2018,

die raum

2018, 2015,

2011

Oderberger Straße

56

Berlin

10435

dieraum.net

João Modé, Land, 2014, Foto: Jan Windszus

Answering this question seems to be the most difficult and an endless process for me because I have to ruminate on the past decade or so in which I have gone through Berlin as a female artist, a Korean artist, the founder and chief of an Asian contemporary art platform, and a mother. Since the very beginning, I have been interested in seeking a kind of universal identity, spanning the various backgrounds of Berlin-based contemporary artists in order to examine the question of identity as it is often perceived from the outside: according to gender, nationality, and cultural milieu. So I have created a space where the dichotomous logics about those issues could be discussed, proceeding with many projects. Above all, I had dreamt of creating a self-supporting space, based on an independent profit model. Recognizing limitations in workforce, culture, and the market of the art scene, however, I have experienced some moments of great suffering. But what has enabled me to endure those moments of suffering was not money but people, so that I would answer sincerely that a project space no longer means a physical space for me. It is a non-physical space, comprising people like artists, users and agents, or sometimes a network.Der Begriff „Kunst“ ist spannend, da er für jede Person etwas anderes bedeuten kann. Gerade in der Diversität der Ansichten über „Kunst“ liegt ihre Kraft. Das macht sich auch in der freien Szene der Projekträume bemerkbar. Es werden die unterschiedlichsten Sichtweisen auf und über Kunst vertreten und nichts unterliegt der Geschmackslimitierung einer kleinen Elite. Das bedeutet eine große Vielfalt und Innovationsfreude an künstlerischer, kultureller Entwicklung. Die Projektraumarbeit verstärkt generell das Interesse an künstlerischen Prozessen und verlagert die Aufmerksamkeit vom Objekt hin zum Entstehungsprozess. − Was insbesondere Kunst in Projekträumen im öffentlichen Raum kann: Leute aus der Bevölkerung neugierig machen, sich die Kunst vor Ort anzuschauen, bei Gelegenheit den Kontakt zu Betreiber*innen und Künstler*innen aufzunehmen, mit ihnen ins Gespräch zu kommen, und: wiederzukommen. Also: die Begegnung mit Kunst im Alltag ermöglichen.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.