ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 introduces the single case study of Berlin’s contemporary art context and specifies the qualitative, interpretative approach to data collection and analysis. It contours Berlin as a hotspot for cultural production and illustrates the different levels of the city’s cultural funding portfolio at local, national and European scales. The cursory synopsis reveals a stark funding imbalance, allocating roughly 95 percent of the budget available for arts and culture to cultural ‘institutions’ (i.e., operas, state theaters, museums, collections, libraries) and 5 percent to project-related or individual arts funding which supports the independent art scene. This funding ‘injustice’ was addressed by the artist activist protagonist Koalition der Freien Szene, as a new collective representative of ‘the’ independent scene to request a more equitable distribution of funds, and to claim income of a newly introduced City Tax to enhance monetary support for independent cultural labor in Berlin. Mapping the local-landscape cultural political actors, this chapter introduces existing local arts associations from visual arts, cultural production, music, dance, literature, performing arts, artist-run project spaces and jazz, who later merged into the Koalition to collectivize their claims. The chapter profiles each ‘member’ organization to unpack their differing, yet synergetic forms of political organization and articulation.
