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B.A.L.L. - Bundesweites Artist Labor der Labore

Independent performing arts in dialogue
October 14 + 15, 2022, Haus der Berliner Festspiele

With the B.A.L.L. – Bundesweites Artist Labor der Labore, the Fonds Darstellende Künste initiated an open and performative dialogue format and enabled a nationwide 360-degree view of the independently producing arts. The two-day event at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele focused on the present and future of the independent performing arts from the perspective of the artists. What are the concerns of the independent performing arts during and after the crises? How have working methods changed, what meaningful changes are still to come? What changes in content and aesthetics can be noted and foreseen? Will consequences in relation to the public be mapped?

Introductory lectures, hands-on workshops, in-depth talks on the streaming stage, heated debates in thematic working groups, collective zine-making, and urban experimentation in public spaces all addressed a wide range of issues – from aspects of sustainability, ecology and digitality, intersectional considerations of diversity to new forms of networking and collaboration. For a deeper dive, you can read the detailed program as well as the welcoming address by the Minister of State for Culture and Media Claudia Roth, Member of the Bundestag.

On Demand: B.A.L.L. - Bundesweites Artist Labor der Labore

The event at the Haus der Berliner Festpsiele was extensively documented. We have video recordings of the program contributions, photos from the event, articles and reports by the cultural journalists Sebastian Köthe and Elisabeth Wellershaus as well as podcasts by Anna-Lena Wenzel and Julia Bonn for you to listen, watch and read.

  • Videos

    Dr. Sibylle Peters opened the two-day event with her keynote speech "The Right to Research". This and many other contributions from the stage of the Berliner Festspiele are available to watch here.

  • Picture shows a group of people sitting at a table talking at the event © Dorothea Tuch

    Magazine

    The cultural journalists Sebastian Köthe and Elisabeth Wellershaus report on the Bundesweite Artist Labs and on B.A.L.L. itself in articles and reports.

  • Podcast

    Anna Lena Wenzel and Julia Bonn have recorded their impressions and conversations during their visit to the "B.A.L.L. - Bundesweites Artist Labor der Labore" in two podcasts – you can listen to them here:

To read: Articles on the B.A.L.L.

  • The picture shows four people sitting next to each other on stage. They are discussing with each other as part of a panel discussion. © Dorothea Tuch

    In Search of Connectedness

    How have aesthetic perspectives and production structures shifted since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic? How are artists in the independent scene reacting to a time of overlapping crises? Answers and many new questions came together at the performing arts’ B.A.L.L., the Bundesweites Artist Labor der Labore.

  • A group of people stand lined up around a large work table with documents and colored pieces of paper at the zine workshop. One of them reaches for a sheet. © Dorothea Tuch

    It's so good to see you

    Vera Klocke visited the "B.A.L.L. - Bundesweites Artist Labor der Labore" at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and summarized her impressions about two days full of moments of coming together and exchange.

  • A group of people sits between exhibition walls with posters and graphics and discuss with each other. © Dorothea Tuch

    Redistribution of labor – the theater and its allies

    A look back at the work of the Bundesweiten Artist Labs and the program of the B.A.L.L. - Bundesweites Artist Labor der Labore – and at an event in which the diversity of the independent scene flashed in all corners and niches from the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

