NotepadWelcome to 48 STUNDEN NEUKÖLLN 2010
"Komplex650"
Berlin's largest festival of the arts is now in its 12th year, once again casting an eye on the constantly expanding cultural scene to be found in northern Neukölln. Our area has, over the last few years, attracted evermore artists, as well as those interested in the arts and, of course, residents (including newer ones) from all over the globe. It is, indeed, one of the most creative parts of Berlin, where nearly anything goes.
Foto: Antje Canzler
This year, the festival encompasses more than 1700 active participants at more than 340 venues, offering around 700 events, exhibitions and more within a 48-hour period. You are invited to experience the amazing diversity of cultural activity here in the most varied and often unexpected places. From Friday to Sunday (7 pm - 7 pm) you be confronted with an array of visual arts, theatre, dance and performance art, readings, guided tours and parties held on the streets and in public squares, at galleries, artists' studios and private residences, in theatres and even at temporary cultural spaces. All this is on offer within the framework of this special non-commercial festival of the arts. Most of the events are accessible without an entrance fee affording punters easy access.
2010 is also significant as the year marking 650 years since the founding of Rixdorf/Neukölln. The Saturday on which the festival takes place is the day on which, according to historical records, the area was first officially mentioned. We'd like to delve into this exciting history with all the inhabitants of northern Neukölln while keeping many aspects of our own era, the here and now, in mind to mark this auspicious anniversary. The motto “Komplex650”suggests an array of different perspectives of this history which will be a focal point of this year's festival.
Rixdorf was established as a farmers' village in 1737, a refuge for Bohemians fleeing religious persecution. Over the following centuries, more and more people came from a gamut of different cultural backgrounds, to settle in Rixdorf/Neukölln (some came of their own volition; some were forced by political circumstances) making it their new home. Today, people from more than 165 different countries reside here, in the most populous district of Berlin. The festival is yet another expression of celebrating the richness of this cultural diversity. Again and again, new views of how our society reshapes itself, how different people live together in such close quarters, which has been presented as a problem, will be savoured in the framework of numerous events. In honour of this 650-year anniversary, you’re invited to join us in celebrating this diversity!
André Schmitz, Berlin's regional Secretary for Culture, deserves special thanks for agreeing to serve as patron of this year's 48 Stunden Neukölln.
We're looking forward to all of the visitors who will gravitate to Neukölln over the course of the weekend to satisfy their curiosity about the area, or simply to enjoy the culture on offer here.
Dr. Martin Steffens
as well as the rest of the 48 STUNDEN NEUKÖLLN team
Kulturnetzwerk Neukölln e.V.
“Neukölln - A Cultural Hub with a Future“
Greeting from the District Lord Mayor, Heinz Buschkowsky and Councillor for Education, Schools Culture and Sports, Wolfgang Schimmang.
To read his greeting to the festival, please click here.
Our Patron for 2010
The Secretary for Cultural Affairs for the City of Berlin, André Schmitz, has kindly agreed to be patron of this year's 48 Stunden Neukölln.
After attending school on Hamburg, André Schmitz studied law in at university. From 1988-90 he served as personal advisor to the assistant mayor and the Senator for Culture in Hamburg. He was especially dedicated to theatre at the time. Then, from 1992-97, he served as managing director of the Volksbühne at Rosa Luxemburg Platz, then as its executive director. He then became its executive director in December 2000 while also serving as the provisional head of the Deutschen Oper Berlin.
Schmitz then shifted his attentions , once again, to politics: from June 2001 - November 2006, he served as State Secretary and head of the State Chancellery of Berlin's Department of Culture. The City of Berlin does not currently have a position in the Senat devoted exclusively to culture. Indeed, the Lord mayor, Klaus Wowereit, is personally responsible for such matters legally, making Schmitz presently the highest ranking official for culture in the city.
To read his greeting to the festival, please click here.
Greeting from our main private sponsor, BIOTRONIK,
represented by its managing director, Christoph Böhmer.
Since 2007, BIOTRONIK, a Neukölln-based company, has faithfully supported 48 Stunden Neukölln.
Business and culture under one roof: BIOTRONIK is a high-tech company resolutely dedicated to supporting, in 2010 a well as in the past as the festival's main private sponsor, 48 Stunden Neukölln. With approximately 2000 employees working in Neukölln, BIOTRONIK is an internationally successful manufacturer of medical technology and important regional employer. Qualified work- and training places and a healthy emphasis on economic growth make it possible for the company to have a stabilising effect on the area it's located in as well as much further afield.