Every two years in summer, masses stream into the Mitte district of Berlin: The Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art opens its doors. How does the format of the Biennale work – and what possibilities does it offer us? Where and in what way do different social groups have a place? What does curating mean, what does (mediating) mean? Who feels addressed by contemporary art – and why?

In the project Berlin Biennale: von mir aus (for all I care), the focus is on local neighborhoods and young people curating their own exhibition. In artistic processes moderated by artists, a Berlin-wide biennial for young art is to be conceived in a participatory manner. The main focus is on artistic freedom, curating and the own expression of the children and young people involved. The joint project work showed that some groups could be better supported in their mobility and access by the existing structures than others.

The publication, published by NAIMA Editions, is in German. Read as PDF here, see also further possibilities on the right.

This raised questions for us about cultural canons and inequalities in the educational system. Who is in the centre, who in the periphery? Whose interpretation prevails? What about artistic networks in the various Berlin districts? And so, in the Berlin Biennale: art project, I inevitably demand that all those involved should engage with social phenomena – such as divisions and parallel living environments as well as unjust distributions of accesses and resources.

Wandering formats emerged, which through their mobility can fundamentally make it possible to pass on and translate contents and experiences – not only on these questions – into different constellations of the districts. In the first stage of the art project, the Biennale format more than 120 children and young people from all over Berlin (Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Lichtenberg, Mitte, Neukölln, Pankow, Treptow-Köpenick) researched in six content-related laboratories.

Artists of The Hub e. V.’s network and team members of the Berlin Biennale moderated the processes of the respective laboratories. Invited guests have been artists of the 10. Berlin Biennale: Johanna Unzueta, Lydia Hamann und Sara Haq.

In Lab 1, the first of the six labs that structured the Berlin Biennale: project, we focused on the 10th Berlin Biennale as a system. The focus was on the Biennale as a socio-economic mechanism and on fields of work in their context. Interviews were conducted here and many interactive tours and workshops took place in the exhibition rooms.

In Laboratory 2, we ourselves were at the centre as participating subjects. For this reason, we used biographical approaches to research aesthetic practices in relation to living environments, such as the project Fanzines – Song of Memory, but also the Cultural Tours through Lichtenberg.

In Labor 3, the focus was on our own artistic production, and a wide variety of work formats were created, ranging from power objects (Pankow district) to a neighbourhood shop (Neukölln district) to interactive games (in the exhibition Sei kein Egospieler!).

In Labor 4, a team of young people curated the exhibition Sei kein Egospieler! in the Projektraum – Kunstquartier Bethanien. In this context, young people from Neukölln and Kreuzberg conducted numerous interactive tours with visitors* from different generations.

In Laboratory 5, the experiences were jointly evaluated in order to develop the concept for a Biennale for Young Art 2020 in Laboratory 6 with a participatory, over-regional working group of young people. The following section presents a selection of projects that were implemented in the six laboratories.

The art project Berlin Biennale: von mir aus in six Berlin districts, initiated and conceived by Mona Jas for The Hub e. V. in cooperation with the Johann-Gottfried-Herder-Gymnasium, supported by the Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, is sponsored by the Berlin Project Fund for Cultural Education and supported by the Landesprogramm Kulturagenten für kreative Schulen Berlin.

Artistic directors:
Mona Jas (Overall Project), Alexia Manzano (Cooperation, Networks), Magdalena Beger (Project Development, Moderation), Maja-Lena Pastor (Project Development, Coordination)

Artistic Workshop Leaders:
Alexandre Bailly, Magdalena Beger, Daniela Bystron, Carsten Cremer, Anna Ehrenstein, Katya Elizarova, Lydia Hamann, Sara Haq, Ünal Iğde, Maria Janus, Mona Jas, Anton Kats, Alexandra Kersten, Seraphina Lenz, Ulrike Majewski, Alexia Manzano, Marisa Maza, Heiko-Thandeka Ncube, Maja-Lena pastor, Julie Peter, Gregor Pfeffer, Marlon Denzel van Rooyen, Julia Schramm, Victoria Tomaschko, Katja Ullmann, Johanna Unzueta, Sarah Wenzinger, Dasha Zorkina

Artistic Directors AG Young Art from Six Districts:
Asli Ceren, Emma Floßmann, Lucia Kolodziej, Kora Preißler, Imaya Ugwonno, Asya Yilmaz

Artistic advice:
Daniela Bystron and Sarah Wenzinger (dialogue tours), Seraphina Lenz (curating), Marisa Maza (exhibition, production, assembly)

Schools, preschools and youth facilities:
Albert-Schweitzer-Gymnasium Berlin (Neukölln)
Berlin Metropolitan School (center)
Carl-von-Linné School – Special School (Lichtenberg)
Carl von Ossietzky School (Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg)
Dathe Grammar School (Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg)
Evangelical Kita Sophien (center)
Heinz Brandt School (Pankow)
Johann-Gottfried-Herder-Gymnasium (Lichtenberg)
Kiezband in the Cosmos Quarter – WeTeK Berlin (Treptow-Köpenick)
Kita Kleine August Straße
Media Floor Treptow – Media Competence Center Treptow-Köpenick WeTeK Berlin (Treptow-Köpenick)
TUBE Youth Club (Lichtenberg)

Art and cultural institutions:
Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art
Children’s studio Farbklang
Project Space – Art Quarter Bethanien
Weinmeisterhaus
Young Arts Neukölln/Jugendkunstschule
&
weißensee art academy berlin