street art berlin

Graffiti Workshop with Berlin Massive by Atquetzali Quiroz and Katharin Luckey

Atquetzali Quiroz

On Friday, June 23rd, we had our final day of class, creating a class graffiti mural on the Berlin Wall. During previous classes, we discussed possible mural ideas. Although three main concepts were proposed, we agreed on the “Hello, my name is..” idea. For context, this concept was influenced by the “Hello, my name is…” name tags found throughout Berlin. Then, during our Graffiti and Street Art walking tour, our guide Rob emphasized the importance of graffiti artists leaving their mark and one way many do is by posting these name tags around the city. This idea of leaving a mark resonated with many of my classmates, leading us to create a large-scale rendition of the name tag surrounded by our individual tags on the sides. For my personal tag, showcased in the slideshow below, I decided to create a green and pink heart. I chose this symbol as it was the easiest way to showcase the importance of moving through the world with love. It is important to recognize that the Berlin Wall holds significance as a site of expression and resistance, especially for marginalized communities. During our visit to Die Mauer asisi Panorama, the work of Yadegar Asisi, who had experienced life on East and West Berlin (both sides of the Wall) was highlighted. Asisi created a mural illustrating the second half of a building, because only the first half could be seen from his side of the wall at that time. Asisi is one among numerous artists that continue to create graffiti and street art on the wall to this day, leaving their mark and making a statement. I am proud of the work our class produced, and I feel that we left our mark as #FemGeniusesinBerlin.

Atquetzali Quiroz (she|they) is a rising senior at Colorado College. They are an Indigenous Nahua and Filipinx student from Imnížiska (Saint Paul), Mni Sóta, homeland of the Dakota peoples. Atquetzali is a Feminist and Gender Studies major minoring in Race, Ethnicity, & Migration Studies and Education. They hope to pursue a career as a high school Social Studies educator. They enjoy trying new food, dancing, and seeing new places. As this is Atquetzali’s first time in Europe, they are excited to adventure and make new memories!

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Katharin Luckey

Today was the last day of the 2023 #FemGeniusesinBerlin program. Despite the all-day rainy weather, the group still showed up and showed out for one last hurrah to cap off the program, the graffiti workshop! Together with local artist Age Age, the team spray painted a massive group-designed piece onto the former Berlin Wall in addition to many individual tags. Over the past week, several ideas bounced around as to what exactly to spray paint as the group piece, including a series of footsteps (an homage to Dr. Lewis’ book In Audre’s Footsteps) and a giant kitchen table in reference to the second part of the book’s title, Transnational Kitchen Table Talk in Berlin, but the group eventually landed on the idea of a giant “Hello, my name is…” style name tag. Age Age outlined the design while the #FemGeniusesinBerlin wrote their individual tags, after which we individually wrote letters onto the group name tag in a rainbow color scheme (“I” wrote the “I” ^^). Today was understandably a very emotional day for everyone involved, full of group hugs and goodbyes. Over the course of the past three weeks, new connections formed, existing friendships strengthened, and many memories were made in the German capital, which served as the space where numerous foundational thinkers of Black Feminist, Transnational, and Critical Race Theories gathered and developed their ideas. Students created a group thank you card for Dr. Lewis and Judy Fisher for making this whole experience possible for everyone. As the group learned during the previous graffiti and street art walking tour, the art one creates on city walls, from the smallest of tags to the largest of street art pieces, does not simply mean “I was here,” but rather “I am here. I’ve been here, and I will continue to leave my mark on the world, no matter how short or long it lasts.” Expressions of joy and resistance remembered in the unlikeliest of places. Hidden narratives in hidden spaces…

This has been the #FemGeniusesinBerlin, signing out!

Kathrin Luckey is a rising senior double majoring in German and Romance Languages and minoring in Linguistics. She has a passion for languages and is particularly interested in translation, as well as linguistics in the context of intersectional feminist movements. She has previously studied on an exchange semester at the University of Göttingen.

