We thought you might need a break from the reality in which Putin is nominated for Nobel Peace Prize and Madonna is turning to curating art on Twitter, so we brought you a list of events that guarantees an escape into the realms of underground, experimental and surreal, and of course some good old simple fun.

THURSDAY 10.10

19.00 Fock, Madam, Manna, Michael, Schmidt @ Künstlerhaus Bethanien

WHY: Because in this case more is more - this is a chance to be at five openings in the same place at a same time: solo exhibitions by Künstlerhaus Bethanien International Studio Programme residents Emmanuel Madan, Jumana Manna, Panayiotis Michael and Kevin Schmidt, plus a solo show by Carsten Fock. For those that need another extra reason to be there, Ellen Allien will be DJing from 22h on.
Künstlerhaus Bethanien / Kottbusser Strasse 10, 10999 Berlin, U Kottbusser Tor / show open through 03.11 / free entry / more info

FRIDAY 11.10

18.00 GL Brierley @ Feldbuschwiesner

WHY: In her oil paintings GL Brierley evolves surreal organic objects and achieves a unique fleshy quality with the paint. It appears almost alive as it congeals, wrinkles and alchemically reacts. Motifs such as lace, fur and icing-sugar become part of her multilayered compositions. The emerging figures float between abstract and figuration, seduction and repulsion.
Feldbuschwiesner / Linienstrasse 155, 10115 Berlin, S Oranienburger Strasse - U Oranenburger Tor - U Rosenthaler Platz / show open through 23.11 / free entry / more info

18.00 Other Shadows Embrace Mountains @ Grosser Wasserspeicher

WHY: Seven Berlin artists have joined forces to make a series of exhibitions underground in Berlin. ‘Underground’ taken in the broadest sense to mean the parts of the city that are invisible to everyday life; spaces that are disused or have never before been publicly accessible, allowing us to glimpse under the surface and behind the scenes of everyday life. 
Grosser Wasserspeicher / Belforter Str., Berlin 10405, U2 Senefelderplatz / show open through 17.11 / free entry / more info

19.00 Aesthetic Acrobatics @ Agora 

WHY: For the first issue of Aesthetic Acrobatics, five artists have been invited to do a one day pop up exhibition on the top floor of Agora. It will be the result of experimenting and re-thinking their practice through snap decisions, discussing ideas, exchanging anecdotes and establishing new terms to work with. The goal is to re-assess their habits and practice by creating short lived pieces based on experiment. This makes Aesthetic Acrobatics a metaphorical playground where unfamiliar working methods or peripheral ideas get a podium to be presented and addressed. 
Agora / Mittelweg 50, 12053 Berlin, U7 Karl-Marx-Strasse / free entry / more info

19.00 Nightlife Berlin - 1974 to today @ HAU2

WHY: Hebbel am Ufer is celebrating the new publication that documents the history of Berlin nightlife from 1974 to the present with two days of events - exclusive concerts, performances and DJ sets. “Berlin Nightlife” brings a wide variety of expressive forms on stage and highlights the importance of Berlin's nightlife as an engine of cultural production and as a source of inspiration. Moderated discussions will recall the anecdotes from the past and question the future of nightlife under the changing circumstances.'
HAU2 (Hebbel am Ufer) / Hallesches Ufer 32, 10963 Berlin, U1/U6 Hallesches Tor / more info

19.00 Mindscape #2: Home @ Staycation Museum

WHY:  "Mindscape #2: Home" is a collaborative effort combining video and musical performance. Lucia Kempkes and Brittany Gould play mediators between feelings of comfort and alienation. Utilizing video footage of a moving landscape coupled with textural sounds, melodies and voices, the artists create a conversation of what a home is. "These are not my things. This is not my room. This is not my house. This is not my city, but I am home." - many of us can easily relate to the issues explored in this exhibition. 
Staycation Museum / Weserstrasse 57, 10245 Berlin, U Rathaus Neukolln / free entry / more info

SATURDAY 12.10

19.00 Jutta Koether: Luise @ Praxes

WHY: Koether's second installment at PRAXES is centered on "Luise" (2013), a circular PVC shell embellished with metal hinges, fake gold, a knocked-over wine glass and with a large golden shell, emanating a pulsating light. "Luise" is a protagonist in the triptych exhibition structure at PRAXES – and the starting point of a speculative dossier.
On the following day at 17:00, Jenny Jaskey will give a talk about Jutta Koether's 'Mad Garland' series. It is followed by a conversation between Jutta Koether, Jenny Jaskey and PRAXES Directors Rhea Dall and Kristine Siegel. (more info)
Praxes / Alexandrinenstrasse 118-121, Berlin 10969, U Prinzenstrasse / free entry / more info