The anonymity of the Western European metropolis exists only for certain subjects—particularly upper-class white cis men, by whom it was essentially conceived. The layout of residential areas and workplaces, public transportation, street directions, and traffic light timings—Western urban and transport planning for decades followed the stereotype of the "man in a company car on his way to work." In Eastern Europe, urban planning followed a different path, but it was ultimately patriarchal as well. Yet our city and its inhabitants are multifaceted and diverse. People have different needs and strategies for using public space. How do women, People of Color (PoC), queer and post-migrant individuals, workers, children, seniors, and people with disabilities experience and shape their city? How do they adapt to structures and architectures that were not designed for them?

Kunst im Untergrund: Historical Development of the Art Competition

The art competition, originally titled Kunst statt Werbung (Art Instead of Advertising), was first held in 1958 in East Berlin and called on artists to design posters for peace. The submitted works were displayed on the trackside walls at Alexanderplatz subway station. While most former GDR institutions were dissolved or renamed after 1989, the competition managed to endure. 

Since the early 1990s, the nGbK (New Society for Visual Arts), in collaboration with the Senate Departments, has realized artistic projects in or near Berlin subway stations under the project title Art in the Underground. Since the 2000s, the competition has also included participatory and interventionist concepts. The open art competition was announced again in 2024 with support from the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion.

Magazine

flexen, flirren, fantasieren – mapping the queer city (flexing, flickering, fantasizing – mapping the queer city) brings together diverse perspectives and opens up a multi-layered engagement with urban space. The magazine accompanies the public artworks and adds artistic and theoretical reflections on current socio-political developments in the city. It combines new and existing texts, videos, and audio works and gradually invites artists, authors, and activists throughout the project period to contribute their perspectives. In addition to artistic contributions, historical and socio-political analyses are also published, emphasizing the project’s intersectional character. Thematically, the magazine connects historical perspectives from East and West Berlin with current issues—particularly in the context of the three subway stations Bülowstraße, Nollendorfplatz, and Schönhauser Allee.