Impressions

The picture shows the managing director of the Fund, Holger Bergmann, and the artistic director of the Berliner Festpsiele, Matthias Pees, in front of a screen on stage as they welcome the audience in the hall. © Dorothea Tuch
The picture shows Ogutu Muraya standing at the lectern. He gives his impulse speech in front of the audience. © Dorothea Tuch
Picture shows a group of people sitting at a table talking at the event © Dorothea Tuch
The picture shows the artist and scientist Sibylle Peters. Standing at the lectern, she gives her keynote speech to the audience in the hall. © Dorothea Tuch
The picture shows four people sitting next to each other on stage. They are discussing with each other as part of a panel discussion. © Dorothea Tuch
Many people sit cross-legged during a workshop in a circle around choreographer Ben J. Riepe. © Dorothea Tuch
The artist Jörg Albrecht stands at the lectern and gives his impulse talk on stage. Behind him is a black screen on which the words "this is how i feel" are projected. © Dorothea Tuch
On a lawn covered with autumn leaves, about 20 people sit in a circle and listen to a speaker who holds an open tablet in one hand. Three people stand listening at the edge. © Dorothea Tuch
A group of people stand lined up around a large work table with documents and colored pieces of paper at the zine workshop. One of them reaches for a sheet. © Dorothea Tuch
Three people are sitting on the large stage of the Berliner Festspiele for a panel discussion. Between them are two monitors, via which two guests from outside are digitally connected. Above their heads is a banner with the inscription: "The market doesn't regulate it". © Dorothea Tuch
The picture shows the rows of seats in the hall of the Berliner Festspiele and people on the move. © Dorothea Tuch
In the evening in front of the Berlin Festspiele groups of people stand engrossed in conversation. © Dorothea Tuch

Around 30 artist labs in the Labor der Labore

The 30 Bundesweiten Artist Labs were also presented in the performative exhibition set-up. Between June and August 2022, artists and creative professionals from all over Germany entered into an exchange on self-selected topics in the fields of artistic production, aesthetics and audience generation. Their questions and conversations formed the framework and starting point of the event.

A deeper insight into the still growing online archive of the documentation of the Bundesweite Artist Labs can be found here:

An event of the Fonds Darstellende Künste in cooperation with the Berliner Festspiele and the 30 Bundesweiten Artist Labs. Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media within the framework of NEUSTART KULTUR.

Program: Felizitas Stilleke, Steffen Klewar, Marie Deuflhard Set Design: Philine Rinnert, Ola Korbanska Production Management: Sabine Seifert, Melanie Klimmer Technical Management: Falco Ewald Editing: Sebastian Köthe, Elisabeth Wellershaus Film: Medea Film Factory GmbH, Janina Möbius Podcasts: Julia Bonn & Anna-Lena Wenzel Graphics: Engenhart ° Design Studio

Market for Useful Knowledge and Non-Knowledge. License No. 11. End of repetition // Mobile Akademie Berlin

On the evening of October 14, 2022, the program of the "B.A.L.L. - Bundesweites Artist Labor der Labore" opened for the "Market for Useful Knowledge and Non-Knowledge (License No. 11)" of the Mobile Akademie Berlin. In an arena, following the rhythm of administrative time, 100 experts from art, activism, theory and the most diverse everyday life presented their expertise for and against the repetitive. Which routines are finally suspended, differently charged or rehearsed? Is everything already there and are we just repeating the wrong thing?

More than 650 visitors sat in the arena and listened to the talks or sought direct dialogue with the experts in bookable individual discussions.

Please find below an overview of the topics and experts at the "Market for Useful Knowledge and Non-Knowledge. End of Repetition".

In the darkened stage area, people sit at around 50 tables, two by two, engrossed in conversation. Above each table, a dimly lit bulb provides light in the dark. © Dorothea Tuch
Two people are sitting opposite each other at a table with the number 36 for a conversation. © Dorothea Tuch
Two people are sitting opposite each other at a table with the number 18 for a conversation. © Dorothea Tuch
A group of people study the program of the market on large leaflets in the foyer of the Festpsiele. © Dorothea Tuch
People are seated in pairs at around 50 symmetrically arranged tables in the stage area of the Berlin Festpsiele. A guest attendant holds up a large sign that reads "Expert Change: Kanal 8, Stefan Kaegi". © Dorothea Tuch
Two people in conversation at tables on the stage of the festival. In the background, a screen shows the faces of two participants in the conversation. © Dorothea Tuch
At a table, two people sit opposite each other for a conversation. A sign between them identifies the table as number 33. In the background, other table conversations can be seen out of focus. © Dorothea Tuch
People line up in the foyer of the Berliner Festpiele at the market's headphone counter. An illuminated sign reading "MARKET RADIO" is emblazoned above their heads. © Dorothea Tuch

A project of the Mobile Akademie Berlin, organized by the Fonds Darstellende Künste within the framework of "Bundesweites Artist Labor der Labore" in cooperation with the Berliner Festspiele. Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of NEUSTART KULTUR.

