Archive of Social Art Funding
“Emergency Programme for Visual Artists” or “Artist Emergency Deployment”: In 1951, the West Berlin programme was launched with funds from the Marshall Plan.
It offered unemployed artists who relied on financial support the opportunity to earn a living through artistic work. Today, internationally renowned artists such as Hannah Höch (1889-1978), Georg Baselitz (born 1938), or Cornelia Schleime (born 1953) were able to secure their artistic existence during precarious times. The Senate awarded clearly defined commissions for artworks at a fixed fee as part of the funding programme. The programme was discontinued in 2004.
The Foundation at the Stadtmuseum Berlin
In 2022, the “Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales” (Berlin State Office for Health and Social Affairs (LAGeSo)) and the Stadtmuseum Berlin established the dependent foundation “Archiv Soziale Künstlerförderung Berlins” (Archive of Social Art Funding Berlin).
The Depot in Mariendorf
In 2024, the process of scientifically cataloguing the collection began. This work will continue in the coming years. As part of its mission, the foundation is also developing a concept to make artworks and related archival materials accessible to the public in the medium term, thus contributing to the unique art and social history of divided and reunified Berlin.
Questions & Answers
Background
The funded artists were commissioned to create new works that were provided for the furnishing of public institutions such as authorities, hospitals, homes, schools, or state-owned companies and could be borrowed from them. Later, private companies and individuals could also borrow works. Even after the end of the funding, works could be borrowed from the Artothek.
Artworks as a Contribution to Urban History
At the beginning of the funding in the 1950s, the artists were also commissioned to implement specific motifs – such as newly constructed or restored buildings, new streets, or parks in the West Berlin districts. Works in public spaces were also realised through the funding. The reconstruction of West Berlin was to be documented and actively supported in this way.
Citywide Funding from 1990
From the beginning of the funding programme, a selection committee was tasked with ensuring the artistic quality of the works. The committee was mainly composed of artists from Berlin’s professional associations and universities, but also included the art department of the Berlin Senate and Berlin cultural institutions. Interested artists submitted originals to the committee for evaluation, based on which funding decisions were made. Formal requirements for funding included the amount of income, main residence in (West) Berlin, and artistic training.
From 1990, the funding was expanded: To support artists from East Berlin, the funding amount for the overall programme was doubled. In April 2004, the Social Art Funding was discontinued by resolution of the main committee of the House of Representatives. The decisive factor was the budgetary situation of the state of Berlin.