Valeska Hageney (*in Rome/Italy) is an art historian, curator and cultural manager living and working in Berlin since 1999.
After graduating from the German School in Rome, she studied Italian Phililogy, Art History and History at the Freie Universität Berlin where she successfully completed her Master's degree in 2007.
From 2008 to 2016, Valeska worked in the international exhibition management and sales business for renowned galleries and was director of a private collection in Berlin.
In 2011, Valeska founded the exhibition space REH Kunst (a former GDR Extension hall), where she showed exclusively space-related exhibitions until 2013. In 2016, she was co-director and curator of the project space Centrum in Berlin-Neukölln.
Since 2017, her work focuses on supporting artists and the arts in public institutions. Valeska was Patrons Relations & Programme Director for Outset Germany_Switzerland and from 2018 - 2020 responsible for the funding programme of the Berlin Masters Foundation.
In September 2020 Valeska became head of the project team of Neustart für Bildenden Künstlerinnen und Künstler of the Bundesverband Bildender Künstlerinnen und Künstler (German Federal Association of Visual Artists). The sub-programme of the Federal Programme NEUSTART KULTUR, was implemented by the BBK Bundesverband and the Deutsche Künstlerbund. The various funding programmes serve to support visual artists living and working in Germany to develop their careers. The Minister of State for Culture had provided a total of 6.3 million euros to the BBK Bundesverband's funding programme.
In October 2023 Valeska was appointed Executive Director of the BBK Bundesverband (German Federal Association of Visual Artists).
Berlin Masters 2019/2020
Kunstverein Amrum
EXHIBITIONS / PROJECTS
BERLIN MASTERS FOUNDATION
BERLIN MASTERS was an exhibition, networking, and support platform for Berlin-based artists. From the annual open call, approximately 10 finalists were selected, whose works were presented in a two-week exhibition. The exhibition provided curators, gallerists, collectors, and the general public with an overview of current artistic positions.
Each year, two art prizes are awarded to the participants from the exhibition: the TOY Berlin Masters Award, endowed with €10,000, and the Berlin Masters Schliemann Residency, a working scholarship for photography, video, and new media.
BERLIN MASTERS 2020 - ARTISTS
Evelyn Bencicova, Billie Clarken, Lena Marie Emrich, Jorinde Fischer, Alice Hauck & Amelie Plümpe, Eric Meier, Manuel Resch & Maximilian Maria Willeit, Fabian Warnsing, Julius Weigel
TOY Berlin Masters Award: Lena Marie Emrich
Berlin Masters Schliemann Residency: Evelyn Bencicova
BERLIN MASTERS 2019 - ARTISTS
Julius Bobke, Jonas Büßecker, Nils Dunkel, Jane Garbert, Aneta Kajzer, Bianca Kennedy, Zac Langdon-Pole, Annkathrin Kluss, Lukas Liese, Sophie Schweighart
TOY Berlin Masters Award: Bianca Kennedy
Berlin Masters Schliemann Residency: Zac Langdon-Pole
www.berlinmastersfoundation.com
KUNSTVEREIN AMRUM
Since the summer season of 2014, the Kunstverein Amrum has been located at Nebel Beach, on the North Sea island of Amrum. It was founded to bring contemporary art to the island and to create an opportunity for locals and summer visitors to engage with contemporary art. Through various projects that are renewed annually, Kunstverein Amrum aims to showcase a broad spectrum of contemporary art.
One such project is New Adventures in Vexillology, an annual exhibition featuring a new theme each year. National and international artists are invited to create artworks in the format of flags for the exhibition series. These flags are subjected to the island's harsh weather conditions and are displayed on the beach 24 hours a day throughout the summer.
ARTISTS 2021
Swantje Günzel, Sarah Kürten, Lauren Keeley, Michael Müller, Manuel Stehli, Elia Nurvista
ARTISTS 2019
Ana Alenso, Laura Bruce, Tue Greenfort, Sophia Pompéry, Tita Salina, MoreUtopia!
Curated with Imke Kannegießer
ARTISTS 2018
David Horvitz, Andy Kassier, Anna Ley, Petra Mattheis, Nora Turato, Alexandra Wolframm
Curated with Imke Kannegießer
ARTISTS 2017
Jeanno Gaussi, Andrew Gilbert, Manaf Halbouni, Jeewi Lee, Jonathan Meese, Lukas Troberg
ARTISTS 2016
Cornelia Baltes, Edouard Baribeaud, Norbert Bisky, Amelie Grözinger, Caroline Kryzecki, Ralf Ziervogel
OUTSET - The Charity Auction
On September 29th, 2017, Outset Germany_Switzerland hosted a Charity Auction.
