Being an Artist in Berlin

Transcript

[0:09] If I'm being honest, one of the biggest reasons why I moved to Berlin was because of the art scene. When I visited Berlin back in 2018, I did an alternative walking tour. And essentially, instead of showing us all the like classic touristy stuff, they showed us more of like the street art and the urban art culture in Berlin. And I fell in love. I really love this idea of Berlin being this kind of playground for artists. And as I went to film school in Orange County, California, and was going to pursue film in LA, this idea of art in Berlin was completely different.

[0:59] The way that I viewed art in LA was, you know, people come to LA to become famous, to get into the industry, to do something and to like really try to "make it"as an artist. And I really felt that the vibe that I got here in Berlin was people didn't necessarily come to Berlin to "make it,",but people came to express themselves through art. And what I have found here, and what I've loved, is just seeing a whole bunch of artists being artists for the sake of just being artists. And not to say that people in LA aren't doing the same exact thing, but there is this no underlying: Oh my gosh, I have to like, you know, get into the industry, I have to like, you know, profit off of my art the same way. There's no hustle culture, I would say, at least what I have seen in Berlin like it is in LA. And that really, really attracted me to coming to Berlin.

[1:59] I am an artist. I went to film school, so I have a degree in filmmaking, but I also love photography, I like music, I like dance, I like a whole bunch of different fucking things. And I wanted to be in a space where I could feel like I could just explore my creativity freely without any of these expectations that I felt I had whenever I was in like LA. And granted, a lot has changed since my time in LA - my mindset, my perspective - so possibly I could go back and redo it, but also I would describe the entire essence, the entire community, the vibe is completely different here then it is there. I walk down the streets and I see people expressing themselves in their own style and their own way here without a fucking care of the world. People aren't expressing their art because they want to get paid. People are expressing their art here because they want to express their art the way that they want to express it. And as an artist, I just love that because it's so freeing. And for me, I'm still exploring my art, my artistry, and what I like and what I don't like.

[3:22] And I just felt so much pressure also in LA, because not only do you have to make it as an artist, but you also have to profit, you have to also be successful financially as an artist. So there's this really big pressure, you know, to niche and focus and grind in this one like field and make sure that whatever you're doing is going to provide you monetary value. And don't get me wrong, we should all, you know, get paid to be an artist, but like I don't want to struggle, you know, also as an artist. And here in Berlin ... I mean, Berlin is not a rich city, so you can live fairly well on a low income in Berlin. And with that, I feel that it's a lot easier for me, you know, to relax being an artist, because I'm not trying to rush finding this monetary value of art. I'm able to just kind of explore my art, let my art be what it is, and just have fun, have fun with my art. And I really feel like Berlin is a place where you can truly have fun with your art and truly explore and truly just find whatever it is for you. And honestly, I can really validate that, you know. It's been super cool to engage and explore all of the different types of art scenes that exist in Berlin.

[4:37] I remember one of the first things that I did ... not one of the first things, but one of the coolest things that I did in my first few months here, was go to the Berlin Music Video Awards, which took place in the beginning of June, and it was like this three- or four-day type of event at this one venue where they just kind of just showed a whole bunch of music videos. And there was people from all over the world who came in, but it was just super cool to have this space of a whole bunch of filmmakers, artists, musicians too, photographers, even there was like fashion people there, all coming in just one space and, you know, just to share their art and just to, you know, celebrate music videos and filmmaking and this type of dynamic. And that was something I'd never seen. I've never seen a music video awards show before. And I was just like ... it was super nice and super gratifying to be in this type of space, and to be in this environment where people were just excited to just meet other artists and excited to just talk about their art, and no one was trying to find a connection or to network up or whatnot, but just to have that, you know, conversation. And once again, I will always signify this is all coming from my perspective. So someone could have like a completely different perspective, but this is my episode, so we're talking about my point of view!

[6:04] But yeah, I really thought that was like super cool. And I just found that very relieving because I mean when you don't have a particular focus on your art, sometimes it can be challenging or it could be intimidating to be around other people who have this like clear focus of what they're doing and how they like present their art and their style or whatnot. But I still felt that I was able to talk to these people and they didn't present themselves to be some sort of like privileged or "I'm better than you" type of persona. I felt very comfortable. I felt like it was just an artist talking to another artist. There was no status, there was no level of I'm a better artist' or whatnot, it was just simply: I identify as an artist and I'm talking to someone else who identifies as an artist as well. And that was super, super, super cool. And I still remember that time that I had. That was a very ... that was the week of the Mental Health weekend as well, if you've seen that episode. Yeah, but you know, it was a lot of good, there was a lot of craziness, but we still got through it, you know, but yeah. Anyways, that was such like a really cool experience and that was one of the first experiences I have like: Oh yeah, this is exactly why I come to Berlin.

