Out of the Book

Eine Gruppenausstellung von Picturebooks Berlin

Kuratiert von Cynthia Alonso, Berta Cusó und Cristina Sitja Rubio

In diesem Sommer erwacht das Bilderbuch zum Leben! Out of the Book ist die erste Gruppenausstellung des internationalen Kollektivs Picturebooks Berlin. Die Ausstellung feiert das Bilderbuch als eine zeitgenössische, schillernde Kunstform. Die Künstler*innen lösen Figuren, Szenen und Objekte aus ihren Büchern heraus und verwandeln sie in Skulpturen, Keramiken, Gemälde und andere Mixed-Media-Installationen.

Jedes der Kunstwerke wird zusammen mit dem Bilderbuch präsentiert, das als Inspiration diente. Durch diese Gegenüberstellung enthüllen die Ausstellenden Facetten ihrer Geschichten, die auf den gedruckten Seiten keinen Platz finden. Während sich die Besucher*innen zwischen den Büchern und den Kunstwerken bewegen, erhält das Leseerlebnis eine neue Dimension – die Geschichten dehnen sich in den Raum aus, der sie umgibt.

Neben den Installationen gibt es noch mehr zu erleben: Während der gesamten Laufzeit der Ausstellung werden die beteiligten Kunstschaffenden Lesungen aus ihren Bilderbüchern halten und interaktive Workshops in der Galerie leiten. Das vielfältige Programm bietet Angebote für jede Altersgruppe. Die Termine und Details zur Anmeldung werden auf picturebooks-berlin.com bekannt gegeben.

Die Produktion wird durch die Universität Potsdam unterstützt.

Über Picturebooks Berlin:

Gegründet im Jahr 2024, ist Picturebooks Berlin ein Kollektiv von über einhundert Autor*innen und Illustrator*innen, die in vielen verschiedenen Sprachen arbeiten. Die Gruppe veranstaltet monatliche Treffen sowie Workshops, Vorträge und Ausstellungen in Berlin und im Ausland.

Mehr Informationen unter picturebooks-berlin.com.

Künstler*innen

Anastasija Altmann, Arinda Craciun, Berta Cusó, Catherine Adufe Folawiyo, Cecilia Galoppo, Colleen Anderhub, Cristina Sitja Rubio, Cynthia Alonso, Daniela Spoto, Elaheh Habibi and Yaka Hara, Elenia Beretta, Emma Åkerman, Esther Samuels-Davis, Frenci Sanna, Giuseppe Sofo, JURO (Julieta Rollhaiser), Karen Exner, Karen Runge, Lea Giesecke, Maria Nogueira Nössing, Melina Lebel, Mina Braun, Mira Schönegge, Monte Packham, Nele Brönner, Ophélie Paris, Sandra Brandstätter, Sangma Francis, Sasha Pshenychna, Sven Völker, Tiiu Kitsik, Vastiane Tamayo, Zack Rock

Ausstellungsprogramm

– WORKSHOPS –

Montag, 27.07.2026, 14-15 Uhr

Sven Volker (he/him)

“Piano Key Stamps”

Drawing workshop for kids with their parents ENG/DE

instagram handle to tag: @sven_voelker

A one-hour creative stamp and print workshop around Sven Völker's picture book "The Piano". Children will create all kinds of animals and creatures using the black and white keys of a piano as stamps. The workshop is for children supervised by their parents.

Sven Völker is a pictureboook author, artist and professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Potsdam. "The Piano" is a minimal picturebook that turns the 88 black and white keys of a broken grand piano into a universe of animals. svenvoelker.com

This Workshop is free

Registration via email at studio@svenvoelker.com

Montag, 27.07.2026, 15:30-17 Uhr

Eva Marina Burckhardt (she/her)

“A Character Walks into the Wild”

Drawing workshop for adults and young teens ENG/DE

instagram handle to tag: @eva_marina_burckhardt

A picture book illustration workshop for adults and young teens

A playful workshop exploring how a single image can tell a story. Through simple drawing exercises, participants will create a picture book scene where a character steps into nature and something small but meaningful happens. Along the way, I’ll share insights into visual storytelling, form and color from my experience as a picturebook illustrator.

