The project If the Berlin Wind Blows My Flag delves into the artistic scenes in West Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall, based on the history of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program. Launched in 1963, the residency program brought international artists to West Berlin as a signal against the “cultural isolation” of the city.

An exhibition in three chapters – at Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k.), daadgalerie, and Galerie im Körnerpark – accompanied by events at Akademie der Künste and other venues examines the role of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program in nurturing artistic practices and networks during the Cold War and investigates the program’s cultural and political orientation. The focus is on the activities of the Artists-in-Berlin Program, which was initiated 60 years ago by the U.S. Ford Foundation and subsequently continued by DAAD from 1965 onward, particularly with regard to the political motivations that drove efforts to internationalize the art scene in West Berlin.

As part of the cooperation project, outdoor film screenings in the public space will feature works by Artists-in-Berlin Program fellows and Berlin based artists. At Kunstquartier Bethanien in Berlin-Kreuzberg, cinematic approaches to West Berlin as an urban living space will be screened, including works from the audiovisual archive of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program.

Program

Austausch / Exchange (1982, 9 min)
by Egon Bunne
Music: ABM (Michael Scarati)
Production: LLUREX FILM (Egon Bunne)

Berlin: Tourist Journal (1988, 18 min)
by Ken Kobland

Aufenthaltserlaubnis (1978, 12 min)
by Antonio Skármeta

Das Schlesische Tor (1982, 22 min)
by Clemens Klopfenstein

Free admission

Venue: Kunstquartier Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2, 10997 Berlin