BERLIN, GERMANY.-Following the phenomenal success last year of its first edition, the second BERLINER KUNSTALON will be held in the Autumn of 2005. It will include 42 exhibitions as well as 2 special shows curated by Asim Chugthai and Spunk Seipel, illustrating why Berlin's international reputation as a dynamic centre for the arts is well deserved. From September 30 - October 6 in the MAGAZIN (former bus mechanic hall) of the "arena" on Berlin's waterfront.

Spread over 3900 square metres, galleries, artists' networks, art spaces, freelance curators and other projects will present recent works by contemporary artists, beyond the mainstream, not dictated by commercial constraints. The BERLINER KUNSTSALON was conceived as a complementary programme to the Kunstherbst Berlin (Art Autumn), providing a forum for discussion and contacts. Visitors are provided with glimpses into the independent art scene in a way that is not available anywhere else. "Our priority is, this time around, to show the extent to which the Berlin art scene is part of networks and, indeed, influences people and institutions beyond the city" said Edmund Piper, the director of the BERLINER KUNSTSALON. "That's why, this time around, we've invited exhibitors from further afield, such as those from Hamburg, Erfurt, Dusseldorf, Munich, Karlsruhe, Paris, Jena, Poznan, Liverpool, Bregenz, Vilnius and Ptuj to participate in this year's event. A promising programme of lectures and video presentations will complement the exhibitions, contextualising them and offering visitors the opportunity to approach not only the works on show but also the ideas therein from a number of different perspectives.

Two international curators who are functioning as additional artistic advisors to the second BERLINER KUNSTSALON are Asim Chughai and Spunk Seipel.

The 1st BERLINER KUNSTSALON in 2004 was initiated by Edmund Piper, its artistic director. He does not, by any means, see this event as competing with the art fairs ART FORUM BERLIN, Preview Berlin and Berliner Liste, which are held at the same time of year. On the contrary, it provides another perspective of the current realities of the art scene in Berlin today. The realisation of this idea is process-orientated and in co-operation with the venue, "arena Berlin" (http://www.arena-berlin.de).