“Berlin’s Local Creative Scene Urged to Champion Festival Celebrating the City’s Creativity”
Last autumn, the Berlin Senate awarded multinational media news brands Axel Springer and Penske Media millions in funding for planning and implementing a multi-day culture & technology festival modelled on SXSW to take place in Berlin.
After heavy public criticism, the Berlin senate withdrew the funding, and plans for the festival have been postponed until 2024.
Berlin’s local creative scene is the heart and soul of the city’s artistic expression. The talent, passion, and unique perspective of the people that live and work there make Berlin a vibrant hub of creativity that captivates the world. Therefore, it is only fitting that they should be entrusted with designing a festival that celebrates the city’s creative spirit.
Transnational media companies may have the resources to organise events on a large scale. Still, they cannot capture the essence of Berlin’s local culture like the artists, designers, musicians, and creators who live and breathe it daily.
As an association of different actors in the cultural and technology scene, the Berlin Club commission has gathered all interested people and organisations to discuss the necessity of such a festival and develop frameworks for festival planning.
The Berlin Club commission invites Berliners to share and discuss their ideas with the other participants at two town hall meetings and attend keynote speeches by experts and thematic inputs on the current planning state. The findings will be documented and made publicly available afterwards:
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Start at 8 pm, admission from 7:30 pm.
please note the location change to:
Betahaus Berlin,
Rudi-Dutsche Strasse 23
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Start 7 pm, admission from 6:30 pm
Säälchen Holzmarkt 25
Holzmarktstraße 25, 10243 Berlin
In addition, ClubComission has written an open letter. They will send this “letter of interest for a planned creative festival” to the Berlin Senate Department for Economy, Energy and Enterprises.
Empowering the local creative scene to lead the festival’s design ensures that it reflects the city’s authentic voice and showcases the diversity of talent that makes Berlin’s creative scene unique. Furthermore, entrusting the festival’s design to the local creative scene has a positive impact beyond the event itself. It strengthens the community’s sense of ownership and pride in their city’s cultural heritage, fosters collaboration among different artistic disciplines, and provides opportunities for emerging talent to showcase their work on a larger stage.
For a festival that genuinely celebrates Berlin’s creativity, we must look to those who embody it daily: the local creative scene. Their vision, passion, and artistic excellence make Berlin a global cultural capital, and they should lead the way in designing a festival that reflects the city’s true spirit.
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