…lives and works in Berlin.

Sonya Schönberger's project "...lebt und arbeitet in Berlin" (...lives and works in Berlin) explores the different motivations, expectations and experiences of Berlin-based female artists from all over the world. Ten of them talk about their motives for coming to Berlin and their experiences in the (political) cultural scene.

Nnenna Onuoha | …lebt und arbeitet in Berlin.

Nnenna Onuoha was born in Nigeria to a Ghanaian mother and a Nigerian father. At the age of three, her mother moved to Ghana with her and her four siblings, where she first lived in a small town and later in the capital of Accra. She attended a private school and studied at Harvard University in Boston (USA) on a scholarship. A job offer led her to Berlin, where she has increasingly established herself as an artist. In her work, she addresses racism and colonialism, among other things.

Silvina Der-Meguerditchian | …lebt und arbeitet in Berlin.

Silvina Der-Merguerditchian was born in Buenos Aires in the 1960’s. Her grandparents had fled Ottoman-ruled Armenia to escape genocide. In Argentina, Silvina grew up among other immigrants from Armenia. Her interest in Europe began early on and she travelled to Berlin for the first time in the 1980’s. She decided to study here and has been living and working as an artist in Berlin ever since.

Annett Gröschner | …lebt und arbeitet in Berlin.

Annett Gröschner was born in Magdeburg in the 1960’s. She began writing at an early age, which quickly put her on the radar of the GDR Ministry for State Security (MfS, also known as the Stasi). With the exception of brief intervals, she has lived in Berlin since the 1990’s. She has researched the history of the Prenzlauer Berg district, specifically its wartime history, for several projects and books.

Christa Joo Hyun D‘Angelo | …lebt und arbeitet in Berlin.

Christa Joo Hyun D'Angelo was born in South Korea and grew up in New York City (USA) in a working-class family. She took art lessons from an early age and won scholarships to attend private schools. After studying art in the USA and Poland, she moved to Berlin where she has lived and worked as an artist ever since. Overcoming class differences and her multicultural background are important themes in her life and artistic work.

Kallia Kefala | …lebt und arbeitet in Berlin.

Kallia Kefala was born and raised in Athens. Her grandparents lived in Germany as "guest workers" for thirty years from the 1960’s. As a teenager, her mother moved back to Greece. Kallia visited Berlin for the first time when she was a university student, ultimately deciding to settle and work as an artist here. Her work addresses questions related to her own identity, including the themes of queerness and feminism, as well as the trauma her family experienced as migrant workers.

Barbara Panther | …lebt und arbeitet in Berlin.

Barbara Panther was born in Rwanda. Her parents fled the genocide in the mid-1990’s to Belgium, where Barbara was adopted by a Belgian family. As a teenager, she travelled to Rwanda in search of her roots only to return traumatised. She began dancing professionally, which helped her to overcome her trauma. She started making electronic music and moved to Berlin, where she has lived and worked ever since.

Tanja Ostojić | …lebt und arbeitet in Berlin.

Tanja Ostojić was born and raised in Novi Beograd / New Belgrade, a suburb of Beograd/Belgrade (then Yugoslav People's Republic of Serbia). During the Yugoslav war she studied art in Belgrade. After graduation, she went to France for a year on a scholarship. During this time Belgrade was bombed. She returned to Serbia, but did not succeed in re-establishing herself there. Early on, she explored migration in her artistic practice. As part of an art project, she migrated to Germany, where she has worked as an artist and cultural activist ever since.