This article first appeared in our limited-edition anniversary publication, 15 YEARS BERLIN ART WEEK.
Oh Berlin, you were so poor, so poor, but so sexy. When the city’s then Governing Mayor, Klaus Wowereit, coined his now legendary phrase in 2003, Berlin’s cultural landscape was in full bloom. Vacant buildings, affordable rents, opaque bureaucracy, and the progressive subculture that emerged from these factors had turned post-reunification Berlin into a magnet for artists from around the world. There was enough space—for everyone. True, the city lacked affluent collectors. But gallery representation in other cities and participation in art fairs—including those in Berlin—made up for that shortcoming. Before long, Berlin had become one of the world’s leading centres for the production of contemporary art. Providing a shared platform for the people who make up that ecosystem was one of Berlin Art Week’s founding aims. How well it can continue to do so, however, depends on the conditions under which they work.
As recently as June 2026, a study by the Institute for Research on Cultural Participation (IKTf) confirmed the economic importance of culture for the city. The bbk berlin (Professional Association of Visual Artists Berlin) likewise argues that the whole of Berlin benefits from the arts: »Art creates a space for discourse, encounter, expression and exchange. It is also an economic driver and attracts millions of visitors.« Yet shifting political priorities and their consequences pose an increasing challenge to the independent scene and its creators: »With every workspace and production facility that is lost, and with every funding cut, Berlin loses a part of its cultural substance. Anyone who wants to preserve Berlin as a cultural centre must now ensure that artists can continue to live and produce in this city in the long term,« says the association’s spokesperson, Justina Los.
Alongside the major institutions, the independent scene has always been an integral part of Berlin Art Week. As early as 2013, a jury selected artistic project spaces and initiatives to take part. Until 2023, Berlin Art Week also hosted the Project Space Award, presented by the Senate Department for Culture. This too has since been discontinued.
»Over the past fifteen years, Berlin has changed dramatically as a location for artistic work«, says Stephanie Kloss, who ran the project space Die Möglichkeit einer Insel until a few weeks ago. It took part in the ›Featured‹ section of Berlin Art Week in 2025. »Studio rents—that is, the places where art is produced—are no longer affordable. In fact, there are hardly any spaces left at all, and artists are being pushed to the city’s outskirts. There is a stark, even perverse, discrepancy between the vacant high-end office space and the lack of affordable premises in the city centre that young practitioners could use for project spaces. The scene is suffering from the loss of funding structures at both federal and state level, while the gallery landscape has also changed dramatically. It’s the mid-sized galleries, the backbone of the scene, that are disappearing.«
15 YEARS BERLIN ART WEEK
To mark its 15th anniversary, a limited-edition booklet looks back at the past, present and future of Berlin Art Week. Across 128 pages, the publication brings together essays, interviews and photo features that trace the evolution of the past 15 years while also examining the current state and future prospects of Berlin as a city of art. More than 50 voices from across Berlin’s art scene share their perspectives.