The 48 Stunden Neukölln Charta

General information

• 48 Stunden Neukölln is an annual event held at the end of June. It is the largest festival of the arts in Berlin.
• The event is organised by Kulturnetzwerk Neukölln e.V.
• The festival is held for exactly 48 hours (Friday 7 pm -Sunday 7 pm). All individual events that make up the festival must begin, take place and conclude during this period. (An exceptions are made for exhibitions that begin before the festival or continue after 48 Stunden )
• All venues must be in the area known the “Altstadt“ of Neukölln (north of the S-Bahn ring; to the south, within hearing distance of the S-Bahn).
• A new festival motto is selected every year. Participating artists can, but needn't necessarily, present work devoted to the theme.
• 48 Stunden Neukölln encourages new projects and the realisation of contributions premiering at the festival.

Purpose

• The goal of 48 Stunden Neukölln is to support the arts. Both artists living in Neukölln as well as those from further afield are offered a platform to present their work to a diverse audience.
• The festival places special emphasis on innovative projects providing cultural mediation as well as the presentation of art in unusual contexts, especially in public spaces.
• The goal is to reach as many segments of the population as possible, communicating with them, and involving them cultural processes.
• The festival defines itself as cosmopolitan and open to all manner of experimentation.
• Neukölln is proud of its reputation as a place where new ideas are tried out and contemporary modes of presentation of the arts are stimulated.
• Artists are encouraged to conceptualise new projects and contributions to the festival.

Concept

• 48 Stunden Neukölln was conceived as an open forum for the presentation of the arts. The organisers place special emphasis on the egalitarian nature of the programme.
• 48 Stunden Neukölln values interaction between different ethnic groups and segments of society. The overriding notion of tolerance is essential to all events during the festival.
• 48 Stunden Neukölln is a non-profit undertaking.
• 48 Stunden Neukölln is a non-partisan festival.

Conditions of Participation

• *Institutions, alternative spaces, artists' groups and individuals are cordially invited to participate.
• No selection process takes place of the entries/-planned events submitted.
• All events should, generally, be free of charge for the audience.
• The planning, financing and carrying out of programmes, both in an artistic, and in a legal sense are the sole responsibility of each venue involved in the festival . More concrete details will be established in each respective “Kooperationsvereinbarung” (co-operation agreement).
• No additional costs should be incurred by artists to realise their contributions to the festival. Although exceptions exist, hosts at any particular venue are not permitted to charge artists (with the exception of their share of the rent and utilities for the space used during the festival, if need be) for use of their facilities.
• Artists are responsible for finding a space appropriate to their project. They will be supported, as much as possible/ desired, by the festival team and each area branch office (Kiezfiliale).

Exclusion Criteria

The organisational team and the area branch offices reserve the right to exclude events that violate any of the following rules:

Registration and printing deadlines must be upheld.

Events with clearly commercial motivation or a partisan perspective or religious persuasion are not allowed to participate in the festival.

Every artist is entitled to appear at only one location during the festival.

Repeating projects that have already been presented within the festival's framework is a reason to be excluded from the festival.

Non-compliance with opening times set for the entire festival as well as other important agreements with the organisers will be viewed as a reason for exclusion from future festivals.

Events (i.e. concerts, performances) that begin before or continue until after the festival will not, during the period in question, be included in the festival programme.

Financial Matters

• 48 Stunden Neukölln is a chronically underfunded project organised by a volunteer, non-profit organisation.
• The organisers can pay for neither honoraria nor re-imburse costs incurred for artists’ materials.
• No one has the right to expect that Kulturnetzwerk Neukölln will cover or reimburse costs incurred.
• Artists can apply to participate in specific parts of the festival, such as concrete, clearly delineated project series that are supported by other sources and are presented during the festival.

How the Festival is Organised

The team responsible for 48 Stunden Neukölln consists of a director of the festival, and that individual's colleagues from Kulturnetzwerk Neukölln e.V.

Independent branch offices in each neighbourhood (known as “kiezfiliale”) co-operate with the team organising the entire event and are run, in each area, by individuals known as “kiezfilialleitern”. They decide, with the artists and venues involved, on specific ideas for that area (“kiez”) and produce a flyer detailing the events in that neighbourhood. The goal therein is to develop networks supporting artists in every part of the district involved.

The organisers of 48 Stunden Neukölln work is accompanied by the following additional bodies:

• Large roundtable
  A monthly meeting of participating artists and those responsible for venues (kiezfilialleitern)
• Guidance group (Steuerungsrunde)
  Representatives of various cultural institutions in Neukölln and artists meet to discuss long-term planning for the festival
• Meetings of the co-ordinators of each branch office (kiezfilialleitern)
  (Kunstfilialleiterrunde) The co-coordinators of the branch offices meet to make decisions of how concrete issues should be carried out as well as consulting on specific themes and focuses, supporting each other in process.

What the Organisers of 48 Stunden Neukölln Accomplish

The organisers of 48 Stunden Neukölln are responsible for the following:

• Co-ordination and networking of venues and artists involved
• Public relations
• Fundraising for basic running costs and PR
• Applications for special funding for specific series devoted to the theme of that year's festival
• Co-ordinating the responsibilities of the branch offices
• Advising/supporting those applying for grants to realise events within the festival's framework
• Making editorial decisions and implementing them for the festival's website. Additionally, they determine what information about the festival should be relayed in pertinent print media, such as printed programmes, posters, special flyers, etc.
• Advising participants on their applications for funding, finding a venue or suitable artists (as the case may be)
• Organisation and conducting the large roundtable discussions (Große Runden)
• For all events that are registered on time and for which adequate information is provided, assistance will be available for attaining the required permits from the city office for public order. This is possible for permits applying to the following fields: levels of sound/light, use of public thoroughfares and green areas as well as civil engineering issues. All constraints set by the office for public order are legally binding.