The auction took place at the Philara Collection in Dusseldorf and was held by Phillips and Artsy. A digital as well as a print catalog was available. The proceeds of this one-time auction were needed and used to finance the Outset Germany_Switzerland projects between 2016 and 2018.
ARTISTS
Armin Boehm, Julius von Bismarck + Julian Charrière, Jan Paul Evers, Henning Fehr + Philipp Rühr, Michael von Hassel, Keith Haring, Gregor Hildebrandt, Leiko Ikemura, Arik Levy, Thomas Ruff, SEO, Andreas Slominski, Henning Strassburger, Wolfgang Tillmans and many more
CLICK HERE TO BROWSE THE CATALOGUE
PAPERWORLDS. Childhood Drawings
by Contemporary Artists
The exhibition features over 60 childhood and youth drawings by artists who are now internationally renowned. These self-selected works provide insight into images created between the ages of four and fourteen.
Many of the pieces display typical childhood themes, while others reflect the artists' cultural backgrounds. For example, Norbert Bisky, who grew up in East Germany, painted a military parade at the age of seven. Katja Strunz, on the other hand, portrays idyllic bourgeois West German scenes. Tal R, born in Israel, uses a childlike style to depict armed men, tanks, warships, and bombings. Michael Kunze presents colorful sci-fi worlds, while Ralf Ziervogel showcases ink drawings of Hollywood posters.
EXHIBITIONS
2014: me Collectors Room, Berlin
2015: Buchheim Museum am Starnberger See
ARTISTS
Norbert Bisky, John Bock, Laura Bruce, Robert Elfgen, Axel Geis, Thomas Helbig, Uwe Henneken, Olaf Holzapfel Andy Hope1930, Michael Kunze, Via Lewandowsky, Jonathan Meese, Tal R, Michael Sailstorfer, Yehudit Sasportas, Katja Strunz, Rosemarie Trockel, Ralf Ziervogel, Thomas Zipp
Curated with Sylvia Dominique Volz
REH Kunst
ART SPACES
REH Kunst (2011 - 2014)
REH Kunst was an art space in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg that I founded in 2011 and directed until the fall of 2014. What made it unique was the intersection of art with the distinctive architectural features of a now historically significant “Raumerweiterungshalle” (Space Expansion Hall).
REH Kunst was not a traditional exhibition venue. In collaboration with guest curators and artists, the hall hosted a wide variety of exhibition projects—diverse, flexible, and adaptable, reflecting the original intentions of its creators.
Visitors and participants were equally challenged to engage with the hall’s unusual architecture: inward-sloping walls with rounded transitions toward the roof, the sequence of progressively smaller individual segments, and the overall flexible size of the space.
EXHIBITED ARTISTS
Axel Anklam, Edouard Baribeaud, Lars Bjerre, Roland Boden, Ivan Bošković, Laura Bruce, David Button, Regina De Miguel, Carly Fischer, Nadja Frank, Surya Gied, Stef Heidhues, Christian Henkel, Stefanie Hillich, Moritz Hirsch, Sibylle Jazra, Jan Koch, Alicja Kwade, Claus Larsen, Hajnal Németh, Renaud Regnery, Moritz Stumm, Philip Topolovac, Viron Erol Vert, Jorinde Voigt, Kim Westerström, Markus Wirthmann and many more
CENTRUM (2016)
Centrum is a project space for contemporary art located in the Flughafenkiez area of Berlin-Neukölln. In 2016 in joined Mareike Spendel as Co-Director.
Situated in a former shop and brothel, Centrum’s exhibition space is not a typical white cube. Its distinctive character comes from its tiled floor, featuring red ceramic and gray stone tiles, as well as its floor-to-ceiling window facing the street.
Artists have often created works inspired by the unique features of the space. Together with artists, Centrum has developed a range of experimental projects, including a festival of video installations and film screenings, performances, and community-based projects. Some initiatives have taken place outside the exhibition space in collaboration with other artistic ventures.
Through artist talks, lectures, and film screenings, Centrum offers opportunities for discourse on contemporary art, fosters connections and networking, and encourages visitor participation.
