LOVE LETTERS IN THE CITY
The foundation Berliner Leben, established by Gewobag in 2013, promotes art, culture, sports, and youth and elderly care. Its aim is to strengthen local urban structures in order to promote social balance and integration in Berlin’s neighborhoods.
The URBAN NATION Museum in Schöneberg offers a wide range of cultural education programs. The museum is open to everyone and invites dialogue about public space. Accordingly, the exhibition LOVE LETTERS TO THE CITY with ONE WALLS and participatory activities radiates out into the city. As part of the exhibition chapter LOVE LETTERS IN THE CITY, the multistory car park at Blasewitzer Ring 12 in the Heerstraße Nord district was painted. The artist Lukas Zeilinger realized the project “Local Legends: Spandau - A Painting Dhaka Project” with young people.
The URBAN NATION building is also home to the Martha Cooper Library and the Fresh A.I.R. residency program. During their year-long residencies, artists from Europe are able to engage artistically with the city and its people. The HipHopHub brings the rich culture of this dance and music genre to schools and youth centers.
The foundation also works in long-term partnerships with the Komische Oper Berlin, among others, to run innovative cultural education projects for children and young people. Berliner Leben also supports places of integration in the neighborhood, such as the Isigym boxing club in Schöneberg.
All cultural, sports and integration projects are offered through the program Stadtraum!Plus, in cooperation with around sixty local institutions, with the aim of strengthening social cohesion and resident participation in the neighborhood.
If you are interested in our work and would like to support us, please visit:
https://www.stiftung-berliner-leben.de/
Introduction
With this chapter, the exhibition stretches out past the walls of the museum: it radiates out into the city with various murals and participatory activities. Street art and graffiti are much more than just random scribbles on walls and trains. Rather, they are an expression of a subculture that brings people together and allows them to express themselves.
Tags, throw ups, and bombings are not just vandalism as some people may perceive it, but are rather a powerful sign of cultural belonging, community, and creative self-determination. They are like love letters to the city, telling their own story and showing a deep connection to the urban environment.
The URBAN NATION recognizes this potential and channels it to promote cultural education and participation. Through the projects it initiates and sustains, the foundation Berliner Leben supports not only artistic development, but also the social transformation of urban districts.
In this chapter, we show you projects through which street art and graffiti become means of strengthening communities and positively transforming urban neighborhoods. Art can help create meaningful identities and bring people together—inside and outside the museum.
Lady Pink
As you walked along the street and approached the URBAN NATION, you already saw the first artwork of our LOVE LETTERS TO THE CITY exhibition. It's by Lady Pink, one of the most influential female graffiti artists of our time! Born in Ecuador and raised in New York City, Lady Pink started spray painting graffiti on the city’s subway cars at the age of fifteen. She was a pioneer of the scene and sealed her identity as an icon of hip-hop culture with her role in the cult movie Wild Style.
Around 1985, she began to devote herself to large-format murals and canvas works, which can be seen in museums and galleries worldwide. Her works often combine pop-surrealist cityscapes with subjects from subway graffiti.
Lady Pink enjoys sharing her many years of experience with others through mural workshops and teaching at universities around the world. She sees graffiti and murals as a means of rebellion and of “becoming visible,” especially for women artists. In her own words, “It’s not just a boys club. We have a sisterhood thing going.” Can you find this message in her work on the museum's facade? Have a close look!
INFORMATION
Love Letters in the City: Discover the museum façade of Lady Pink and the painting of the parking garage at Blasewitzer Ring 12 by Painting Dhaka Project. You can find addresses and information in the Art Map. Have fun exploring our murals in Berlin!
Conclusion
You have experienced the exhibition LOVE LETTERS TO THE CITY, which provides an expansive view of urban art through the eyes of our curator Michelle Houston. The foundation Berliner Leben has interpreted the artworks within her curation and has presented you with a diverse selection of fourteen artists, each interpreting urban life in their own unique way.
In the course of taking in the exhibition, you’ve seen different ways artists have used deconstruction to create something new. You’ve seen art that addresses the complex issue of gentrification. You’ve seen how art can transform public space, and you’ve experienced how some of these works are eye-catching and challenging, while others blend quietly and subtly into the urban landscape. Finally, you’ve gained insight into the history of graffiti and have learned once again how art can empower people and give them a voice. With over fifty different perspectives on urban contemporary art, the exhibition is hugely diverse in character—a diversity that emerges from, and is a reflection of, the life and dynamics of the city in all its facets.
We invite you to delve even deeper into this artistic world and to discover the many other works that await you in the exhibition. And if you enjoyed the exhibition, you can support our work. Your donation helps us to keep the museum alive and to bring forward the various projects of the foundation Berliner Leben. Your contribution makes a difference and helps us to make art accessible to everyone!
Thank you for listening.
PREVIOUS CHAPTER:
"DE-CONSTRUCT TO CONSTRUCT"
