BLACK IN BERLIN, a bracing photography portrait project from the visionary mind of Berlin-based photographer Yero Adugna Eticha, who invites us with his lens into the hidden lives of 500+ Black Berliners who define and expand the notions of what being Black in the global diaspora means. Moderator George McCalman speaks with Eticha and choreographer Nkechi Njaka to deconstruct the origin lines of the project along with the lessons gained along the path.
Yero Adugna Eticha is an Ethiopian-born, Berlin based photographer whose portrait project BLACK IN BERLIN captures the stories, perspectives, and visions of Afro- and Black Germans in Berlin.
George McCalman is an artist, creative director and Co-Principal of McCalman Co.
Nkechi Njaka is a neuroscientist, choreographer and meditation guide based in San Francisco.
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About the Exhibition
Presented by the Goethe-Institut San Francisco in tandem with the Museum of African Diaspora’s Nexus: SF/Bay Area Black Art Week
BLACK IN BERLIN is a portrait-based photography project that emerged in the aftermath of Berlin’s silent Black Lives Matter demonstration in 2020. Through more than 590 black-and-white portraits, created over several years in his Berlin studio, Eticha constructs what he describes as a “portrait cosmos”: a space for intimate, collaborative image-making that resists reductive representation. In doing so, Eticha has created an evolving archive—at once a tool for self-reflection and a quiet, powerful gesture toward collective self-definition.
Exclusive Artist Tour with Yero Adugna Eticha: Thursday October 2, 5 - 6 PM
RSVP here: Artist Tour of BLACK IN BERLIN Tickets, Thu, Oct 2, 2025 at 5:00 PM | Eventbrite
Exhibition dates: October 1, 2025 – February 27, 2026
Viewing Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am – 4pm and by appointment.
Closed for October 3, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day
For more information, please contact culture-sanfrancisco@goethe.de
Images courtesy of Yero Adugna Eticha
