Exhibition BERLIN SEX SPACES Coming November 2025

Elise Hanrahan is a PhD candidate in history at the Freie Universität Berlin where she is a recipient of a Cusanuswerk scholarship, entering her final year and under the advisorship of Prof. Martin Lücke. Her research focuses on early 20th century debates on sex work and its state-medical regulation, focusing on medical and early feminist perspectives. She has worked as a historian on projects such as Bodies Unbound, (funded by Europe Lab) where she collaborated with a poet and performance artist on the history of sex work and colonialism, and the exhibition With Legs Wide Open - A Whore’s Ride Through History at the Schwules Museum in Berlin. Elise worked for six years as a researcher at the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of the Humanities and Sciences, specializing in digital humanities and historical-critical editions. Her master’s degree was completed at the Freie Universität Berlin in Editionswissenschaft. Originally from the USA, her bachelor’s was earned from St. John's College Santa Fe in Liberal Arts, with a concentration on philosophy and the history of mathematics and science. Additionally Elise is an advocate for accessible child care in Berlin and the improved working conditions of child care workers; she founded the grassroots organization KitaKrise Berlin.

Lais Castro Reis, born and raised in Berlin, has studied art history and theater studies at Freie Universität Berlin and has worked as an art director, curator, and cultural worker for several years. She has organized exhibitions in various Berlin galleries and off-spaces, including "I Book You" (2018) at The Ballery art gallery and "Confusion" (2017) at Galerie 2OG Alte Münze. She also curated a photo exhibition for Stefan Schilling at the Urban Spree Kunstgalerie. In addition to her curatorial work, she is heavily involved in art education. She was responsible for art education for the exhibition Studio Berlin im Berghain (2021) and, while still a student, developed educational formats for the Berlin State Museums in the About the Museum project. She has also been working for the Berlinale for three years.

Lorraine Rumson worked for several years as an interpreter of public history in Canada, before immigrating to Berlin in 2018, where she is now active in researching sex and BDSM. In 2022 she developed and taught the highly successful seminar “Philosophy of the Bedroom: Cultural Studies and Sexuality” at the Freie Universität Berlin, and in 2024, developed the workshop “Kink Ethics” at Karada House. Her research on nineteenth-century sexuality has been featured in multiple articles, conference presentations, and a 2020 radio appearance in Canada called “Tacky and No Artistic Value: Victorian Porn.” In her free time, she organizes a cycle of monthly social events in Berlin with queer and sex-positive themes, such as a Sapphic reading circle; a polyamory book club; and a social meeting for women interested in dominant roles in BDSM. She has defended her PhD in English Philology in her final year at the Freie Universität Berlin, and her doctoral project, Victorian Jewish Medievalism.