EXHIBITED ARTISTS
Katharina Arndt, Cornelia Baltes, Isabelle Borges, Eli Cortiñas, N’Doye Douts, Janine Eggert, Amelie Grözinger, Christian Jankowski, Matthias Müller, Philipp Ricklefs, Madline Stillwell and many more
EDITIONS
2022
Prints für Ukraine: Charity Print Sale in cooperation with Shift Book.
Artists: Jim Avignon, Cornelia Baltes, Edouard Baribeaud, Evelyn Bencicova, Lars Bjerre, Laura Bruce, Swaantje Güntzel, Ria Patricia Röder, Manuel Stehli
2014
Edition on the occasion of the exhibition ‘Paperworlds. Children's and youth drawings by contemporary artists.
Artists: Norbert Bisky, Laura Bruce, Andy Hope, Michael Kunze, Via Lewandowsky, Jonathan Meese, Ralf Ziervogel
PUBLICATIONS / TEXTS
2024
Das kuratierte Universum: Wenn Kunst zur Inszenierung wird, in: kultur politik 4/2024
2021
New Adventures in Vexillology #7. Future Perfect, Edited and published by Valeska Hageney
2017
Outset Germany_Switzerland Charity Auction Catalogue in cooperation with Phillips, London.
2017
Considerations for paintings – A studio visit with Dominik Bucher, in: Plasma. International Art & Science Magazine, Issue No. 3
2017
Les entfants sont des artistes… in: L’art de l’enfance. Tomi Ungerer 1935-1953, Musees de la ville de Strasbourg.
2015
XX – 20 Years ARNDT (1994 – 2014), published by ARNDT Fine Art Pte. Ltd
2014
PAPERWORLDS. Childhood Drawings by Contemporary Artists, Edited by Valeska Hageney, Sylvia Volz, Verlag Kettler
2012
Geometrie, Ornamentik und Industrie: Die schönen Formen von Janine Eggert, in: Janine Eggert. Formal Essentialism, Goldrausch Künstlerinnenprojekt
TALKS
2022
Artist talk with Alexandra Wolframm about artistic work, in cooperation with VTph editions, Berlin
2014
PAPERWORLDS – Artist talk with Norbert Bisky, Laura Bruce, Michael Kunze. Moderated by Valeska Hageney and Sylvia Volz, me Collectors Room, Berlin
2012
Artist talk with Dominik Halmer about his exhibition „Zugriff und Annahme“ at the Künstlerhaus Göttingen 2012 Artist talk with Laura Bruce about her video works, REH Kunst, Berlin
2011
Die Stadt, Die Kunst und der Markt – Der Berliner Kunstmarkt. A panel discussion about the Berlin art market with: Marek Claasen, Volker Diehl, Valeska Hageney, Erika Hoffmann, Barbara Wiegand. Einführung: Eva Emenlauer-Blömers, Senatswirtschaftsverwaltung. Ein Projekt von Projekt Zukunft und dem Inforadio vom rbb
SELECTED PRESS
Süddeutsche Zeitung, Nr. 179 / 06.08.2015
Süddeutsche Zeitung, Nr. 149 / 08.07.2015
Süddeutsche.de, 01.04.2014
DB Mobil, 03/2014
3sat, 22.02.2014
Tagesspiegel, 17.02.2014
Berliner Zeitung, 24.01.2014
Radio eins, 22.01.2014
Deutschlandradio, 22.01.2014
Berliner Morgenpost, 22.01.2014
FluxFM, 21.01.2014
Spiegel Online, 21.01.2014
tip Berlin, Nr. 02/2014
art, Januar 2014
taz, 06.08.2013
taz, 11.07.2013
Berliner Zeitung, 13.06.2013
ARTE Creative, 18.05.2013
GKS Fachverlag für den Kunstmarkt, 2013
taz, 18.04.2013
art Magazin, 14.03.2013
tip Berlin, Nr. 6/2013
The Berlin Design Guide, 2012
taz, 17.11.2012
taz, 23.05.2012
taz, 14.03.2012
Inforadio RBB Forum, 18.12.2011
ZITTY Das Berlinbuch 2012
Baunetz Woche, #240, 2011
Sleek, #31 Autum 2011
Der Tagesspiegel, 13.09.2011
Inforadio RBB Kunst, 10.08.2011
tip Berlin, Nr. 16 / 2011
tip Berlin, Nr. 24 / 2010
Der Tagesspiegel, 23.10.2010
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