The winter school in Berlin, held from December 5-11, 2023, was dedicated to the right to the city and public space. The international group of 15 multidisciplinary professionals from Georgia, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine got to know the best practices of how various bottom-up initiatives, organizations, and activists reclaim public spaces in Berlin.
Berlin is undergoing many changes and coming under pressure with its shrinking common creative places, becoming less affordable, facing gentrification, touristification, and commercialization. However, there have been various strategies for reclaiming public spaces and working with the current socio-political challenges. During the program, the group learned more about specific positions, approaches, and strategies related to common urban spaces. Who owns the city? How can residents and local administration work together? Where is the border between private and public? How can different design and art strategies be used in the public space? Different forms of sharing, participation, and collaboration were discussed.
Highlights:
Walking tour “Europacity – public or private?” with Nora Spiekermann and Giacomo Marinsalta, Offener Kanal Europa
Workshop with Fem_arc collective
Visit of Prinzessinnengarten Collective in Neukölln
Visit: Haus der Statistik
Brachland: Audio walk about empty spaces in Weißensee
Visit of C*SPACE & KIEZ:MOBIL Project
Studio visit of Guerilla Architects
Visit: Refugio Berlin
The project was realized in collaboration with Cultprojector (UKR), Wrocław Institute of Culture (POL), and Tbilisi Architecture Biennial (GE), funded by the Federal Foreign Office in the framework of the Eastern Partnership program.
Pictures: Katya Romanova
