Berlin's Artists Fear Displacement as City Reviews Subsidies
Berlin's social security administration is exploring new strategies to reduce subsidies, potentially impacting over 10,000 visual artists who call the city home. Meanwhile, artists in Schöneberg's Belziger Straße 25 face uncertainty as their studios' future hangs in the balance.
Five artists, including Mona Koenen who has been there for over three decades, and Sonja Schrader and Konrad Mühe who balance family life and art, have called the top floor of Belziger Straße 25 home since the 1980s. Their studios are among the 1,100 subsidized spaces managed by the Professional Association of Visual Artists Berlin (BBK), which could be exchanged for commercial tenants.
Konrad Mühe, spokesperson for the 'Bündnis der bedrohten Atelierhäuser', is advocating for the artists. He fears that 368 studio rental contracts expiring in the next two years, with the first due this year, could lead to displacement. The Senate administration for finance has been blocking the use of a commitment authorization for the working space program since spring 2024, adding to the uncertainty.
Culture State Secretary Cerstin Richter-Kotowski has assured artists that preserving existing studios is a priority. She confirmed that large, old structures like Hobrechtstraße will continue to be supported. However, with cultural expenses projected to be less than two percent of the total Berlin budget in the coming year, and another 100 million in savings planned, artists are concerned about their future in the city that has long been a model for other cities' art support programs.
The cultural administration's plans to address new target groups who can pay market rent have raised concerns among Berlin's visual artists. As studios face expiration and potential displacement, artists and advocates are calling for clarity and commitment from the city to preserve the existing studios and support the thriving artistic community.
