Médecins Sans Frontières present Humans in Transit

As part of Berlin Art Week (BAW) 2025, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) present an exhibition at our Niemetzstraße location in September. We invite you to a special opening event on Friday 12th September, where some of the participating artists will also be present.

Humans In Transit: Stories of refugees in Libya and on the Mediterranean Sea (2015-2025).

Between 10th-19th September, the exhibition presents faces and voices of 400 people whose lives have been indelibly marked by their experiences searching for a safe life. Their stories have been selected from several of testimonies shared by refugees with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) over the past decade. Many were speaking from Libya. Others shared their stories aboard search and rescue vessels on the Mediterranean Sea, after being rescued from boats in distress as they attempted the perilous crossing to Europe. To protect their identities, refugees’ names and personal details have been omitted, but their stories (which have been edited for clarity) speak for themselves. There will also be six videos of seven testimonies, made by filmmakers and actors also from migrant or refugee backgrounds, shown in the exhibition.

The 400 portraits in this exhibition have been created by four artists, who were inspired to put a face to every story. These images bring alive the faceless statistics of individuals who have endured physical abuse, kidnapping and sexual violence in their search for refuge, and pay tribute to their resilience and enduring human spirit. Every face and story represents a human being deserving of compassion and safety.

For this exhibition, refugees have been active contributors to the storytelling process. All of the artists, filmmakers and actors involved in the project themselves come from refugee or migrant backgrounds. Their shared experiences have helped create a mosaic of stories by refugees, for refugees, that can speak to everyone. This is a collective act of storytelling – a reclamation of ownership over how stories are shared and preserved.

Priscilla Osegie, Nigerian actress, shares the story of a Nigerian woman rescued in the Mediterranean

The exhibition will be hosted this September at Niemetzstraße 1, opening times are at the bottom of this article. This is free to attend.

A special opening event will take place on Friday 12th September from 18:00-22:00, please come by and have a drink with us.

A digital version, including audio, video, illustrations, and text, is also available for online sharing via MSF and partner platforms.

8 years old | Male | Syria Search and rescue boat, December 2016.

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Opening Times:

Wed 10th Sept (10:00-22:00) Thu 11th Sept (10:00-18:00) Fri 12th Sept (10:00-22:00) Sat 13th Sept (12:00-20:00) Sun 14th Sept (12:00-20:00) Mon 15th Sept (12:00-18:00) Tue 16th Sept (12:00-18:00) Wed 17th Sept (12:00-18:00) Thu 18th Sept (12:00-18:00) Fri 19th Sept (12:00-18:00)