Abstract: "Be Berlin"
Urban theorist Alan Blum pointed out that "the ‘identity’ of a city is forged through the work of making a difference in the grammar of cities, of making a different kind of city" (Blum, The Imaginative Structure of the City, 2003, pp.30-31). In post-reunification Berlin, this difference in grammar is particularly apparent through gentrification, urban marketing, and identity branding. In fact, the kind of city that is being created is what Richard Florida calls a creative centre.
Cultural policy in Berlin today is increasingly shaped by marketing executives and project managers, such as the creative directors of Berlin Partner responsible for the “be Berlin” urban marketing campaign. Commissioned by Mayor Klaus Wowereit shortly after the success of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the campaign went through several successful waves of projects and collaborations with various representatives from art, media, and industry, primarily geared to promote a positive and inspiring image to attract creative professionals and foreign investors.
The turning point in the campaign occurred when the cultural department of the Berlin Senate decided to launch a new policy to promote multiculturalism (in the works long before Angela Merkel’s 2010 provocative accusation that multiculturalism in Germany has failed), promoting it under the catchy title: “be Berlin – be diverse,” and hoping to tap into the financial capital generated by and for the “be Berlin” campaign. Working closely with Wowereit on reshaping Berlin’s image and slowly generating economic growth, the “be Berlin” campaign has transformed into an open and flexible platform for anything from promoting local talent to subsidizing multicultural projects and artists. Its reach is unprecedented, spanning from slogans on public garbage bins and buses, to discussion panels on cultural diversity and intercultural education held at the Deutsches Theater.
Tracing the development of the “be Berlin” campaign and its current applications, this presentation will examine the curious crossing of city marketing and cultural politics in the increasingly gentrified and ever-transforming new capital of reunified Germany. It is significant because in the post-Fordist, post-industrial, global economy, Berlin is entering a new phase of its history. It is no longer the city of voids, division, or the city of construction sites. It is in the process of becoming the capital of technology, media, marketing, and cultural innovation.
Cultural policy in Berlin today is increasingly shaped by marketing executives and project managers, such as the creative directors of Berlin Partner responsible for the “be Berlin” urban marketing campaign. Commissioned by Mayor Klaus Wowereit shortly after the success of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the campaign went through several successful waves of projects and collaborations with various representatives from art, media, and industry, primarily geared to promote a positive and inspiring image to attract creative professionals and foreign investors.
The turning point in the campaign occurred when the cultural department of the Berlin Senate decided to launch a new policy to promote multiculturalism (in the works long before Angela Merkel’s 2010 provocative accusation that multiculturalism in Germany has failed), promoting it under the catchy title: “be Berlin – be diverse,” and hoping to tap into the financial capital generated by and for the “be Berlin” campaign. Working closely with Wowereit on reshaping Berlin’s image and slowly generating economic growth, the “be Berlin” campaign has transformed into an open and flexible platform for anything from promoting local talent to subsidizing multicultural projects and artists. Its reach is unprecedented, spanning from slogans on public garbage bins and buses, to discussion panels on cultural diversity and intercultural education held at the Deutsches Theater.
Tracing the development of the “be Berlin” campaign and its current applications, this presentation will examine the curious crossing of city marketing and cultural politics in the increasingly gentrified and ever-transforming new capital of reunified Germany. It is significant because in the post-Fordist, post-industrial, global economy, Berlin is entering a new phase of its history. It is no longer the city of voids, division, or the city of construction sites. It is in the process of becoming the capital of technology, media, marketing, and cultural innovation.
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