Licensee: Fonds Darstellende Künste Licensor: Hannah Hurtzig Curator: Florian Malzacher Dramaturgy, Research: Cory Tamler Advisory Board: Alexander Karschnia, Necati Öziri, Promona Sengupta Production Management: Peer Stark Technical Direction: Falco Ewald

With:

Fatuma Musa Afrah, Frauen- & Menschenrechtsaktivistin & Gründerin United Actions Women & Girls e.V.

Mohammad Al Attar, Dramatiker & Theatermacher

Neta Alexander, Film- & Medientheoretikerin

Fikri Anıl Altıntaş, Autor, #HeForShe Botschafter / UN Women Deutschland

Ulf Aminde, Künstler / weißensee kunsthochschule berlin

Robin Arthur, Theatermacher / Forced Entertainment

Biplab Basu, Aktivist / Kampagne für Opfer rassistischer Polizeigewalt (KOP) & ReachOut Berlin

Burkhard Blienert, Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Sucht- und Drogenfragen

Boris Buden, Philosoph & Autor

Jörg Buttgereit, Regisseur & Autor

Hamze Bytyci, Kurator, Aktivist & Gründer RomaTrial e.V

Miguel Canal, Medienkünstler & Pilzforscher

Stefanie Carp, Dramaturgin & Festivalmacherin

Vasyl Cherepanyn, Kulturwissenschaftler & Kurator / Visual Culture Research Center, Kyiv

Andrei Chitu, ehem. Social Media Streetworker

Radha D’Souza, Rechtswissenschaftlerin & Anwältin

Timo Daum, Kapitalismus-Kritiker & Sachbuchautor

Pablo Ruiz de Olano, Wissenschaftstheoretiker / Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte (MPIWG)

Dennis Deep, Sex-Worker

Viviana Druga, Künstlerin & Tarot-Leserin / Tarot de Berlin

Isa Edelhoff, Referentin für Theater & Tanz / Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur & Medien

Patrick Eiden-Offe, Literatur- & Kulturwissenschaftler

Holger Eisele, Festkörperphysiker / Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg

Ruby Eshun, Researcherin

Caitlin Fisher, ehem. professionelle Fußballspielerin, Aktivistin & Künstlerin

Christian Fritzenwanker, Beauty Experte

Ivo Garbe, Gewerkschaftssekretär, Landesfachbereich Gesundheit, Soziale Dienste, Bildung & Wissenschaft Berlin-Brandenburg / ver.di

Núria Muñoz Garganté, Wissenschaftshistorikerin / Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte (MPIWG)

Alexis Goertz, Gründerin Edible Alchemy

Dominique Haensell, Chefredakteurin / Missy Magazine

Alexandra Heimes, Literatur- & Kulturwissenschaftlerin / Leibniz-Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung (ZfL)

Nele Hertling, Direktorin der Sektion Darstellende Kunst / Akademie der Künste, Berlin

Max Jorge Hinderer Cruz, Künstlerischer Leiter / Akademie der Künste der Welt, Köln

Torsten Holzapfel, Schauspieler / Theater Thikwa

Heinrich Horwitz, Regisseur*in, Choreograf*in & Performer*in

Stefan Kaegi, Theatermacher / Rimini Protokoll

Joy Kristin Kalu, Theaterwissenschaftlerin & Kuratorin

Alexander Karschnia, Theatermacher & Autor / andcompany&Co.

