2019,

Kotti-Shop

2019, 2015, 2023,

2008

Adalbertstraße

4

Berlin

10999

kotti-shop.net

Kotti-Shop ist ein experimenteller, Non-Profit Kunst- und Projektraum, der 2008 gegründet wurde. Das Besondere am Kotti-Shop ist aber neben der Vielschichtigkeit der Aktivitäten seine Rolle im Kiez und starke Verbindung zur Nachbarschaft. Er ist ein spielfreudiger Experimentierraum, ein Bezugs- und Aktivitätsraum gerade auch für viele Kinder im neuen Kreuzberger Zentrum. Der Kotti-Shop ist nicht nur Projektraum innerhalb seiner festen Architektur, sondern zugleich Ausgangspunkt von größer angelegten, künstlerisch-kollaborativen Projekten im In- und Ausland.

Forms of Negotiation, 2013, Foto: Stefan Endewardt

Stefan Endewardt, Mapping the Common Ground, Collage

Das Gefängnis in mir, Foto: Stefan Endewardt

Art has the unique ability to help us expand our imagination and the way we think about the world. By bending the lines of logic and rational approaches, it offers a gateway to our collective unconscious and provides a terrain where everything is possible, hence pushing our thinking process forward. We see art and artists as seismographs for changes in society. There is also great freedom in art, addressing big and timeless questions that are independent of current economic and political realities and interests. Art can be a space for utopias, or for histories outside of history books. Art is important because it keeps us going through the difficult and dark times. Art keeps us alive.The Network is a fundamental organization in the artistic landscape of Berlin. Without the Network, many of the support structures that have been built in recent years simply would not exist. Unionizing has always been problematic in a sector like the art sphere where the construction of the worker has been historically based on the idea of the author, and therefore the ego. In order to achieve change, cooperative models like the Network are a must. The challenge is how to create belonging from difference.To run a space is a form of appreciation of other artists, it is an outcome of friendship and mutual understanding; it is an indication of trust between all involved. To run a space means to take responsibility. To run a space is not only self-organization – money may not be vital to put up a show – but it is for sure necessary to animate a space and keep it alive. The prize comes due to hard and merited work, but maybe a grant would be more befitting than a prize? Maybe an iron scaffold holding up a structure in advance is better suited than a gold star for accomplishments? To run a space is a full time job. A group of artists who share their enthusiasm, interests, time, and skills would impart a project with a larger circulation of assignments between the makers. I am convinced that the longevity and success of a space relies on a horizontally organized (net) work.