Eva Marina Burckhardt is a Caribbean-born illustrator with Swiss-Venezuelan roots based in Berlin. She works as a freelance illustrator on editorial projects, book covers, and picturebooks, and also teaches color and design. Innately curious, she is fascinated by imagination and storytelling, and how they can lead to unexpected discoveries about creativity and the world around us.

This is a donation-based event

Registration via email at evaburckhardt@gmail.com or via instagram DMs at @eva_marina_burckhardt

Mittwoch, 29.07.2026, 14-16 Uhr

Sasha Pshenychna (she/no pronouns)

“A Creative Exploration of Scent and Memory”

Drawing workshop for all ages ENG/DE

instagram handle to tag: @psheute

Our sense of smell is a powerful time machine. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let your imagination take over. Following our noses, we will create visualisations based on a collection of curated scents.

Unser Geruchssinn ist wie eine Zeitmaschine. Augen schließen, tief durchatmen und der Fantasie freien Lauf lassen. Wir werden die vorausgewählte Gerüche ins Visuelle übersetzen.

Sasha Pshenychna is a Berlin-based Ukrainian-German illustrator, graphic designer, and artist. With a background rooted in medicine and biology, her artistic practice explores the world of perception.

This Workshop is free

Registration via email at pshenychna13@gmail.com or via instagram DMs at @psheute

Samstag, 01.08.2026, 14-15 Uhr

Sangma Francis (she/her)

“Wild Word Making”

Presentation, reading and writing workshop for adults ENG

instagram handle to tag: @angsanfran

A wild word making workshop with Sangma Francis. Inspired by Ted Hughes' BBC programmes on listening and writing, this hour long event will be a wide-ranging exploration of picture books, poetry, words and images. Come prepared to listen, write and produce your own tiny beast of living words.

Sangma Francis is an award-winning British-Bangladeshi writer of illustrated non-fiction and picture books. Her work explores different facets of the natural world, celebrates the wilderness of words and children's soaring imaginations. Her latest picture book, Wildspeak, was released in Spring 2026 and has already garnered starred reviews from Kirkus, the SLJ, and selected as an Indie Next Pick 2026.

This Workshop is free

Registration via instagram DMs at @angsanfran

Mittwoch, 05.08.2026, 14-15 Uhr

Lea Giesecke (she/her)

“Book transformation”

Drawing workshop for kids from 7 years (younger with parents) ENG/DE

instagram handle to tag: @lea_giesecke

You will get empty folded sheets of paper to explore all the objects a board book could be. A door, a mouth, a shell, a butterfly… During the workshop, you will use pens or collage to design your own book dummy, which you can take home afterward. Inspired by the book "This is not a book" by Jean Jullien.

No prior knowledge is necessary.

Lea Giesecke loves working with paper and to create tactile books. What makes the exhibited book special is that when you turn the pages, the book becomes the illustrated objects: a mushroom, a tent, a chick’s wide open beak. Lea runs the bookbinding workshop at Potsdam University of Applied Sciences, where she teaches students how to bind their book-projects.

This Workshop is free

Registration via email at lea@laufrichtung.studio or instagram DMs at @lea_giesecke

Donnerstag, 06.08.2026, 14-15 Uhr

Sandra Brandstätter (she/her)

“Paula Liebesbrief des Schreckens”

Reading (comic book) DE

instagram handle to tag: @brandstattersandra

Paula: Liebesbrief des Schreckens

Als Paulas Freundin Suse eines Morgens einen geheimnisvollen Liebesbrief ohne Absender findet, hat Paulas große Stunde geschlagen: Das ist eindeutig ein Fall für eine ausgebuffte Detektivin! Sandra Brandstätter nimmt ihr Publikum in einen aufregenden wie lustigen Spürnasensommer mit. Euch erwartet eine spannende Kindercomiclesung mit Bild und Klang, sowie einem kleinen Werkstatteinblick. Die Veranstaltung findet auf Deutsch statt.

Sandra Brandstätter is an Austrian illustrator and comic author based in Berlin. With a background in animation, her illustration work focuses on expressive and diverse character design. Her comic debut, Paula: Liebesbrief des Schreckens (Reprodukt, 2016), opened the path into illustration for publishers, agencies, and companies.

