Berlin Native Pascal Johanssen founded Mitte’s Johanssen Gallery in May 2005 after working as a research fellow at the University of Arts.

Since its opening, the gallery has become an important exhibition space for illustration and contemporary graphics. It represents artists working between genres and exploring the “grey zones” that separate these genres.

Johanssen also organizes the ILLUSTRATIVE festival, a three-week forum for contemporary illustrated art, held each year in September.