WHO ARE WE?

We are a voluntary association of independent artists, curators, cultural mediators and their allies.

The interdisciplinary coalition of Berlin’s independent scene was founded in March 2012 to draw attention to the blatant misguided developments in Berlin’s cultural budget and to develop ideas for a new cultural policy.

The arts in their diversity and interplay make Berlin attractive and are a decisive economic and tourism factor – but art is not just an image tool.
The Coalition of the Independent Arts Community opposes a policy that increasingly abandons art and culture to exploitation pressures, thereby damaging the autonomy of art and marginalizing its social significance.

We are politically independent, international and open to all people, but we do not tolerate discriminatory and inhuman attitudes.
We reject cultural and scientific boycotts, as they undermine the spirit of open, cross-border exchange and cooperation that are the basis of art, culture and science.
We stand for unity in diversity and see ourselves as a learning network on the way to anti-discriminatory, low-barrier and sustainable spaces and structures.

WHAT DO WE DO?

We represent the interdisciplinary cultural policy interests of the independent scene in Berlin.
To this end, we exchange ideas with associations, networks, initiatives, groups and individuals in the independent scene and formulate cultural policy demands.

Our work is coordinated by the Speakers’ Circle (SK).
It is made up of representatives of the sector associations and non-association representatives.

The SK drafts and publishes the demands of the independent performing arts community and represents them to the Senate Department for Culture and the democratic parties in the House of Representatives.

There are also working groups (AGs) that work on individual topics.
The working groups also work exclusively on interdisciplinary goals for the entire independent scene.

HOW CAN YOU JOIN US?

Everyone who feels part of the independent scene is invited to join us.

We organize a plenum four times a year to which the entire independent scene is invited.
Here, the SK reports on its current work, votes on important decisions and takes up ideas and demands from the scene.

Anyone can stand for election to the SC at the plenum as a person independent of an association.
In addition, anyone can participate in our working groups, even without being a member of the SK.

WHAT IS THE INDEPENDENT SCENE?

Independent performing artists are all artists, ensembles, institutions and structures in Berlin that are independent and independent in all areas, including visual arts, dance, drama, performance, new media, music, music theater, children’s and youth theater, literature and all transdisciplinary formats.

Artists in the independent performing arts community work independently in terms of content, method and structure, and are self-determined and self-organized.
Their work is not market-oriented or commercial and they are not predominantly employed on a permanent basis.
They are independent of institutional and municipal facilities.
Their art is created in changing locations and in different constellations.
Their art is created free of economic exploitation constraints and free of content-related and structural guidelines.

WHAT DO WE NOT DO?

We do not provide advice or assistance with project applications or project management.
The Consultation Center for Cultural and Creative Professionals and Creative City Berlin can help with this.

We do not support individual projects, individual artists or particular interests.
There are sectoral associations in Berlin for sector-specific interests.

We do not support commercial interests or the interests of the creative industries.