Frances Breden is a curator and artist based in Berlin. With a queer-feminist approach, Breden uses the exhibition of art in public institutions as a site of political struggle, an opportunity to challenge dominant state narratives, and a space to uncover and emotionally process political violence. Intersectional accessibility and working collectively are also central concerns of Breden's practice. For 2026/2027 she is a curatorial fellow at the Akademie Schloss Solitude Stuttgart.
From 2024-2026 Breden was curatorial lead of the municipal gallery Galerie im Turm Berlin. One topic of her work there was a critical engagement with New Age magic, esotericism, and the figure of the witch in queer feminist online discourse and contemporary art. These concerns are explored in the group exhibitions HOLE*Y MAGIC (2025) and COSMIC GIRLBOSS (2026), both curated by Breden. Her event series Cosmic Counterreadings there brought together artists, magical practitioners, and historians of art and religion, and will result in a publication in 2026.
At the Galerie im Turm, Breden also curated the exhibition Hoffnung أمل by Jamila Barakat (2025, publication forthcoming) which proposed hope as an act of defiance. Forensis e.V. presented their work there on police brutality at demonstrations in Berlin for the first time. She also curated the exhibition Clouddomination by Arvin Arta and short film screening Eternal War Egirl Psyop (Galerie im Turm, 2026) which examined the digital-military-industrial complex in the German context.
She collaborates with artists to develop accessible film screenings, radio broadcasts, and presentation formats. These include Between Memory and Hope – The Sign Language of Kafr Qasim by Meyad Sarsour Ndaye (Weltoffenes Berlin, 2025), Mixed Feelings with Saverio Cantoni and Dana Cermane (Refuge Worldwide, 2024), and PRESENTS with RA Walden at (HAU Berlin, 2023). She has advised on the topic of accessibility for artists in residency contexts for Video Club UK, University of Atypical Belfast, and Sikås Art Center Sweden.
She is a member of the collectives COVEN BERLIN, Sickness Affinity Group, Complainers and Killjoys, and Gruppe Wissenslücke/(un)learning group. She sees art mediation as a critical part of curating and led the arts Education and outreach at the nGbK in Berlin in 2020 with the programme Making Queer.
She studied Interactive Art and Technology at Simon Fraser University (2017) in her hometown of Vancouver, Canada before moving to Berlin, Germany, where she studied Art in Context at Berlin University of the Arts (2024).
Feel invited to reach out at franni.breden@proton.me 🫧.
Image - Dani Hasrouni