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Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art by Nova Yu and Barbara Bilić

Nova Yu

Conveniently, after a 10 minute walk from our apartment, we arrived at the Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art. After spending the morning learning about the historical background of graffiti and street art and their present day impact in the city of Berlin, my classmates and I explored the museum, which was packed with street art, sculpture, and photography. While seeing the museum pieces, it felt necessary to have learned about the foundations of street art earlier that day. Street art and graffiti, unlike the stereotypical correlation to vandalism and crime, have always had their roots in individuality, creativity, and expression. Street art has become a method for artists to communicate specifically through tags and words in a contemporary and public form. Pieces in the museum covered a range of current social and political conversations through each artist’s style and medium. These paintings, collages, and photographs consisted of acrylic and spray paint, and some were even created completely digitally. In learning about something we all see on buildings, trains, and streets here in Berlin, I have gained more perspective on how the accessibility of graffiti has shaped who is participating in street art. For marginalized folx, graffiti can act as a way to stabilize their environments regardless of their position in life and to allow them to begin a journey towards understanding identity. The museum brought this concept to life as we observed pieces commentating on war, race, climate change, media consumption, and much more. The combination of an interesting story and vibrant colors creates a journey for the viewer to feel certain emotions and see a glimpse into a different life. Street art’s versatility has allowed BIPoC and other marginalized people an opportunity to make a literal mark and say, as our tour guide Rob noted, “I am here.”

Nova Yu is a Chinese American student from Grand Junction, Colorado. She is currently going into her final year of college majoring in Economics. Nova is the daughter of two Chinese immigrants and the middle child of three. She was born in West Virginia, and at a young age, she moved to a rural town in Colorado where she has lived most of her life. This is Nova’s first time in Europe, and she believes she has picked the best first stop: Berlin!

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Barbara Bilić

As the #FemGeniusesinBerlin moved towards the second section of the course, we traveled into the world of street art and graffiti. After our morning graffiti and street art tour, we visited the Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art, which is filled with thought-provoking art and installations by artists from different parts of the world.  The museum has been a part of the non-profit initiative of Foundation Berlin Leben since 2013, with its main goal of promoting integration, strengthening of neighborhood structures, social balance, and collaboration among artists through cultural education. It currently features works of over 50 artists working in different mediums of graffiti and other forms of urban and contemporary art, presenting individual as well as societal perspectives. The questions that promote the goal of Urban Nation are explored through the exhibition’s eight chapters: WE NEED TO TALK, FORTY-TWO, SHIFTING PERSPECTIVES, THE FORUM, DEEP FAKE, I AM AN X, BUT…, HYBRID HISTORIES and FAIL AGAIN, FAIL BETTER. These chapters bring up questions of how we communicate, how we deal with allegedly truthful information, and its interaction with digital technology. Through observing pieces by artists from different parts of the world and with various German identities, including Black German artists, African artists, artists from the U.S., Ukraine, Iran, and Poland, accompanied by Berlin street and graffiti artists, we can configure a visual transnational conversation regarding social commentary, marginalized communities, and immigrant identities. M. Jacqui Alexander and Chandra Talpade Mohanty’s “Transnational Feminism as Radical Praxis” helped me understand the dialogue between the art pieces as encouraging understanding rather than comparison and avoiding a reductionist approach to intertwined international topics. Some of the pieces that stood out were those by Josephine Sagna (German-Senegalese), Amartey Golding (Scottish and Ghanaian), Ravi Amar Zupa (Colorado based), and ICY & SOT (an Iranian duo in Brooklyn, New York), among others.

Barbara Bilić is a rising senior at Colorado College. She comes from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a small but beautiful country in Southeastern Europe also known as the Balkans. She is double majoring in Integrative Design and Architecture and German Studies. She grew up in Prozor-Rama and received a scholarship in 2018 to attend United World College (UWC) in Mostar. In Mostar, she completed the International Baccalaureate Program, which led her to obtain a Davis UWC scholarship to Colorado College. Some of her hobbies and interests include design, poetry, music, and fashion.  

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Graffiti and Street Art Walking Tour with Alternative Berlin by Noor Issa and Cecelia Russell

Noor and Katharin

Passing graffiti might inspire one to scoff, admire it, or ignoring it completely. Graffiti has become associated with urban culture, but what are the purposes for engaging in this expression in the most heavily “bombed” city in Europe, according to Simon Arms? As FemGeniuses, we had the opportunity to experience a tour of one site of heavy graffiti. During our walk, Rob, our guide and an artist himself, helped us get a better picture of the inception, legality, and social implications of the scene. In Berlin, reunification (after the “fall” of the Berlin Wall) left the region in debt; policing measures are pricey, and, if graffiti brings in tourism and other sources of revenue, then what’s the use in stopping it? Some may view this as illegal defacement, but starting in 1965 with Philly teen “Cornbread,” graffiti was a means of getting a girl’s attention. In America, graffiti started as a form of expression in historically Black and Chicano neighborhoods. People who wanted to show their presence could get spray paint, spray, and run. The canvas is provided—free expression is that accessible. Now, there are legally-sanctioned pieces, which Rob tells us are most often high and large. Slide 5, for example, is a piece where the artist comments on the Saudi censorship and mystery death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who opposed the Crown Prince. To me, this expression of free speech on a subject of censorship was poignant. Lastly, as Rob wisely put, some view graffiti as artists’ way of saying, “I was here,” but really, it is a way of saying, “I AM here” for those who are silenced, erased, and actively discredited.

