2019,

The Institute for Endotic Research

2019,

2015

Donaustraße

84

Berlin

12043

theinstituteforendoticresearch.org

Pol Merchan, Pirate Boys, featuring Del LaGrace Volcano, 2021, Ana Alenso, green and yellow, boom and bust, 2018, Foto: Benjamin Busch

Sofia Lomba, Bondage Bodies, 2021, Serie Maintenance! Domestics as Institutional Becomings, Foto: Benjamin Busch

The art scene, spaces, artists, and initiators in the past ten years (being a continuum of what has gone before) in a nutshell, can be seen to have changed from individual authorships to more collective ones. They act in opposition to the anonymized corporate structures, in particular the giant housing conglomerates (these destructive collective edifices that have the same legal rights as a sentient individual human being) that threaten to dissemble the unique fabric of the city of Berlin that provided a fertile ground in which these initiatives could rise, connect, and thrive. So the project room scene provides a positive counter-weight to these destructive development processes as a living, breathing, collaborative, and inclusive network. I hope that this fabulous project room network does not drown in the indifference of mainstream political thinking in the city of Berlin.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.Ohne die Kultur könnten der Tourismus, die Gastronomie, das Hotelwesen und viele andere Branchen in dieser Stadt dichtmachen, was während der Pandemie teilweise ans Licht gekommen ist. Mit der „City Tax“ ist ein Schritt in die richtige Richtung getan worden, jedoch ist der Umfang bei Weitem nicht ausreichend.