Natasha A. Kelly, Autorin & Regisseurin (Film & Theater)

Susanne Kennedy, Theaterregisseurin

Mina Khani, Autorin & Feministin

Anastasiia Kosodii, Dramatikerin & Regisseurin

Prem Krishnamurthy, Gestalter, Autor & Lehrender

Thomas Kuczynski, Wirtschaftshistoriker & Marx-Herausgeber

Şeyda Kurt, Journalist*in

Joanna Kusiak, Soziologin / Initiative Deutsche Wohnen enteignen

Jürgen Kuttner, Radiomoderator & Theaterregisseur

Britta Lange, Kulturwissenschaftlerin / Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

Julio Linares, Ökonomischer Anthropologe / Circles UBI & Basic Income Earth Network

Hannah Marc, Illustratorin

Oliver Marchart, Politologe / Universität Wien

Luise Meier, Philosophin, Performerin & Aktivistin

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Künstlerin & Roma*-Aktivistin

Daniel Moldoveanu, Künstler & Essayist

Christian Morin, Konzertagent / Headquarter

Alia Mossallam, Kulturhistorikerin & Autorin / Forum Transregionale Studien e.V.

Rabih Mroué, Theatermacher & Künstler

Bodo Mrozek, Historiker / Berliner Kolleg Kalter Krieg, Institut für Zeitgeschichte München-Berlin

Maria Muhle, Philosophin / Akademie der Bildenden Künste München

Christ Mukenge & Lydia Schellhammer, Künstler*innen

Tobi Müller, Journalist

Ogutu Muraya, Künstler & Geschichtenerzähler

Lucía Muriel, Trauma-Therapeutin & Leiterin Klima Dekolonial & solidarisch / glokal e.V.

Anna Muzyka, Journalistin & PR-Managerin

Camila Nobrega, Journalistin & Aktivistin / Beyond the Green

Ahmet Öğüt, Künstler

Franca Parianen, Neurowissenschaftlerin & Autorin

Matthias Pees, Intendant / Berliner Festspiele

Michael Philipp, Historiker & Kurator / Museum Barberini, Potsdam

Berno Odo Polzer, Kurator & Kulturwissenschaftler

Krishan Rajapakshe, Künstler / *foundationClass*Collective

Cord Riechelmann, Journalist, Biologe & Philosoph

Kevin Rittberger, Autor & Theatermacher

Yvette Robertson, Interkulturelle Kompetenz Trainerin

Mohammad Salemy, Künstler, Kritiker, Gründer The New Centre

Tomás Argentina Saraceno, Künstler

Madlyn Sauer, Autorin & Künstlerin

Louna Sbou, Geschäftsführerin und künstlerische Leiterin / Oyoun

Fabian Scheidler, Buch-, Theater-, Opern- & Fernsehautor

Miriam Schickler, Klangkünstlerin & Kulturwissenschaftlerin

Wolfgang Schneider, Kulturwissenschaftler, Vorstandsvorsitzender Fonds Darstellende Künste

Promona Sengupta/Captain Pro, Künstlerin, Captain des Raumschiffs, Aktivistin & Kuratorin

Marc Siegel, Filmwissenschaftler / Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Marcus Steinweg, Philosoph

Nora Sternfeld, Kuratorin & Kunstpädagogin / Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg

Kathy-Ann Tan, Kuratorin, Autorin & Gründerin Mental Health Arts Space Berlin

Marita Tatari, Philosophin

Dejan Terzić, Schlagzeuger & Komponist

Zoran Terzić, Bühnenautor, Jazzpianist & Kulturtheoretiker

Oxana Timofeeva, Philosophin

Margarita Tsomou, Kulturwissenschaftlerin & Kuratorin

Kat Válastur, Choreographin

Aimée van Baalen, Aktivistin / Die Letzte Generation

Anja Voigt, betriebliche Streikführerin der Berliner Krankenhausbewegung / Vivantes

Joanna Warsza, Kuratorin

Sarah Waterfeld, Autorin / Staub zu Glitzer

Mai Wegener, Psychoanalytikerin

Stefanie Wenner, Künstlerin & Theaterwissenschaftlerin

Daniel Wetzel, Theatermacher / Rimini Protokoll

Petra Willer, Gedächtnistrainerin & Lerntherapeutin

Ratgeber*innen

Alexander Karschnia, Theatermacher & Autor / andcompany&Co.

Necati Öziri, Schriftsteller & Dramaturg

Promona Sengupta/Captain Pro, Künstlerin, Captain des Raumschiffs, Aktivistin & Kuratorin