Is an independent arts/project space based in Berlin that centers the importance of mental health. 

It aims to create a safer space of empowerment, mutual support and networking for artists, curators and cultural workers, especially those from BIPoC* (Black people, Indigenous people and People of Color) communities.

By centering mental health, awareness and mindfulness, the goal is to accessibly share strategies and resources with those affected by racism, transphobia, homophobia and other forms of discrimination.

MHAS Berlin does not offer legal advice or help, but it can provide links to legal practitioners and resources in Berlin and beyond. 

Similarly, it does not offer any psychotherapeutic, psychiatric or otherwise medical treatment or assistance, but it can redirect interested parties to organizations in Berlin and beyond that provide these services.

It is a non-profit organization that centers the mental health, well-being, experiences, knowledge, histories, narratives and archives of Black people, Indigenous people and People of Color, as well as other migrant and marginalized groups.

Through workshops, conversations, reading group sessions, film screenings, podcasts, artist talks and other artistic and discursive program formats, MHAS Berlin aims to strengthen connections, build community spirit and share knowledge among under-represented and marginalized artists and cultural workers.

MHAS Berlin’s founder, Kathy-Ann Tan, is a Berlin-based independent curator, writer and scholar. 

She is interested in alternative models of art dissemination, exhibition-making and institution-building that are attuned to issues of social- and transformative justice. Her practice is informed by a desire to create accessible spaces and formats of conversation and discussion outside of academia. She works tirelessly to support queer and BIPoC artists and cultural practitioners in Berlin and beyond by putting decolonial and intersectional feminist theory into practice. MHAS Berlin is the culmination of years of conversations and sharing, and emerges from the belief that addressing mental health issues within the arts and culture should be a priority and not a luxury.

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare.”

Audre Lorde