Category Archives: Past Events Berlin

Past Events Berlin

A Conversation With Pulitzer Prize Laureate Elizabeth Kolbert

by Carl Kruse

Something of a last minute invite courtesy of Bill Woodward – an evening with journalist Elizabeth Kolbert taking place Monday, September 22 at 7pm at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Please see the invite below for full information.

Cheers!

Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle


You are warmly invited to join us for the conversation

Our Climate Past and Future:
An Evening with Elizabeth Kolbert, Journalist and Pulitzer Prize Laureate
 
Monday, September 22, 2025
7:00 pm CET/GMT+1
Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Jägerstr. 22-23, 10117 Berlin 

Climate change continues to reshape both domestic and global policy and politics on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite a shared reality in how the world is changing around us, Europe and the United States under President Trump are approaching the crisis in dramatically different ways. In conversation with Joshua Yaffa Bard College Berlin’s writer-in-residence, prominent journalist and Pulitzer Prize laureate, Elizabeth Kolbert, will share stories, and prognoses from the frontlines of a changing climate. Kolbert will speak to the way humans are changing the world around them, and how those changes reflect back on humanity. She will also address the current state of climate politics and policy in the U.S. and Europe—a gap in approach and even basic understanding that is quickly widening to a gulf. Is it possible to speak of a shared transatlantic climate policy, or even climate understanding? And can technology save us if politics doesn’t? 

Kindly register here.
 
For questions, please contact Dr. Berit Ebert, Director of Public Programs and Strategic Initiatives: b.ebert@berlin.bard.edu.

I hope everyone is well!

Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle
Past Events Berlin

Third Art Brunch With Helena Kauppila and Open Studios Tour

by Carl Kruse

The Ivy Circle Berlin would like to invite all to its third Art Brunch at the studio of Helena Kauppila, on Sunday, October 5, 2025, starting at 11:45 am on the fourth floor of Ackerstrasse 81, 13355 Berlin.

There will be a welcome drink, some finger foods, and a brief introduction by the artist at 12:15 pm. 

A mathematician turned painter, Helena is fascinated by complexity and emerging systems. While her colorful paintings may appear random and disjointed, there is a systems thinking behind them, often anchored in mathematics. Her work touches on the structure of DNA, mathematical theories, and the human connection to nature and the world around us.

Helena is excited to share new work from her Complex Systems series, along with a sneak preview of a collaboration with TU Berlin. 

Helena writes, “The Complex Systems series is the thread running through all of my work. It grew out of a desire to bring together color, science, and lived experience to explore how individuals connect to larger systems. My background in mathematics introduced me to complex systems — phenomena where simple parts combine to create something entirely new. Think of neurons firing to create conscious thought, or the dynamics of an ecosystem: each element plays a role, yet together they form something far greater than themselves.

This idea of emergence fascinates me. It resonates not only with the scientific ideas I encountered in my research, but also with my own personal journey of moving between countries, adapting to new cultures, and finding belonging within a whole.

In my paintings, I use simple elements that, when combined, generate complex color spaces. These forms resist traditional figure–ground relationships; instead, they evoke the statistical properties of a scene — suggesting a world where meaning emerges from patterns rather than from hierarchy.”

Kauppila resides in Berlin. She holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Columbia University and is the recipient of the Reginald Marsh and Felicia Meyer Marsh scholarship at the Art Students League of New York. 

RSVP helpful (but not required).

At 1 pm other ateliers in the building open as well, so there will be further opportunity to explore other art and meet other artists.

For any questions please contact Helena directly at helena@helenakauppila.com.

I look forward to seeing everyone on October 5!

Cheers!
Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle Berlin

We have done several events with Helena Kauppila in the past including a Double Art Event, the Miettenin Collection, and the Second Art Brunch in Berlin.

Past Events Berlin

Double Art Exhibition with Helena Kauppila – July 18

by Carl Kruse

Friend of the Ivy Circle and Columbia alum Helena Kauppila invites all to the opening reception of Ein guter Grund, a duo exhibition at Alter Kiosk Berlin. The event takes place on Friday, July 18th, starting at 6 pm, and there will be a performance.