Selected illustration work: L wie Liebe (Kindermann Verlag), Ada & Zangemann (O'Reilly), Ben & Teo: Zwei sind einer zuviel (Beltz & Gelberg)

This is a donation-based event

Registration is not needed

Donnerstag, 06.08.2026, 15-16 Uhr

Nele Brönner (she/her)

“SUPERGLITZER”

Reading (comic/picture book) for kids 7+ DE

instagram handle to tag: @nelebroenner

SUPERGLITZER Lesung

Ich werde aus meinem Comic-Kinderbuch vorlesen, vom Entstehungsprozess erzählen und viele Illustrationen zeigen. Der Comic erzählt, wie eine Gruppe Tiere ein Telefon im Stadtwald findet und was dann passiert …

I work as an illustrator, children’s book author and comic artist for various publishers.

My drawings are characterised by a great passion for ink and strange animals, whilst my books are marked by a penchant for special colours.

While working on my latest children's book, ‘Tierisch Wilde Schlafmützen’, I was reminded that, as a child, I often turned into a mole before falling asleep. Nowadays, I prefer to turn into a big cat or, on warm summer nights, a gecko. It’s during those nights when I’m a gecko or lazy cat that the best stories come to me.

This is a donation-based event

Registration is not necessary but welcomed via email at nelebroenner@gmail.com

Freitag, 07.08.2026, 14-16 Uhr

Mina Braun (she/her)

“Book: Nora & die Mauersegler”

Book launch & reading for all ages DE

instagram handle to tag: @minabraunillustration

Book launch of the picture book "Nora & die Mauersegler",  published by Goldblatt Verlag. The event will include a reading and a talk about the process of making the book.

Mina has studied Visual Communication at the Kassel Academy of Art and illustration at Edinburgh College of Art. Her illustration work is strongly influenced by her love for printmaking, particularly screen printing and Riso printing, with a soft spot for reduced colour palettes and textures. Mina loves capturing stories from everyday life and encounters with nature.

This event is free

No registration needed

Samstag, 08.08.2026, 14-16 Uhr

Monte Packham (he/him)

“How to Write a Picture Book”

writing workshop for adults ENG

instagram handle to tag: @montepackham

Ever wondered how even a handful of words can transform a picture book into an engaging, enduring story? In this creative, hands-on workshop, we’ll explore the craft of writing for children, and discover how to make words and images play and work together. We’ll make our own analogue zines and experiment with prose and rhyme, using language to illuminate, to surprise, and to imaginatively interact with images. Expect collaboration, laughter and lots of inspirational storytelling!

Monte Packham writes for children and adults. He is the author of books including "Concentric Circles: A Chronicle of Steidl Publishers" (2010), "ABC Photography" (2016), "Living with Matisse, Picasso and Christo: Theodor Ahrenberg and His Collections" (2018) – Book of the Year at the 2019 Collector’s Awards, "Photo Adventures" (2019), "Rhyme Time" (2021), "The Blueberry Machine" (2022) and "Rooms for Dessert" (2024). He lives and works in Berlin.

This event is free

Registration via email at mp@montepackham.com

Donnerstag, 12.08.2026, 14-15:30 Uhr

Karen Exner (she/her)

“Hüte”

book reading + scratching workshop for all ages DE

(children accompanied by a guardian)

instagram handle to tag: @karenkex

Hüte, Helme, Hauben – Karen Exner zeigt in ihrem preisgekrönten Sachbilderbuch anhand von Kopfbedeckungen wieviel Gemeinsamkeit in der Vielfalt unserer Welt zu finden ist. In ihrer interaktiven Lesung erforscht sie zusammen mit dem Publikum die unterschiedlichen existierenden (und auch noch nicht entdeckten) Gründe, warum wir unseren Kopf bedecken. Im anschließenden praktischen Workshop gestalten die Teilnehmenden selbst Kratzbilder in Anlehnung an die Illustrationen in Ölpastell-Kratztechnik aus dem Buch.

Karen Exner is a German artist living in Berlin. She works on various freelance projects, collaborations and commissions for visual art, illustration and animation. For that purpose she has developed her own unique illustration style, not drawing her illustrations but instead scratching them in oil pastel chalk. This time-consuming and sometimes meditative technique gives her the space to immerse herself completely in a topic and think about new ideas while scratching.

This event is free

Registration via email at karen.exner@web.de