos?
Fri, 3 October – Sun, 5 October 2025
The annual programme Family Matters kicks off at the beginning of October with an exciting opening programme.
For three days, care, closeness, and family relationships take centre stage. Small gestures – big impact: Artistic interventions, performances, readings, and talks explore new ways of thinking about family – whether through a self-care workshop (In the Dreamhouse), dance-based interventions in the permanent exhibition, a cake buffet lavishly decorated with edible flowers, or African Street Games for the whole family.
Joining us are musician and author Christiane Rösinger, the Resident Music Collective, feminist writer Sophie Lewis, the film Im Prinzip Familie by director Daniel Abma, and many more.
In the workshop spaces, drop-ins invite visitors to participate, build personal treasure boxes, and explore hands-on. The picture book cinema brings touching stories to the screen – read aloud by familiar voices, accompanied by live music.
Two further theme days are planned for 2026, focusing on family secrets and alternative forms of cohabitation.
We all do care work – whether for others or ourselves. This day is about recognising and honouring that. Between readings in the foyer, street games in the large foyer, and the “Floristaurant,” an opulent cake table full of flowers, fruits, and fragrances, spaces of attention are created—for small gestures with a big impact.
The immersive installation The Dream House by Anguezomo Bikoro offers moments of rest and reflection for those who are usually the ones giving – through short workshops and creative care offers. The installation is also open for quiet exploration throughout the day.
In the Ethnological Museum (2nd floor), Kristy Nataraja presents the dance performance “Transpersonal – Beyond the Selves” on questions of gender and belonging: “How are we shaped, what do we carry forward, what do we change?” At the end, there will be time for questions and discussion with the performer.
The German-British author Sophie Lewis puts her theses on the future of care work and new concepts of kinship up for discussion.
“In the beginning there was fire, then came the middle-class family” – Berlin-based musician, author, and keen chronicler of everyday life Christiane Rösinger, together with her band, brings stories to the stage for all those who live family, love, community, and intimacy in their own way – and shows: here, no one has to be anything, but
On the second day, the perspective broadens: Who takes on care work in our society today – beyond the framework of the traditional family? How does the care system function in Germany? What do caregivers and those who depend on support need? And what might care look like in the future?
We start the day with the film Im Prinzip Familie. Between parental love, bureaucracy, and the youth welfare office, three educators give everything to create a home for children. Conversations and artistic contributions then turn to current developments in care, intergenerational contracts, and social transformation. Taking part are activists, caregivers, people seeking care – and artists who use creative means to advocate for a new understanding of care.
In the afternoon, visitors are invited to moving dance performances at the Ethnological Museum (2nd floor) with animation dancer Kristy Nataraja, as well as a participatory dance tour Dancing Generations with movement artist Yuko Matsuyama in the Asian Collections (3rd floor).
In the afternoon, visitors can experience powerful dance performances at the Ethnological Museum (2nd floor) with animation dancer Kristy Nataraja, and join the participatory dance tour “Dancing Generations” with movement artist Yuko Matsuyama in the Asian Collections (3rd floor).
The Resident Music Collective, featuring 15 Berlin-based musicians from diverse cultural backgrounds, presents their new program: Sonic Affinities.
To close the day, Christiane Rösinger returns to the stage with her humorous concert reading:
“Am Anfang war das Feuer, dann kam die bürgerliche Familie” –
for everyone who experiences family, love, community and closeness in their own unique way.
On Sunday, it’s all about the next generation: children, families, and everyone who lives, learns, and dreams alongside them.
In the workshop spaces, the drop-in “The Treasure Box” workshop invites hands-on making and discovery – inclusive, intergenerational, and open to all.
The picture book cinema brings Dads, Far-Away Grannies, and Green-Thumbed Grandmas to the big screen – read by Edith Schreiber-Wicke, Carola Holland, Andrea Karimé, Renate Habinger, and Satomi Ichikawa.
To close out the weekend, the Resident Music Collective returns with a light-hearted, musical finale full of family stories from around the world – for audiences young and old.