Opening Reception
Ein guter Grund
Ernst Handl and Helena Kauppila
Friday, July 18, 2025
6 pm

Gallery location
Alter Kiosk Berlin
Grunewaldstraße 27
12165 Berlin-Steglitz

The exhibition’s title Ein guter Grund plays on the layered meanings of the German word Grund—referring both to a motive or reason, and to the painted ground that forms the essential base of a work. This duality reflects both Helena’s and Handl’s shared interest in how thoughtful beginnings—whether philosophical or material—shape the unfolding of artistic process.
The exhibition unfolds along a circular route through eight interconnected rooms, including an underground section presenting some video works, and a tall transitional passage that holds Handl’s large textile piece suspended from the ceiling. Several sunlit rooms will be filled with their paintings, including Helena’s recent work Spring! (2025), 30 x 30 cm, oil on linen. Inspired by the special yellow light as spring arrives, this is one of Helena’s favorite paintings.
There will be some introductory words and a performance around 7:30 pm.  Cheers!
Carl Kruse
Berlin Chair, Princeton University
Ivy Circle Berlin
Past Events Berlin

DANCAE’s “Chasing Nothing” modern dance performance

by Carl Kruse

The DANCAE dance company invites members of the Ivy Circle to its upcoming performance of “Chasing Nothing,” a new three-act ballet set to electronic music, performed by dancers of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Performances take place July 5, 7,8, 9 and 10, 2025 at Eichenstraße 4A, 12435 Berlin, Germany

For further information and tickets see:  https://dancaeberlin.com

About DANCAE
Founded in Berlin as a collective of classically trained ballet dancers, choreographers, and multidisciplinary artists, DANCÆ is reshaping contemporary performance by merging neoclassical ballet with electronic music, immersive installations, and cutting-edge technology. Their in-house ensemble, Ballet Sur_real, exemplifies this hybrid vision: a platform for cross‑disciplinary collaboration with DJs, visual artists, fashion designers, and spatial sound engineers.


Premiering July 5, 2025, at Eichenstraße 4A in Berlin, Chasing Nothing unfolds over three acts. It is set within a kinetic foil‑based installation by Dominic Kießling, whose subtle, air‑driven sculptures mirror dancers’ transient forms. This visual dialogue underscores the theme of ephemerality and human desire.

DANCÆ stands at the forefront of Berlin’s avant‑garde dance scene, rooted in ballet tradition yet boldly experimental. With a roster of internationally trained dancers, celebrated choreographers, and alliances with leading composers, technologists, and visual artists, their work transcends performance—it’s an immersive artistic ecosystem. Chasing Nothing continues this trajectory, offering Berlin audiences a rich sensory encounter that probes the nature of desire, memory, and impermanence through movement, sound, and space.

Past Events Berlin

Till Richter Museum hosts artist Maria Nitulescu

by Carl Kruse

Friend of the Ivy Circle, artist Maria Nitulescu, invites everyone to her solo exhibition: “At the Crossroads of Memory” taking place at the Till Richter Museum, Schloss Buggenhagen, Buggenhagen (near Usedom), Germany.

The exhibition goes until 31 August 2025.

Museum website: https://tillrichtermuseum.org/

Google Maps Location: https://g.co/kgs/NNda6wJ

Spanning several rooms, the exhibition explores the connection between scent, memory, and material.

Central to the installation is the scent of hay from Romania, triggering involuntary memories that evoke both personal and collective histories.

The works draw on the artist’s own experiences, the particular smell of Transylvanian hay (shaped by its rich variety of plants), and the traditions of her native Romania. Using scent, fabric from her maternal grandmother’s dowry, plaster, and glass, she creates an immersive environment that invites visitors to experience memory as a sensory journey.

Past Events Berlin

Invitation to Cambridge Garden Party

by Carl Kruse

I hope you’re enjoying the Berlin summer. Here is an invitation for the German Cambridge Society for their annual garden party:

“I’d like to reach out now and warmly invite your members to the German Cambridge Society Garden Party. A great opportunity to enjoy a relaxed afternoon of good company, conversation, and summer cheer.

Our party this year will take place in the Garden Room and adjacent patio of the International Club Berlin.

Date: Saturday, 5 July 2025

Time: 5 pm – 10 pm

Venue: International Club Berlin e.V., Thüringerallee 5–11, 14052 Berlin

Cost: for non-members EUR 80 including food & drinks

Full details and tickets here: https://buytickets.at/germancambridgesocietyev/1745173

NB: There are only 40 places available.

We’re very much looking forward to meeting as many friends of the Society as possible. 

The GCS Committee

PS: If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us via: https://www.gercamsoc.org/contact/.

Past Events Berlin

Drinks with LSE Generate – July 9

by Carl Kruse

The London School of Economics (LSE) “GENERATE” team are organizing laid-back drinks on the 9th of July, for which they have secured their own room on top of the Humboldtforum. A central location with a great view of the city. Here are the details:

  • When: Wednesday,  9th of July, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm.
  • Where: Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss, Schloßplatz, 10178 Berlin.
  • Who: Around 50 alumni of the LSE, including Laura-Jane Silverman, the Head of LSE Generate, who has recently been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to social innovation and education.
  • What: An informal summer gathering for meaningful conversations, reconnections, and new connections – all in a relaxed setting with drinks, snacks, and Berlin’s evening sun.
  • Why: To bring together the broader community of socially-minded and entrepreneurial alumni in Berlin, connecting innovators from LSE and beyond, and contributing to Europe’s evolving startup and impact ecosystem.