[7:15] Yeah, Berlin houses a lot of different types of art styles and I really feel like any type of art that you want to engage in, you can really come here and explore. One of the biggest like art categories that I think of whenever I come to Berlin, is techno and, you know, the DJ-ing scene. Because DJ-ing is art. I will always identify with that. You know, Berlin has an array of clubs that feature techno, and if you are a techno DJ, if you're a DJ just in general, Berlin is the fucking place for you. You can really find a lot of opportunities, I feel like, to try being a DJ or whatnot. It's always my challenge. It's always finding the spaces that allow you to learn without you feeling insecure about feeling pressure, which can always be very hard. Because, you know, I think whenever you think of, let's say DJ-ing for example, you're like: Okay, I want to be a DJ! But you're intimidated because all the DJ-ing opportunities are at clubs and like that, and you want a space where you can freely, you know, try things out without feeling pressure. I don't know any specific place where you can do that for DJ-ing, but I guarantee you that there are opportunities. If not you going out in like the park or whatnot, bringing your DJ kit and your speaker and just playing it there, but I do say that this is a place where you can practice and where you can grow and develop and find out your art style.

[8:53] Also, when it comes to techno, if you're a DJ, you don't always have to just stick with techno. There's a lot of different types of categories of DJ-ing I have just listened to here. You have house music, you have ambient type of DJ-ing as well. I've been trying to figure out my vibe too, but definitely, definitely, there's an array of opportunities for that here. And one thing that comes to my mind is dancing, because I really love to dance, and I've actually found a few studios here. Prices of the classes are quite expensive in my opinion, but there are a lot of dancers here as well in Berlin who are, you know, just having classes or doing meetups or whatnot. I found a lot of those through Instagram, like just like looking on their pages or whatnot. But that's like also been like a really cool thing.

[9:47] Another thing that's really big in the art world here is open mics. So whether you're a poet or a rapper or musician or a comedian or whatnot, there are a ton, a ton and ton, of open mics in clubs that are centered around art. One that I think of is, like @nightart.club. They are a group of artists, musicians, poets, creators, who meet up Mondays. The address thing is Frankfurter Allee 91, and you can also look it up on Google Maps, just like: Art Club. But that is also a really cool environment and I'm excited to see more environments like this where like every Monday they meet up like in the evening times, they have workshops, and they're just like an open mic type of free thing in the evenings. And then they also have like shows going on as well, and I always thought that was like a super cool idea. And that's something that, you know, I always am so supportive of and always wanted to be a part of these types of like, art communities and these art collectives and these environments where you can feel free to, be a "beginner," and feel comfortable sharing your art and starting off, and you know, just easing into it. I think Berlin is a great place where you can do this naturally and you don't have to feel like there's too much pressure on you to, you know, be something or to have a certain identity. You can start off and everything will be okay. So I would definitely recommend, you know, going finding these open mics and just looking online. Like I said, Instagram is just a really great platform to find those types of things.

[11:36] Another type of art that I experienced at the Berlin Music Video Awards that I'm trying to get into, is the act of AI art work. And this is the way like Midjourney and DALL-E, and I know there's a community out here in Berlin, I need to do some more research on it, or whatnot. I know one person who's a part of that community. But that's also like a really cool community that I have been exploring as well that I could recommend everyone and try to get involved with.

[12:04] But yeah, like in a nutshell, like I don't want to list every single type of art field that they have here in Berlin, but Berlin is filled with a lot of different types of creators and a lot of different types of artists. How you engage with art as an artist is also going to really just depend on you. I'm a type of person who, if I see there's an event going on, I always like to take the risk and just go to the event and just see what's out there. I think it's very important, you know, to try different things and to, you know, just peep out different types of opportunities, go to all of the poetry slams, and the Indie rap sessions, and the art galleries, and all of those types of things, because those are just really great ways, if not to fall in love with that actual event, but to meet people that can then lead you to another place in another field.

[13:03] But like I said, it does take putting in some effort. It could be really nice just to collaborate and just to connect with, you know, other artists and other people out here and just see what happens with that. Berlin has an array of different types of artists, and also different types of style of arts that you could utilize and experiment with. I think that's another thing that I really do enjoy about Berlin, is this idea that you can really experiment and try different things out. If there's a style of art that you really have never touched on before, well then, Berlin is the perfect place to, you know, explore that. You also have this melting pot of a lot of different backgrounds, a lot of different cultures, so people come here from all over around the world bringing their idea of art, bringing their style into this one place. And the image that I see, that I think is just so beautiful, is just everyone bringing a little bit of their own identity, their own culture, and then creating something completely new with everybody else around. So everyone is bringing their sort of uniqueness to this one beautiful art piece that we call Berlin, and that's what we get. Berlin and all of this beautifulness, craziness, chaotic-ness that it is, it all comes from everyone bringing in their own idea of art.

[14:26] You also have performers, jugglers, musicians, who are on the street or whatnot. Berlin is just a beautiful place to engage in art as an artist, but also as like just a lover of art, just someone who appreciates art. You can see it all around you, you know. You see the performers on the subway in Alexanderplatz, you know, people who are just there with their guitar, just you know, having a good time. You always see the graffiti on the walls, and whatnot. And I think that was always super cool, just to see and try to learn the history of it all as well. 'Cause a lot of these graffiti things, they come from like a collective or a team of people. I see them all the time. There's a few that comes to my mind. I don't know what any of these mean, but there's the 1UP that I see, the THC, I know what that one means, and there's one of ADHS, which ... I like that one, because I have ADHS and I'm like: Oh, that was like a cool thing! But I've seen that tag like a lot of places and I've always wondered, you know, what the history ... or who is behind that. So I think that's also like a super cool thing to do here in Berlin.