Noor Issa is a Libyan Muslim born in Northern Colorado. She loves food, her family, and exploring cultures, both her own and others. Her first language is Arabic, and she’s the eldest of four. She’s pursuing a Psychology degree, as well as a double major in Race, Ethnicity and Migration studies at Colorado College. In her free time, Noor enjoys art, music, and weightlifting. In the future, she hopes to travel and learn more about Arabic, Pan-Africanism, and Islamic Studies. #FemGeniusesinBerlin

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Cecelia Russell

On Thursday, we had a walking tour with our guide, Rob, who showed examples of both street art and graffiti—two distinctly different art forms. We started by looking at several pieces of legal street art: some commissioned, some not. This led to conversations about the illegal art all over the city, including graffiti, which is what I will focus on. With its roots stemming from poor communities of color, graffiti is a writing-based art that is widely understood as a form of self-expression that often focuses on names (or tags). For people living in these communities, having the ability to put their name in visible public spaces offers a sense of control over their environment and a boost of self-confidence by giving them a voice. This notion has since caught on to the mainstream and has brought the art form under the spotlight. We know that our harsh judicial system in America values property over people, as Rob noted, meaning “vandalism” is a serious matter. However, ever since the economic turmoil caused by war and building the city back up, Berlin has accumulated a significant amount of debt. Tourists come to Berlin for its historical significance, as well as the arts and culture: music, dance, clubs, and yes—street art. Because the “vandalism” is an attraction that brings money into the city, eradicating it is not a high priority for the state. Using a transnational lens to learn about the art is fundamental in understanding the development and impacts of street art and graffiti. From the origins of graffiti in Philadelphia then to New York with the emergence of Hip Hop to Paris and other cities all over the world, such as Berlin, each iteration of the art influences the next to bring us to today.

Cecelia Russell is a rising senior from the north shore of Massachusetts, and her passions have in part been shaped by her upbringing on a fruit farm. Much of her time is spent organizing with other young people for environmental legislation, food security, and climate justice—with a recent focus on the college’s divestment campaign. Academically, she has so many interests that she has yet to declare a major, but she has spent most of her time studying environmental science.

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A Street Art Workshop with Berlin Massive

by Judinelly Gonzalez

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

Berlin is notorious for its graffiti and street art scene. You can see it just about anywhere when walking around the city—street corners, subways, and even the inside of a bathroom, for example. Any empty space is fair game, as long as you do not get caught by the police (yet, most police officers turn a blind eye). So, after the in-depth street art tour earlier in the week, I wondered what it would be like to be a graffiti artist.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

The FemGeniuses all got the opportunity to experience this on the last day of the course through a street art workshop with Berlin Massive. Jenny, our instructor for the day, introduced herself in the same alleyway our class had been in the first week while waiting for the Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt tour. She started off by sharing some of the history of the alleyway before leading us to our private workstation.

Photo Credit: Judinelly Gonzalez

I was thrilled to finally learn about why those walls had a lot of graffiti with languages other than German and English, because it was something I noticed the previous time I had been there, specifically a large piece with various Latino names and Spanish phrases. I had questioned why a piece like that was in Berlin, because I was not expecting to see Spanish words and phrases on the walls of a predominantly white city where everyone either speaks German or English. Basically, I wanted to know how a Brown artist ended up there and Jenny answered it by saying that a lot of the art around us was done by international, female artists.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

Once the quick history lesson ended and we were seated in our private workstation, it was finally time to begin our graffiti art process. There were three main steps. The first was to brainstorm individually and then share with our table group, the second was to share the table group consensus with the larger group in order to decide on the final group concept, and the third was to spray paint the final group concept onto the canvas, in other words, our “wall.” Jenny kept encouraging us to write, doodle and sketch. It was apparent that the brainstorming step is the most crucial step for the street art scene because how else can a street artist quickly paint a wall? Personally, whenever I do not brainstorm enough for a painting or drawing, it makes it extremely frustrating for me, because it means I am still unsatisfied with what I wish to create—that I do not have a set visual for the final product. Therefore, it makes it even longer for me to finish an art piece. Nevertheless, the FemGeniuses all agreed with an idea we wished to see on the larger canvas, completing step two.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

