Screening: Jasco Viefhues – Rescue the Fire | Biennale Matter of Art 2026

🎥 **Join us for a screening of the biographical film Rettet das Feuer (Rescue the Fire)**about the German photographer Jürgen Baldiga, who documented West Berlin's queer subcultures in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis.

🗣️ The screening will be followed by a lecture from Ben Miller on Jürgen Baldiga and the dangers of a single narrative regarding HIV/AIDS art.

📍Location: Goethe-Institut, Prague

🖼️ A selection of photographs by Jürgen Baldiga (1959–1993) is on display at the Biennale at the Trade Fair Palace until September 13, 2026. In close dialogue with the exhibited works, we also present the series Warmth That Only Fire Can Give – A Portrait Series by his friend Aron Neubert, who documented Baldiga in the final years of his life.

🌐 Language Accessibility: English, German

🎟️ Free Entry
ℹ️ More Info

🎬 Synopsis:
Berlin, 1993. Photographer and artist Jürgen Baldiga battles HIV. The AIDS epidemic reached its peak in the 1990s, leaving many unprepared. The stories of infected individuals fade, erasing their existence. Through the loss of friends and ultimately his own, Baldiga becomes a chronicler of his time: “I am taking a picture. I photograph the world. I exist.” Identity and history vanish without the persistence of memory. Until his final days, Jürgen documents the exodus that enveloped him. Rettet das Feuer (Rescue the Fire) sheds light on a piece of West Berlin's history and the voices of collective memory.