Tolia Curriculum
Kristian Vistrup Madsen, The Heart is a Pump
Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 7 to 9.30 pm

Kristian Vistrup Madsen presents writing from The Heart is a Pump, an exhibition project named after a poem by Bob Flanagan. Unfolding across three chapters with film screenings and conversations at Between Bridges in Berlin, the project explores motifs of pain, repetition, and submission in Christian iconography and beyond.

Kristian Vistrup Madsen (b. 1991, Copenhagen, Denmark) is a writer, art critic, and curator based in Berlin. His writing on art has been published internationally in magazines and by institutions. In 2025, he curated Mood Curriculum, a series of podcasts and events at Simian in Copenhagen that built on his essay “Mood over Content” (Kunstkritikk, 2024), which considered Tolia Astakhishvili’s work within a turn toward less alienated, more atmospheric practices in contemporary art.

The event will be conducted in English.

Tolia Curriculum is a project conceived by Georgian artist Tolia Astakhishvili, unfolding as a daily schedule of workshops, lectures, screenings, readings, and participatory formats for children and adults. In the lead-up to Figure of the Child, her largest exhibition to date, Astakhishvili opens her production and installation process to the public as she develops her work in situ.

Program Overview

Image
Tolia Astakhishvili, Tolia Curriculum, 2026, courtesy of the artist