When we finally got to the third step, we geared up with a plastic poncho, painter’s mask, and singular glove on one’s dominant drawing hand. We were then given five minutes to practice using a spray can on a large wooden board before moving onto the dominating white canvas all of us had seen as we walked into the area. It was at that moment I realized spray painting would not be as easy as it seemed, especially when I wanted to make thin lines. That is why I did not attempt any of the fine lines in the final piece (Jenny heavily assisted with those), but it was fun to watch everyone else give it a go. One of the most memorable parts from the workshop were the black marker additions right at the end. I will admit that our concept may have been too ambitious for us novice graffiti artists to complete in less than an hour.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

I was aware that the workshop would be more of a hands-on activity rather than a discussion. And while I was not able to ask many questions after the workshop because of the quick clean up, I was still able to learn a little bit about Jenny’s work. I loved that the positive and humorous attitude she maintained throughout the entire workshop was reflected in the answers to my questions. She was straightforward in saying that she’s a graffiti artist that does both political and “just for fun” pieces. She then mentioned she typically uses stencils and stickers because they are “really fast to copy and print everywhere,” especially since graffiti on a subway or train is big in Germany. This subway or train graffiti comment had me immediately asking if she had ever tagged a subway and all she did was laugh and say it was up to my imagination.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

The workshop let me experience the challenge it is to be a graffiti artist. They have to spend a lot of time figuring out how and what they want to paint on a wall that many people will most likely notice. They have to be precise with their line strokes because they cannot afford to waste any time cleaning them up. They know they risk of getting caught by the police.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

However, I question that risk level. If a passerby walked by and saw a graffiti artist’s skin color, hair type, or any other visible phenotype, would they continue to pass by or immediately call the police? And yes, in Berlin, the local authorities typically turn a blind eye because, as Simon Arms describes in “The Heritage of Berlin Street Art and Graffiti Scene,” “street art in Berlin is a big industry” and “attracts tourists” (1). But what if it is not based in Berlin? What if I, a Latina woman, were to ever graffiti a wall in the United States. Do you think I would easily be let go? Probably not. A Brown or Black person spray painting a wall in the United States is immediately associated with vandalism. What I am trying to say is yes, both white people and people of color face the risk of getting caught, but white people will always have less of a risk. The consequences of being caught will be different depending on your race, ethnicity, and nationality.

Photo Credit: Berlin Massive

These reflections remind me how different things can be for someone that is a part of the minority. We learned that one of the minorities in Germany is the immigrant community. One typical assumption about them mentioned in Jin Haritaworn’s “Queer Injuries: The Racial Politics of ‘Homophobic Hate Crime’ in Germany,” the “homophobic migrant,” which associates people of color that migrated to Germany with hate crimes (80). I find this upsetting because it puts whole communities in a negative light. It puts a target on who to blame whenever there is trouble. It is why whenever I saw street art with connections to race, street art I could tell was done by an artist from a racial minority, I found myself not quickly pulling away. One of those pieces that caught my attention was mentioned earlier in this blog. It featured various Latino names and Spanish phrases and primarily used a warm color palette. For someone that only knows English, the one English phrase, “YOU TOOK THEM ALIVE, WE WANT THEM BACK ALIVE,” gives enough context to a viewer that the Latino people painted on the wall were missing. But for someone that knows both English and Spanish, it is so much more. My eyes focused on “¡VIVO SE LO LLEVARON! ¡CON VIDA LA QUEREMOS!” which translates to “THEY TOOK HIM ALIVE! WE WANT HER ALIVE!” and “¿DONDE ESTÁN?” which translates to “WHERE ARE THEY?” because I could imagine my mother crying these out if I suddenly disappeared.

Photo Credit: Berlin Massive

That is why after this graffiti workshop, I have gained a further appreciation for street art—street art that connects with people on a deeper level and art done by someone from a marginalized group. It takes a lot of creativity, skill, and courage for these artists to express themselves, even if they are often doing it anonymously. There must be a lot of pressure to include the right words (if the artist decides to use words) or to find the right composition. I mean, it usually takes me a significant amount of time to figure out what I want to do with a black piece of paper. Can you imagine how long my graffiti process would take if I wanted to put something I was proud of on a street wall corner? Graffiti artists like Jenny and whoever painted that piece centered around missing Latino people deserve a lot of respect and acknowledgement for the work they do. They are drawing attention to voices typically overshadowed by white males. I know street art will not magically solve racism, sexism, ableism, and any other form of discrimination we are still facing, but it at least addresses social issues people have to notice on their way to school, work, and|or social events. So, if I were to ever hear about someone simply passing through this alleyway, located at Rosenthaler Straße 39, 10178 Berlin, Germany, I would be shocked, because just like the Berlin Wall, there is “layer upon layer of zest, life, and color” to stop and acknowledge for more than a few seconds (Arms 2).

