PICTURE BERLIN celebrated 10 years of programming by hosting INTERIORS TO BEING.

INTERIORS TO BEING took visitors and invited artists into an intimate encounter in Berlin apartments, gardens, and streets as well as with the lives and thoughts of strangers. Opening up private rooms and personalizing public space INTERIORS TO BEING provided an opportunity to explore secret interior spaces and discover unexpected modes of being. 

INTERIORS TO BEING stretched across the urban fabric of Berlin for a period of four weeks in July 2019. In response to the particular characteristics of the work of 41 artists and the locations selected, six Berlin curators developed specific formats––from traditional exhibitions, walks, salons, and discussions, to dinners and performances. 

The particular form of presentation––leaving familiar art spaces behind, as much as possible, in favor of public space and private apartments––also reflected an urgent urban political issue: the gentrification of Berlin. According to a study by the Institute for Strategy Development from March 2018, the situation is particularly precarious for artists in Berlin, with only one in ten able to live from their art. The average annual income for male artists is around 11,500 euros; for women artists it is just 8,300 euros. Many artists in Berlin have lost their studios in recent years due to rising rents. 

The organizers of INTERIORS TO BEING deliberately avoided expensive art locations offered by real estate investors,  instead using spaces they have appropriated themselves. The spaces they live in, that they have designed and secured for themselves, where they are independent and can interact with one another and audiences on an equal footing. The festival focused on supporting the work of the artists and curators involved––with the presentation of their work, networking, and production of new works as key elements. 

INTERIORS TO BEING had 6 chapters. Each chapter had a different curator and a group of artists that were a combination of alumni from PICTURE BERLIN and also Berlin based artists or curators who had contributed to the program over the years.

Chapter 1, DAS TREFFEN DREIER PUNKTE, Curated by Hannah Goldstein and Katja Haustein

Artists included: Amanda Coimbra, Ana Catarina Pinho, Ayala Gazit, Charlie Jouvet, Courtney Asztalos, Fabiana Sala, Grant Yarolin, Henrik Strömberg, Lemia Monét Bodden, Nati Canto, Ng Hui Hsien, Piotr Pietrus, and Susanne Kohler

 Chapter 2, HIDDEN TREASURES, Curated by Teena Lange

Artists included: Aleks Slota, Jeremiah Day, Ilyn Wong, Kerstin Honeit, Stevie Southard, and Surya Gied, 

Chapter 3, IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, Curated by April Gertler

Artists included: Adrian Schiesser, Andrew Burford, Cynthia Bittenfield, Joachim Schmid, Marcus Brownlow, Mark Curran and Valentina Culley-Foster

Chapter 4, THE MIDDLE STUFF, Curated by Lotte Møller

Artists included: Brittney Hollinger, Elise Gardella, Fernanda Figueiredo, Sydney Southam, and Nancy McCormack

 Chapter 5, HOSTING, Curated by Pauline Doutreluingne

Artists included: Hannah Dougherty, Emma Wolf-Haugh, Rhys Himsworth, Stine Marie Jacobsen, Lucy Powell and Ella Ziegler

Curators included: Lucille Bouvard, Övül Ö. Durmusoglu, Teena Lange, Jesi Khadivi, Lotte Møller, Solvej Helweg Ovesen, Heiko Pfreundt, and Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung

 Chapter 6, RAUMANEIGNUNG, Curated by Conny Becker

Artists included: Uli Aigner, Bill Berger, Catherine Evans, Melanie Irwin, and Hester Oerlemans

This project was generously supported by a grant from the Haupstadtkulturfund, from the Ministry of Culture, Berlin.