Stiftung Kai Dikhas

24/08/2026

A tribute to Helios Gómez

Hidden in the backyard of Aufbau Haus Aufbau Haus at Moritzplatz is a powerful mural dedicated to Helios Gómez (1905–1956) — a Roma artist, graphic designer, poet and political activist whose work connected avant-garde art with social and political struggle.

Created in 2022 by Barcelona-based graffiti and mural artist Conse Andechaga CONSE , *Tribute to Helios Gómez* brings Gómez’s legacy into the streets of Berlin. The mural is not simply a portrait: it is a visual bridge between Gómez’s revolutionary graphics, his life in Berlin, and the continuing struggle for Roma visibility, memory and representation. The work was unveiled as part of the project *Días de Ira – Tage des Zorns*, organised by the Kai Dikhas Foundation.

🔹 Who was Helios Gómez?

Born into a Roma family in Seville in 1905, Gómez became an important figure of the European artistic avant-garde. He worked as an illustrator, graphic artist, painter and poet, while also being deeply involved in anarchist and communist movements.
Forced into exile by the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, he travelled through Europe before arriving in Berlin, a city that became particularly important to his artistic and political life. In 1930, the International Workers' Association in Berlin published his seminal album *Días de Ira (Days of Wrath)*, in which he explicitly presented himself as Roma and used graphic art as a tool for revolutionary expression. He later fought on the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War.

🔹 And who is Conse Andechaga?

Born in Barcelona in 1994, Conse Andechaga is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist who grew up immersed in hip-hop and graffiti culture. He began working with graffiti in his early teens and developed *CONSE* as his artistic signature. His practice has grown from street interventions and graffiti into large-scale murals and other forms of contemporary art.

✨ A little Berlin art tip: Kai Dikhas Foundation is currently on its summer pause, but you can still visit Aufbau Haus and head into the backyard to find this permanent mural.

📍 Aufbau Haus, Moritzplatz, Berlin
🎨 Tribute to Helios Gómez — Conse Andechaga, 2022

07/08/2026

A few days ago, our director Moritz Pankok
visited the beautiful Salone delle Feste at Palazzo Palumbo HUB Palazzo Palumbo in Giugliano, following his participation in the "Mending the World" (Rammendare il Mondo) Festival of Cultures with a video contribution.

The visit provided a valuable opportunity to discover this remarkable cultural space and to begin a dialogue around future collaborations between Kai Dikhas and Palazzo Palumbo, strengthening a cultural connection between Berlin and Giugliano.

We look forward to sharing more about the projects that will grow from this new exchange! ✨

02/08/2026

Today, 2 August, we commemorate the *European Holocaust Memorial Day for Sinti and Roma*.

On the night of 2–3 August 1944, around 4,300 Sinti and Roma were murdered in the "Gypsy Family Camp" at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Their murder marked the liquidation of the camp and remains one of the darkest chapters of the Samudaripen, the N**i genocide of Sinti and Roma.

The image shown is *Auschwitz. Wir schämten uns.* (2008) by Ceija Stojka, from the collection of Kai Dikhas Foundation. Through her art, Stojka bore witness to the violence she survived and preserved the memory of those who were murdered.

We remember. We will not forget!

25/07/2026

With a warm welcome to our artists by our new friends of Venezia Contemporanea in Venice, apply now! (The deadline is 31st of July 26-this Friday!)

OPEN CALL ARTIST IN RESIDENCE VENICE
2026-2027 Fully and Partially Sponsored Residencies

Venezia Contemporanea in collaboration with Galleria ScalaMata offering fully and partially sponsored Residencies for writers and artists.
*Partially Sponsored Residency *2026-2027* * Application is on a rolling base.

*Fully Sponsored Residency 2027* Application deadline: July 31 2027
Venezia Contemporanea offers two, one week fully funded residencies.

Located in the heart of the world’s first Jewish Ghetto in Venice, we explicitly encourage applications from;

Artisans and craftspeople working in traditional disciplines such as glassblowing, ceramics, mosaic, marbling, textiles, mask-making, and design, as well as designers whose practice engages in a dialogue between design, 3D-printed prototypes, and AI-generated models.

Artists, writers, and academics whose work addresses the marginalization and discrimination of vulnerable communities. As well as projects that critically examine the opportunities and risks of AI-generated art within these contexts.

