Studio Advisory Board

The majority of the members of the Studio Advisory Board are artists. It consists of nine voting members and up to nine representatives:

• Five members and up to five representatives (currently three representatives) are named by the bbk berlin e.V. 
• One member and one representative are named by a recognised institution of contemporary fine art in Berlin 
• Three members and up to three representatives (currently no representative) are named by Berlin Senate's Department for Culture and Europe

The members of the board and representatives are appointed for a period of 24 months by the Senator for Culture; the current term extends from January 2024 to January 2026.

The advisory board elects a chairperson and a deputy chairperson by simple majority. The chairperson chairs the respective meetings and represents the advisory committee vis-à-vis third parties. The advisory committee has a quorum if at least five members are present and the majority is formed by artists. The office of the advisory committee is the Studio Office at the kulturwerk of the bbk berlin GmbH.

Artists who use subsidised spaces cannot be members or representatives of the advisory board. Applications from members or representatives of the advisory board are excluded during their term of membership.

We would like to point out that contacting any member of the board may lead to your being unable to submit an application for a studio!

Transparency Declaration of the Studio Advisory Board

THE ADVISORY BOARD

The independent Studio Advisory Board consists primarily of artists, but also includes other experts in the field of visual arts (e.g. curators or project space providers). The honorary members and representatives of the Advisory Board are appointed by the Berlin Senator for Culture for a period of 24 months; currently 01/2024-01/2026. These are Celina Basra, Michael Bause, Layla Burger-Lichtenstein, Nuno de Brito Rocha, Nezaket Ekici, Yishay Garbasz, Karø Goldt, Franziska Harnisch, Susanne Mierzwiak, Irina Novarese, Kathy-Ann Tan, Susanne Wehr and Claudia Zweifel. Artists using subsidized spaces cannot be members or representatives of the Advisory Board. Applications by members or representatives of the Advisory Board are not possible during their membership. All Advisory Board members sign a non-disclosure and data protection agreement.

VOTING PROCEDURE

Each Advisory Board meeting is attended by five to nine voting members. Each member reviews all applications several days in advance. The aim is to find a tenant and a successor for each studio in several rounds of voting. In the first ballot (after individual screening), all Advisory Board members can vote for any number of applicants. Applicants who do not receive a vote or who cannot be classified as professionals in the field of visual arts on the basis of their submitted documents will be excluded from the process. The remaining applications will be discussed and voted on again by all Advisory Board members in alphabetical order. Based on the number of votes per applicant, this re-voting leads to a certain order of candidates. For group applications, the applicants with the most votes will be ranked. In the case of a tie, the final allocation of studios will be determined by a run-off vote after further discussion.

THE SELECTION CRITERIA

The selection is based on criteria of urgency regarding the social and professional situation of the applicants, as well as the suitability of the room and location for the respective way of working (emissions, freight elevator, ceiling height, room size, etc.). The following aspects may also be considered How long have the applicants lived and worked in Berlin? Are they active in the local scene? And how many times have they applied for a subsidized studio through the Studio Rental Program?  Artistic work requires professional work spaces. Therefore, access to this program should be open to any professional artist, regardless of background, age, gender, or artistic status.

The Advisory Board believes that the Working Space Program should be accessible to all professional artists. All the above-mentioned aspects do not follow any order of priority. They are weighed up again in each ballot. In principle, the number of Advisory Board members and their different professional orientations should ensure that all artists represented in the applications can be adequately considered in the decision-making process. In its ongoing discussions, the Advisory Board also seeks to raise awareness concerning unconscious bias and emerging stereotypes. The insights gained from this process, as well as their potential impact on the program's application process, are continuously incorporated into the work and decisions of the Advisory Board.

The Studio Advisory Board Berlin, 28.10.2020 updated 24.01.2024

[1] Applications outside the priority area of visual arts, such as from the performing arts (theatre, dance), music and literature or from applied creative professional groups, cannot be considered. In some cases, other funding instruments are available for them (see: https://kulturraeume.berlin/).

STATEMENT STUDIO ADVISORY BOARD 2023

STATEMENT STUDIO ADVISORY BOARD 2024

In view of the Berlin Senate's announced budget cuts in the cultural sector, the Studio Advisory Board feels compelled to speak out once again. We join in solidarity with the statements and appeals of Berlin's cultural institutions regarding the planned cuts in the cultural sector.

In particular, we refer to the open letter from the Independent Berlin Arts Scene dated 6 October 2024 and the petition by the German Stage Association as well as the factsheet on studios in the workspace programme.

We also refer to the statement of the Studio Advisory Board from 2023.

The Studio Advisory Board repeatedly and urgently draws attention to the increasingly precarious situation of fine artists that we are confronted with in our work. Artists' applications for subsidised studio spaces provide dramatic descriptions of their economic and social situation. These include the loss of studios on the open market due to cancellation or unaffordable rent increases, as well as the loss of living space due to very low incomes. We realise that the situation of visual artists has deteriorated rapidly over the past year and is continuing to worsen!

The number of calls for applications for subsidised studios is falling, while the number of applicants is rising. In 2023, there were 17 applications for a subsidised studio, now (2024) there are 40 applications, which means a huge drop in the success rate for applicants.

As an advisory board, we are unable to allocate studios to the majority of applicants, even though they fulfil the requirements for support.
If the announced cuts in the cultural sector are implemented by the Senate, this will lead to a collapse of the independent scene in the already difficult economic situation of fine artists, which cannot be reversed.

The result will be far-reaching and irreparable losses, especially for the vulnerable group of fine artists and beyond that for the entire cultural sector in Berlin.
Budget cuts on the planned scale will irretrievably destroy years of artistic and supportive commitment and also massively call into question Berlin's status as a cultural centre: they are the equivalent of a complete cutback!

Instead of the announced budget cuts in the cultural sector, we demand an expansion of the subsidy programme and the creation of new studios!
 

The Studio Advisory Board, Berlin, 16 October 2024