Because Gallery Weekend and Berlin Art Week aren’t enough to satiate Berlin’s virtuosos, perhaps a whole month should do the trick. The entirety of August marks Berlin’s first official Project Space Festival, a 31-day art extravaganza geared towards the indie, underground art scene (in other words, most of it). The stars of the show are the city’s eclectic project spaces that struggle to stay afloat amongst big names like Gropius-Bau. Thirty spaces participate, including LEAP, Kreuzberg Pavillon, Grimmuseum, Import Projects and Autocenter.
Thirty-one days equals a space per day and a closing party. What each space offers during its respective 24-hour “surprise event” is up to them, the details of which are released one week prior. Festival directors Marie Graftieaux, Nora Myr, and Lauren Reid allow a spectrum of creative conspiracies, including art meals, excursions, city tours, games and more indefinable activities. As August is a notoriously slow month in Berlin, the festival comes at a ripe time and serves as a time capsule for the independent non-white cube status-quo.
Without institutional funding or five-figure price tags and well-to-do collector-clients, these precious yet underrepresented spaces are actually the backbone of the people’s art scene. The reason they are so crucial is their emphasis on fostering creative experimentation, eventually facilitating the exposure of countless unknown artists. With modest budgets, the spaces often function as studios, galleries, cafés or bars, and thus bring together creative minds in a versatile, unassuming atmosphere. This provides the perfect petri dish for discourse, discovery, and more frequent, spontaneous exhibitions and events.
Project Space Festival | August 1-31 | various locations and times, full programme at www. projectspacefestivalberlin.com
