Interdisciplinary video artist Nina E. Schönefeld studied at the University of Arts in Berlin (UDK) and at the Royal College of Art in London. In addition to her visual art practice, she is a lecturer in Fine Art at various private art colleges. Together with Marina Wilde she founded “Last Night In Berlin” a cultural platform documenting art openings in Berlin. She holds a Master of Arts and a PhD in Art Theory (Dr. Phil.). Schönefeld is half Polish and half German. Critiquing the contemporary social and political climate, the future scenarios in her art works are closely linked to current political, ecological and social issues in the world. Her sculptures and set designs for her video installations are composed of various light sources, sound systems, electronic machines, costumes, interiors and video projections. Through the use of these unusual mediums, objects and videos, Schönefeld questions the contemporary roles of artists, exploring the relationship between art, blockbuster movies and the present digital age. Her stories imagine a dystopian world where, due to drastic political and environmental shift, we need to fight for our democratic rights and survival.

Solo shows (selection): KINDL – Zentrum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Berlin (2024); Lothringer 13 in Kooperation mit den Münchner Kammerspielen, München (2024); ROSALUX, Berlin (2024); Diskurs Berlin (2023); Berlin Weekly (2022); Münchner Kammerspiele, Habibi Kiosk (2022); Haverkampf Leistenschneider Galerie, Berlin (2019); Galerie la Pierre Large, Strasbourg, France (2019); Lage Egal, Berlin (2019); Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (2018); Bilderrahmen Neumann, Fahrbereitschaft, Berlin (2017).

Group shows (selection): MSU Museum (CoLab Studio, Michigan State University), Michigan, USA (2024); AOA;87 Gallery, Berlin (2024); Aleš South Bohemian Art Museum, Tschechien (2023); Kunsthalle Osnabrück (2023); Lagos Gallery, Mexico City (2023); Kultursymposion Weimar / Galerie Eigenheim, Weimar (2023); Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin (2022); A:D:Curatorial Gallery, Berlin (2022); Roppongi Art Festival, Tokio (2021); Alte Münze, Berlin (2021); CICA Museum, Gyeonggi-Do, Südkorea (2021); Kunstverein Familie Montez, Frankfurt a.M. (2021); Heidelberger Kunstverein (2021); Seoul International ALT Cinema & Media Arts Festival (NeMaf), Seoul (2021); Kunsthalle Bratislava (2020); Die Digitale, Düsseldorf (2020); Aram Art Museum, Südkorea (2019); Manhattan Bridge (Light Year / Leo Kuelbs Collection), New York (2019); FED Square, Melbourne (2019); Alternative Culture Making Art Space, Shenzhen, China (2019); Made In NY Media Center by IFP, New York (2019); Momentum Worldwide / Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin (2019); Villa Heike, Berlin (2019); China Goethe-Institut, Peking (2018); Ex Pescheria Centrale, Trieste (2018); Palazzo Ca’ Zanardi, Venedig (2018).

“The movie B. T. R. (Born To Run) is set in the year 2043 and deals with the subject of authoritarian autocracies and the complete restriction of journalists. It also deals with the possible extradition of Julian Assange to the US and what it could mean for the situation of independent publicists, whistleblowers, and journalists worldwide in the future. In the year 2043 data is the most valuable asset on earth because data is being used to win elections. Authoritarian rightwing governments have the majority worldwide. They have implemented education camps for the youth to gain more power and influence. Movie heroine S.K.Y. grew up in one of those education camps called WHITE ROCK. She doesn’t know anything about her parents. She starts to research about her heritage. During this process, she gets in touch with a group of independent journalists and publishers. They are the most persecuted people on earth which means that they are threatened by prison and death every day. It seems that freedom of speech is lost – forever…

The video B. T. R. was created as a science fiction story but it has its roots in the present time. It shows a future scenario of what could happen when people do not follow political decisions made in their countries and when they do not start to question undemocratic movements. Democracy can be easily lost if the freedom of press as fourth power in a country is restricted. Quotes from the movie like “Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play” are taken from leaders of Third Reich – in this case from Joseph Goebbels. But you can find these kinds of statements also in today’s speeches of rightwing parties everywhere in the world. Today rightwing parties in Europe are on the rise (Poland, Hungary, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, etc.), journalists and publishers are put in jail like in Turkey. The parallels between our times in a lot of European countries (especially in Germany) and past times in the 1920ies in Germany are scary. (see here). The story of the movie B. T. R. is based on several documentaries (see below). The quoted documentaries deal with Third Reich, Weimar Republic, with strategies of rightwing parties in today’s Europe, with deserters of the rightwing scene like Franziska Schreiber and Heidi Benneckenstein. They also deal with practices of “hunting down” independent journalists, whistleblowers, and publishers like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden & Chelsea Manning.