WHO WE ARE
Paulina V. Ahlstrom
Director, Berlin
Contemporary Art is my forte and my passion: I grew up in New York and had the privilege of attending Wednesdays at the Met from an early age, Modern Mondays at the MoMA, and have spent countless afternoons at The Whitney - even while it was in its original Marcel Breuer home. Storytelling - and building unforgettable experiences - is what I live for. To share my passion for art, architecture, and design is my life’s mission. I long to arouse curiosity, foster understanding, and encourage critical thinking during and long after an encounter with an artwork, a moving image, or a structure.
I studied fine art at Pratt Institute and received a BFA in Film directing from the School of Visual Arts. I have completed graduate courses at NYU, Columbia University, Yale University, among others, and has worked for renowned art institutions such as Art21 (PBS), Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, and closely with conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner (1942-2021). Prior to moving to Berlin, I was curator of video art at Kunsthalle Detroit, Museum for Contemporary Light Art. In Berlin, I studied experimental media and performance art with Isabel Spengler at the University of the Arts (UdK, 2005).
Justin Polera
Art Tour Guide - Berlin
Justin is a Berlin-based art historian and researcher, currently advising the founder and owner of HUA International gallery. With a background in both art history and creative arts therapy, Justin helps shape the gallery's program by introducing new artists, curating group exhibitions, and developing growth strategies. In addition to his work at HUA, Justin is the founder of PS120, an independent non-profit art space in Berlin’s Schöneberg district.
His academic interests center on the artistic movements from the 1980s to today, with a particular focus on relational aesthetics and contemporary queer and transgender art, as well as performance art. His thesis, “The Performing Object,” which examined Felix Gonzalez-Torres' early works, reflects his deep commitment to understanding performative objects and their role in contemporary art. Originally from Chicago, Justin studied at the University of Illinois and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Arts Therapy from The New School in New York before completing his graduate studies at JFKI Freie Universität.
Paula Mangano
Art Tour Guide - Berlin
Filmmaker, storyteller, art lover. Based in Berlin, but having lived all around Europe, Paula has a decade of experience in the field of film directing, editing, production and event organization. She studied Film, Art and Theatre Studies at the University of Bologna and holds a Master's degree in Film and TV Directing from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. She fluently speaks English, Spanish, Italian, German, French, Czech and Croatian, which helps her connect with people from different cultures - on and off the tours.
She has worked in international contests, from editing documentaries for the Italian national broadcaster RAI and doing an internship in the Czech national Film Archive, to coproducing a short film between Croatia and the Czech Republic and shooting multilingual courses with foreign actors and a German crew. With a passion for documentaries, fiction, storytelling and art, she likes discovering new artists to immerse herself in their stories, their backgrounds, and the different meanings behind their work. Art tours Berlin has given her a platform through which she can share her passion, connect with people, and keep being inspired.
Art Tours Berlin was founded by art historians Constance van Berckel and Ariela Braunschweig in 2018 with the goal of making art more accessible to a wider audience. Today it is run by Paulina V. Ahlstrom with a team of international art historians, cultural liaisons, and exceptionally passionate storytellers.
