With the exhibition „Queens“, photographer Nihad Nino Pušija presents a fascinating portrait of queer, (post-)migrant nightlife in Berlin in the 1990s. At its centre: legendary club SO36 in Kreuzberg, a refuge for social and sexual outsiders and a second home to punks, lovers of wicked music, lefties and queers. With regular parties like „Gayhane – House of Halay“ and „Black Gay Nights“ SO36 was also a haven to Berlin’s queer BPoCs, offering a unique niche for subculture cherished by the queers and queens of the night.

Nihad Nino Pušija was born in 1965 in Sarajevo, where he would later study politics and journalism and start a career as a photo journalist and artist. He has been working as a freelance photographer for many different art and photo projects since 1988. In 1992 he started working on commissions in Berlin, for institutions such as Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, the Museum of European Cultures and Allianz Kulturstiftung. His pictures often deal with the consequences of war and destruction in former Yugoslavia;  with Roma families looking for a safe home in Berlin being another central subject of his work – just as the stories of everyday Kreuzberg shop owners facing the realities of a constantly changing Berlin.

„Artistically, I aim to explore the microcosms around me: I want to document the seemingly small changes, those that are easy to miss, but are essential in trying to create a series of images that capture the big picture.“

Curators: Carina Klugbauer & Birgit Bosold

Scenography: Jörg Krüger

Press Photos

These photos are to be used for press purposes only, with complete credits as shown here.