Auszeichnung
künstlerischer Projekträume
und -initiativen
Kunst kann Dialoge über gesellschaftliche Prozesse öffnen und vermitteln, sie kann Orte in der Stadt als Handlungs­orte definieren und zugänglich machen. Darin ist sie ein wichtiges Element gesellschaftlicher Partizipation und politischer Willensbildungsprozesse. Das zeigt sich auch in der Ausweitung eines der Kunst zugeordneten Felds auf fast alle gesellschaftliche Kontexte. Die Stärke der Kunst ist es, in verschiedenen Räumen lebendig und er­­fahrbar zu werden. Somit bietet sie eine Schnittstelle für unterschiedliche Perspektiven und einen lebendigen Austausch.The engagement and support from the Network has been vitally important to our growth and sustainability, and also our learning and understanding of the ­wider Berlin art scene beyond our micro-communities. For one thing, we have learned so much about the plurality of spaces and creative ­discourses in Berlin. But the open discussion that the Network allows with the Berlin Senate and one another has been really important in order to understand our needs as unique nodes in the artistic landscape of Berlin, and creative mutual goals for the sustainability and vitality of the community as a whole.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.