Hoping everyone is enjoying their (hot) Summer!
Cheers!
Carl Kruse
Ivy Circle

P.S. The last Ivy Circle event with GENERATE was a tremendous success.

Past Events Berlin

Impari Moda’s “Circle of Change” During Berlin Fashion Week

by Carl Kruse

The fashion house IMPARI MODA invites the Ivy Circle to IMPARI’s “CIRCLE OF CHANGE” on July 1, 2025, at Kühlhaus Berlin, as part of Berlin Fashion Week.

The invite from Impari invites us to “experience an immersive live performance featuring sustainable fashion, dance, visual art, and a live violinist known, among others, for performing with Adele.”

IMPARI MODA has developed special threads from recycled plastic bottles, which are then used to create unique high fashion clothing.

Full details & RSVP here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdaf1yBov2ymHF-1j_jJOZwLXjh0ZfE9u7El4_eAwxOW-2SNw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=113764675007471427843

We’d love to see you there!

Past Events Berlin

The Miettinen Collection Hosts Artist Helena Kauppila


By Carl Kruse

Ivy Circle member Helena Kauppila who we have done several events with in the past (see her well-received brunch here) invites the Ivy Circle and friends to her continuing exhibition at the Miettinen Collection.

Here is the invite from Helena herself:

“I am honored that my recent work Early Life (2025) will be included in the exhibition A Little Madness in the Spring, an exhibition in collaboration with Sotheby’s International Realty and the Miettinen Collection.

The exhibition is open by appointment until July 11th, 2025. To make an appointment, please contact Riina Kylätasku at the Miettinen Collection (the email contact is below).

The exhibition is curated by Riina Kylätasku and explores the themes of spring and the beauty of life. How artists translate nature’s wild renewal into paint–revealing beauty not just in what grows, but in how we feel it. The title is inspired by Emily Dickinson’s famous poem “A Little Madness in the Spring:”

A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the Clown – 
Who ponders this tremendous scene – 
This whole Experiment of Green – 
As if it were his own!

In my painting Early Life, I go back to the very beginning of life on Earth. What is life? How did life first arise? How is life connected?  Not only genetics and biology but many fields of inquiry are involved in trying to answer these origin questions.

There’s a subtle visual element in this painting arising from the embedded DNA code: under certain lighting conditions, when blue or purple tones come forward, large-scale structures emerge—only to dissolve again as the light shifts. The painting thus balances between order and chaos, between system and individual.  

If you would like to add Early Life to your collection, or are interested in visiting the exhibition A Little Madness in the Spring, please contact Riina Kylätasku at the Miettinen Collection: kylaetasku@miettinen-collection.de

Best regards,
Helena

About Helena:
A mathematician turned visual artist, Helena is intrigued by complexity and emerging systems. While her colorful work may appear random and disjointed, there is a systems process behind it, often anchored in mathematics. Her work touches on the structure of DNA, mathematical theories, and the human connection to nature and the world around us..

Kauppila lives in Berlin and holds a doctorate in Mathematics from Columbia University and is the recipient of the Reginald Marsh and Felicia Meyer Marsh scholarship at the Art Students League of New York.

Past Events Berlin

BBA Art Gallery – 10th Anniversary Celebration

by Carl Kruse

We have an invitation from our friends at the BBA Art Gallery to join in their 10th anniversary celebrations, which take place from May 22 through June 1 at the Kuhlhaus  in Berlin.

Carl Kruse and several friends of the Ivy Circle will join the event on the opening night, May 22 at 7pm.  Here is the complete information from BBA Art Gallery.  Use discount code IVYCIRCLE for a 10% discount.

Join us at Kühlhaus Berlin from 22 May to 1 June for our major upcoming Prizes exhibition.

Spanning three floors, the exhibition will showcase works by over 130 international and local artists and photographers. Highlights include the 2025 BBA Artist Prize, Photography Prize, Made in Berlin Award, One Shot Award, and a curated selection of standout pieces from the past decade.

Start celebrating with the Opening Reception on Thursday 22 May from 19:00. Tickets are available on our website. 

KEY EVENTS:

OPENING
Thursday 22 May from 19:00

ARTIST TALKS
Friday 23 May at 14:00, 16:00, 18:00

AWARDS CEREMONY
Saturday 24 May from 18:00

LOCATION
Kühlhaus Berlin, Luckenwalder Str 3, 10963 Berlin

🖼️ Exhibition on 22.05 until 01.06 

🕐 Daily open hours 13:00 – 20:00, Tuesday – Sunday.