We also support site-specific and exploratory creative processes,

More info:
https://www.veneziacontemporanea.com/16-30-september-2026-residency/

https://www.veneziacontemporanea.com/skyline-residency-july-december-2026/

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24/07/2026

Sommerpause 🌻

27. Juli 2026 - 2. September 2026
Die Stiftung Kai Dikhas macht eine kurze Sommerpause.

Vom 27.07. bis 02.09.2026 bleibt die Stiftung geschlossen. Ab Donnerstag, dem 3. September 2026, freuen wir uns, Sie wieder bei uns begrüßen zu dürfen – mit der Ausstellung Metamorphose des Denkens sowie weiteren Veranstaltungen und Begegnungen.

Wir wünschen Ihnen einen schönen und erholsamen Sommer und bedanken uns herzlich für Ihr Interesse und Ihre Unterstützung.

Bis bald!

Bild: Béla Váradi, Nico is experiencing all the colours on the beach, Brighton, UK
2023, Fotografien auf Papier, Sammlung Kai Dikhas

18/07/2026

Part of the RʳOMA LEPANTO collection travels to Augsburg!

We are pleased to announce that selected works from the RʳOMA LEPANTO collection are travelling to Augsburg for Luna De Rosa's solo exhibition, The Thread That Holds, opening on 22 July 2026 at Halle 116 – Memorial and Learning Center. The exhibition will be on view until 4 October 2026.

Alongside Luna De Rosa's newly commissioned site-specific installation, the exhibition includes her mixed-media collage RʳOMA LEPANTO, part of the Kai Dikhas collection, as well as the film RʳOMA LEPANTO – Procession, documenting the collective performance developed for the RʳOMA LEPANTO exhibition project. The film brings together all participating artists of the project, reflecting its collaborative spirit and shared vision.

We are delighted to see the RʳOMA LEPANTO project continue its journey beyond Venice and Berlin, entering into dialogue with the historical context of Halle 116 and contributing to new conversations on memory, identity, and Romani artistic practices ✨

We warmly congratulate Luna De Rosa on her solo exhibition and look forward to this new chapter in the ongoing life of the project.

15/07/2026

Gabi Jiménez is represented in the Kai Dikhas Collection. For this exhibition, his works Vitrail Niglo klisté is presented as part of METAMORPHOSIS OF THOUGHT.

Gabi Jiménez is a French Gitano painter, sculptor, and activist whose work explores the history, memory, and contemporary realities of Roma and Traveller communities. Through expressive colour, bold black contours, and a distinctive visual language, he challenges stereotypes while affirming Romani identity and culture.

In 2007, Jiménez participated in the First Roma Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale, an important milestone in the international recognition of contemporary Roma art.

Together with the late British artist Damian Le Bas, Jiménez developed the concept of Gypsy Dada at Kai Dikhas in 2012. Inspired by the anti-establishment spirit of Dadaism, Gypsy Dada reclaims stereotypes and transforms experiences of exclusion into acts of artistic resistance, humour, and cultural affirmation.

METAMORPHOSIS OF THOUGHT, curated by Moritz Pankok, presents a selection of historical and contemporary works from the Kai Dikhas Collection. Bringing together works by leading Sinti and Roma artists, the exhibition explores themes of beauty, dignity, strength, memory, resilience, and social justice. It shows how contemporary art can confront discrimination, preserve cultural memory, and create space for new perspectives and futures.

METAMORPHOSIS OF THOUGHT has been amongst the recommended exhibitions in Berlin by Tagesspiegel last Saturday-thanks for that✨

The exhibition is open to visitors from Thursday to Saturday, from 4:00 to 7:00 pm, at Stiftung Kai Dikhas and Kunstraum Dikhas Dur, Aufbau Haus am Moritzplatz, Berlin.

08/07/2026

Always well guarded, also in difficult times: Stiftung Kai Dikhas, METAMORPHOSIS OF THOUGHT I with Kálmán Várady, Gypsy Warrior VI, Collection Kai Dikhas

05/07/2026

Der Berliner Tagesspiegel über unsere aktuelle Ausstellung METAMORPHOSIS OF THOUGHT und 15 Jahre Stiftung Kai Dikhas. (Unser künstlerischer Leiter Moritz Pankok ist nicht Enkel, sondern Grossneffe Otto Pankoks, wie es im Verlauf des Artikels richtig heißt).
Bild: David Weiss, Don‘t think, Look!, Holzschnitt und Mixed Media, 2026

Der Maler Otto Pankok machte schon in der NS-Zeit auf die Gefährdung der Sinti und Roma aufmerksam. Moritz Pankok eröffnete vor 15 Jahren in Berlin eine Galerie, die ihre Kunst zeigt.