Over the last 20 years, Berlin has become a protagonist for generating contemporary art, boasting the highest concentration of practicing artists in the world next to cities like New York. About 5.832 artists live - depending on definition - in the city. The 'Berufsverband für Bildende Künstler Berlin' (bbk) organizes nearly 2.000 visual artists of all disciplines and arts. Accommodating more than 200 museums and other exhibition venues, Berlin is also residence to 500 galleries with various specializations. More than 3.400 companies exist in the art market in Berlin with a total revenue of 720 million Euro (2017).
For years now, Berlin’s numerous fairs and exhibitions have attracted a diverse national and international audience. Art "made in Berlin" has a good reputation and holds weight as an important image factor for the international collector. The art fair Artforum was a focal event for the industry together with the Preview and the Berliner Kunstsalon. Since 2012, the new format of Berlin Art Week seeks to underscore the importance of the city as a centre for contemporary art with a platform that presents Berlin's artists, galleries and institutions in a unique way.
Creative City Berlin cooperates with numerous networks and initiatives like Berlinerpool or C/O Berlin, through which important information is collected and presented on the website. In our CCB Magazine we introduce the various networks and initiatives and ask about the conditions for artists who work and produce in Berlin.
As an artist you are eligible for cultural promotion (unless it concerns commercial commissioned work, in that case the economic support can be more helpful for you).
Here you can find information on specific programmes of cultural promotion:
Funding programmes by the Berlin Senate
Use the funding database of Kreativ Kultur Berlin in order to find other programs.
We recommend our consulting services from Kreativ Kultur Berlin. For all non-commercial artistic projects we recommend Kulturförderberatung for individual consultations. If you are working indepently on commissioned projects Kreativwirtschaftsberatung (Creative Industries Consulting) might offer the right kind of consultation for you.
We have provided an overview of all available consultation opportunities in the field of culture funding and cultural industry financing in our individual consultation section.
Members of several of Berlin's contemporary art collections form the Förderkommission Bildende Kunst. The commission tours artists' studios on a regular basis in order to keep up to speed with the different artistic positions represented within Berlin's artist scene and in order to promote exchange with and among artists.
The website of Kulturförderberatung (Cultural Funding Consultation) provides an excellent overview.
Yes, you can find those here.
You can find an overview of calls for proposals and competitions in our funding database.
Within our network you can find an overview of persons, companies and institutions. Sign up and create your own profile for free so you can connect with others.
You can find studios for visual artists in Berlin here. Click for Coworking spaces and project rooms.
Studios for visual artists are listed on the BBK website and on berlin-artist.info. An overview of coworking spaces can be found on Creative City Berlin itself. You will find a list of availbe project spaces here.
Do you know our jobs section? Here you can search for job offers or post your own – for free!
Berlin’s cultural affairs department | Fine arts and studio grants
Contact for galeries and the artsector at the Senate Department for Economics, Technology and Research | Tel: 030 / 9013 7404
Bundesverband Bildender Künstlerinnen und Künstler e.V. (BBK) | Umbrella organisation for fine arts in Germany
Berufsverband bildender künstler*innen berlin e.V. (bbk berlin) | Professional Association of Visual Artists Berlin
Deutscher Kulturrat e.V. | Contact the policies and administration of the Federation, the Länder and the European Union in matters of cultural policy
www.projektraeume-berlin.net | Network of independent artistic project spaces
Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst | Association of 850 artist members
Neuer Berliner Kunstverein | Portal for contemporary art
Kunst-Werke Berlin | Exhibition space for contemporary art
Deutscher Künstlerbund | 'Künstlerbund' with 550 visual artists
Internationale Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst | council visual artists on the possibilities of working opportunities and grants, both in Germany and abroad
Gedok Berlin | Community of artists and cultur funding
Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen | Association and archive for artists
Verein Berliner Künstler (VBK) | Germany’s oldest association of artists in Germany
EUNIC Berlin | The European Cultural Institutes in Berlin
Kulturstiftung des Bundes | promotes art and culture within the scope of federal competence
Contemporary Arts Alliance Berlin (CAA) | Support for contemporary art and culture in Berlin
Stiftung Kunstfonds | Support for art projects
Schering Stiftung | aims to promote science and art
ResArtis | worldwide network
Career Center UDK Berlin | workshops, advive and coaching
Verwertungsgesellschaft BILD-KUNST | Association founded of copyright-holders (artists, photographers and film authors) for the exercise of their rights
Kulturgilde e.V. | Association for the cultureal and creative industries in Germany
sculpture network | a European non-profit organisation for the support, encouragement and promotion of contemporary, three-dimensional art
Landesverband Berliner Galerien | professional interest group for art galleries in Berlin
Bundesverband Deutscher Galerien und Editionen | Lobby group of galleries and art dealers
Federation of European Art Galleries Associations (FEAGA) | The Federation represents the political interests of over 2000 modern and contemporary art galleries in the EU and Switzerland.
We will answer them directly or will forward them to competent contacts in Berlin! Ask a question.
We don't have any current figures that relate exclusively to Berlin. There are a few older figures that reflect the Berlin market (see also here). Otherwise, you can find current, but nationwide figures on the visual arts here and also here.
You can read general facts & figures about Berlin's cultural industries here.
On our website you will find numerous players (people and institutions) from the visual arts sector. We also list jobs, vacant spaces, events and portfolios at a glance and discuss the latest trends and developments in the CCB Magazine.
You are Berlin-based, working in the cultural or creative industries and looking for information on project financing and funding?
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