Nicholé Velásquez, flâneur, Can Lis at night, 2024
Nicholé Velásquez (b. 1986, New York; lives and works in Berlin) brings a curatorial practice shaped by dialogue, intergenerational encounter, exchange and feminist programming into UTOPIENALE V, 2026. For UTOPIENALE V, with Natur, Kultur and Bildung framing the gathering over several days, a planned exhibition in Berlin activates a field of encounters where ideas and presentations mark curating as a way of making connections across generations, experiences and social contexts.
Introduced to art by Rika Burnham at the Met and later developed as a visual artist and curator in Berlin, Velásquez has built a practice that bridges artistic production, mentorship experience and public-facing curatorial work. From 2017-2020, he worked with Jill Bumiller of the Bumiller Collection, bringing together a historic collection into dialogue with Afghan war rugs. In 2023, he pioneered the first curatorial fellowship at Otte1, focusing on feminist programming with intergenerational conversations; notably inviting Astrid Proll to share her journey in art after incarceration in 1970s West Germany. In 2024, he worked for Richard Villani to produce the Tom of Finland Foundation’s 40th anniversary exhibition at Halle am Berghain, bringing together hundreds of positions in contemporary art-making with an artwork from the archive of Tom. His wider practice, including work with Queer Art Bridges and other Berlin-based initiatives, reflects a sustained commitment to artist-led discourse and public engagement.
In Berlin, UTOPIENALE V becomes not only an exhibition but also a platform for thinking through how a current generation of artists respond to the pressures and possibilities of contemporary cultural life. Through this curatorial lens, Velásquez invites audiences to consider how Natur, Kultur and Bildung intersect as lived, artistic and political realities.
Nicholé Velásquez, flâneur (a man who saunters around observing society)