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Judinelly (Judy) Gonzalez is a rising sophomore at Colorado College from San Rafael, California. One of her favorite things she’s read so far in the classes she’s taken has been the counternarrative, because it is something she can connect with on a variety of different levels. She is still figuring out what she wants to major in and hopes to double minor in Studio Art and Race, Ethnicity, and Migration Studies. When she is not studying, you can find her in the ceramic studio, listening to music, or hanging out with friends. This is her first time in Berlin, and she has loved exploring different parts of the city.

Graffiti & Street Art Walking Tour + the Urban Nation Museum

by Alexis Cornachio

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

The arts and Berlin. Somehow it had been ingrained in me to immediately associate each one with the other. I think it was my limited knowledge of the city of Berlin that had informed some romanticized imaginations of an exploding and dynamic queer arts scene. On the car ride from the airport to the apartment we would be living in for the next three weeks on Pohlstraße in Schöneberg, my imaginations were confirmed as I looked out the window onto passing buildings, cafes, shops, and street signs that had all seemed to be covered with splatted illustrations, unfamiliar symbols, and words—art was everywhere, and it was explosive.

Ignorantly, I had thought little about how my vivid preconceptions of the city had been contributing to a narrative of the exceptionalism of Berlin, a narrative that works to render marginalized groups invisible by relying on the prominence of street art culture and what this culture symbolizes.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

Street and graffiti art are inextricably bound to opposition. They possess resistive qualities not only because they are technically illegal in Berlin, but also because they represent a form of self-expression and can work as modes of making political statements and commentary on society. With the qualities of street art and graffiti being inherently resistive and the city explicitly welcoming artists to participate in this form of artistic expression, an exceptionalizing narrative has been carefully constructed and continues to be reproduced as street art culture is commodified for tourism.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

I am obviously not an expert on Berlin. I certainly do not think I am qualified nor knowledgeable enough to argue that the dynamic and accepting image of the arts culture of Berlin society is a façade. However, I do find value in critiquing the function of this narrative. I think it is important to examine which groups are being affected most by the perpetuation of an exceptionalizing narrative and by the impact of commodifying street art culture. Is a society that seems to be bursting with art, queerness, liberalism, and inclusivity on the surface, in actuality, invisibilizing voices of marginalized people, such as immigrants, people of color, and the transgender community?

I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of community and culture among street artists during a walking tour our tour guide whose name is Cole. I came in with some loose knowledge of the so-called “rules” of street art. I knew that everyone has their own “tag,” artists rarely ever cover other artists’ work, and that there is a solidarity in anonymity. Cole further explained the importance of adhering to these rules and how the culture of respect strengthens the graffiti and street art community. Street art in Berlin has a genuine uniqueness to it, which values artists regardless of background. The community respects each other’s art, and there is a unified value in self-expression and ultimately in humanity, which I found to be very inspiring.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

When it comes to the ways city authorities like police react to street art and graffiti, I question whether it comes from a place of respect and genuine value in humanity. Cole claimed that in Berlin, the police often turn a blind eye to street art and graffiti. For example, he told us about two artists who were creating on the side of a building when a cop slowed to a stop next to them, gave them a thumbs-up, and left. For Berlin, street art is a significant part of the economy. Hence, the Urban Spree area we had the opportunity to visit is in the midst of gentrification. It is being sold off to a corporation that will build “luxury” apartments and clubs. Moreover, only two squats exist when in the years following the Cold War, the city was one of the main hubs for squatters. Most of the spaces for squatting have been sold off by the city and replaced with “luxury.”

