Well, who are you? You are not only defined by your body and what you look like, but also by what you like and what is important to you. Favorite ice cream, cuddly toys, family, your city – all of this makes up who you are. The artist Charmaine Poh also asks herself such questions: Where do the people who live together in a city come from? What makes them happy or sad? And how do they live in their surroundings? In her pictures and films, she observes people in very different worlds. Together we will go on a search for clues in the exhibition. We will look at how the photos and films affect us. What do they show, and what might be missing? Finally, we will talk about our own self-portraits and about who we are.

How often do we encounter water in a single day? When brushing our teeth, washing our hands, cooking, bathing - in the form of lakes, ice, rain or clouds: water is everywhere! And we absolutely need it in our everyday lives. After all, we humans are also largely made up of water! But water is more than just a part of everyday life - it can be mysterious, powerful and even magical. In ancient myths, songs and pictures we encounter mermaids, sirens and sea goddesses. They tell of how important the sea was - and still is today - for fishermen, sailors and coastal dwellers.

This year's "Artist of the Year", Charmaine Poh from Singapore - a port city on the Pacific Ocean - dedicates her video work "The Moon is Wet" to the history of water in her homeland. The focus is on a sea goddess named Mazu. In this workshop we will delve into this story and talk about the importance of water in our lives.

Whether people, avatars, animals or plants – at the center of the works of Charmaine Poh, Deutsche Bank "Artist of the Year" 2025, is togetherness in a changing world. The artist raises questions about responsibility, tolerance and how we treat our environment – both in the analog and digital worlds, with a view to the past, present and future.

In this workshop, we use our imagination to travel together into the future and reflect on what it looks like: Should plants have rights? If humans and animals have rights – why not plants too? And how do we actually deal with avatars and digital identities on the Internet? We gather arguments, discuss different perspectives and put ourselves in new, sometimes unfamiliar situations. The focus is on exchange – open, creative and critical.

Monday, January 12th and 19th, 2026, each 9–10:30 am 

What makes you feel at home? A little girl and her mother have to flee the war and leave their familiar, snow-covered city. Far away in the south, everything is different. The barren apartment, the foreign language, the view from the window. Even the mother seems absent and strange. Until one day they fold a large star out of paper together, just like they used to. Its warm glow brings back a piece of the old familiarity and at the same time allows something new to begin. We will read "A Star in a Strange Land" as an interactive picture-book reading and visit the exhibition of Charmaine Poh, Deutsche Bank "Artist of the Year" 2025, whose artistic work often deals with migration and the lives of women in exile. In the subsequent workshop, we will invent a cosy home for ourselves and fold luminous stars. 

Anna Desnitskaya fled Russia with her family to Montenegro in 2022. She incorporated her experiences into this picture book. Reading with kind permission of Gerstenberg Verlag.

In cooperation with Krumulus

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Illustration: Anna Desnitskaya from "A Star in a Strange Land" © Gerstenberg Verlag, 2024

Monday, January 26th, 9–9:45 am

What sounds can you hear in the exhibition? Many works by Charmaine Poh – honored by Deutsche Bank as “Artist of the Year” 2025 – focus on the relationship between humankind and nature. Sounds such as rushing water, wind, or forest noises can be discovered in her works. What else do you perceive?

The Berliner Philharmoniker and the PalaisPopulaire invite children in grades 1–3 to embark on a creative sound journey together. Starting with individual works of art, we will go on a musical exhibition tour and compare the sounds of nature with the sounds of instruments. This exhibition visit will thus become a first small concert experience that invites participation, but also careful listening and watching.

In cooperation with Berliner Philharmoniker