As part of her residency in Munich, Gala Berger gave an artist talk in Schirin Kretschmann’s class, reflecting on her transnational practice shaped by feminist, decolonial, and collaborative approaches. In the talk, she shared her artistic journey, shaped by her experiences and research across Latin America, Africa, and Europe. Using found materials, references to pre-Columbian art, Caribbean poetry, and digital databases, she explores themes of identity, colonialism, restitution, and cultural memory through a mix of textiles and digital 3D imagery.

Berger traced her trajectory from Costa Rica and the Caribbean to Peru, West Africa, and Germany, sharing how local political contexts, restitution debates, and collective memory influence her work. She addressed topics such as extraction, invisibility, and the politics of museum collections, notably through her research on looted artefacts, Interpol’s database, and the Humboldt Forum. Her recent pieces explore how spiritual, ecological, and cultural forms of knowledge—often made inaccessible—can be reactivated through artistic processes.

Throughout, she emphasized the tension between digital imagery and material presence, questioning dominant narratives and proposing speculative, embodied counter-archives.

Afterwards she offered one-on-one conversations to interested students of the Academy.

Watch an interview with Gala Berger here.