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

Gentrification was a consistent theme throughout our tour. Cole described a sort of fetishization of Berlin’s “cool, crazy alternative scene” that manifests in the arts, specifically street art. One story that explained with how many street artists are reacting to the gentrification of their community was about the iconic artist Blu. Blu found out luxury apartments were being built in the space near one of his massive paintings that covered the whole wall of a building. Instead of the corporation destroying his art, they were advertising that their luxury apartments would face Blu’s painting for all the people living there to see. In outrage about a squat being destructed to make room for “luxury” apartments, a fire broke out in the exact area the corporation was using. The city was quick to blame the houseless for starting the fire; although, it is largely suspected that this was the doing of local street artists. One night soon after the fire, Blu and some friends decided to paint the entire wall of the building black, covering his painting. The painting depicted two hands reaching out, so Blu painted over all the fingers except the middle finger of one of the hands, leaving a poetic message for passersby. Stories like this make me think about the anger and frustration of street artists and question in what ways the culture of the arts will evolve and|or dissolve in Berlin.

A couple hours after our tour, we visited the Urban Nation Museum for Contemporary Art, which features various artists and multimedia works, including street art. Within the museum are “chapters,” different exhibits that focus on particular themes. When I walked in, I was met with the exhibit entitled “We Need to Talk,” which is focused on putting different works of art “in conversation with each other.” The curators placed artworks about different social issues such as race, femininity, war, and consumerism across from one another so that they look like they are “having conversations.” At the end of this exhibit, there is a sketchbook and a pen lying on a podium. I thought this was a cool interactive element of the exhibit, because if someone thought there should have been more representation of a particular issue or conversation, they could write that in. Also, if someone just had something on their mind, they were given the freedom and opportunity to share and have others read their thoughts.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

Upstairs was, in my opinion, one of the most intriguing exhibits, because it featured artists who made their creative processes visible. One work by Ida Lawrence, “A Village and Surrounds VI (Mirrors and Moulds),” was breathtaking. Lawrence works and lives in Berlin, and uses a combination of imagery and text to illustrate memory and historical narrative. For this work, she used a large canvas filled with handwritten journal-like entries, differently sized and scaled images, and vibrant colors. My eyes moved around the canvas, and in every corner, there was something new to fixate on. It showed me how one artist can go through a diverse range of styles and thought processes, all culminating in one creative piece.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

The art in Urban Nation exhibited an expression and reconciling of the self. According to the curators, the project of the museum is to create a space that will be used to educate and foster community among street artists of Berlin. In “The Heritage Of Berlin Street Art And Graffiti Scene,” Simon Arms describes postwar Berlin street art and graffiti as an expression of “what it meant to be free” (3). I think an important way my perspective complicates the idea of art as an expression of freedom is rooted transnational feminist discussions about how definitions of “freedom” differ. The past couple of days, I have been walking past an open studio space on Pohlstraße a couple of doors down from our apartment where two German students are building a wall that will soon exhibit a woman’s art starting early July. The students and I became friendly, and one day I mentioned this blog I was writing about urban street art in Berlin, and we started talking about Urban Nation Museum. One of the students had strong opinions regarding the ethics of the museum and how he thought it was counterproductive to uplifting street art culture. He was critical of how the museum categorized street art and graffiti and about how the artwork in the museum was not what street art in Berlin is about. I think their perspectives on museum politics and gentrification are important to consider when thinking about how freedom is defined and expressed in art and why it is damaging to conflate the art in the museum with street art on the streets of Berlin. Is the art in the Urban Nation Museum a representation of inclusivity in the art world? Is it taking something away from street art culture as Berliners and local artists know it? Is the art being exploited as a tourist attraction and perpetuating a narrative of the exceptionalism of Berlin?

In reflecting on my positionality as an American tourist and college student, I think I have been able to gain some insight into the ways various art in Berlin has been specifically catered to tourists. The ingrained image I hold of the lively, queer, and accepting arts culture has fed into my preconceptions of ideas about Berlin, even though I had limited prior knowledge. This exceptionalizing narrative draws in people and money that will continue to benefit the city’s economy, and street art and graffiti become commodified tourist attractions. Obviously, though, the arts community in Berlin is a community I think anyone can learn something from. From what I’ve experienced, it is expressive and fearless, and the culture among street artists themselves is representative of what it means to value one another’s humanity through valuing another’s art and expressions of the self.

Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis
Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis
Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis
Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis
Photo Credit: Alexis Cornachio
Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis
Photo Credit: Alexis Cornachio
Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis
Photo Credit: Alexis Cornachio
Photo Credit: Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

Alexis Cornachio is a Sociology major and rising junior at Colorado College. She grew up in New York, and has been enjoying the urban setting of Berlin. She loves music and enjoys playing guitar and singing. She is passionate about what she has learned so far about Berlin society and is excited and grateful to travel and learn more in her life.