Culture and Creative Industries

The international conference “Sk-Regions” at Technopark Skolkovo, an innovation center in Moscow, brought together architects, developers, entrepreneurs and investors to exchange ideas about what it takes to develop dynamic and economically strong innovation centers. As one of the invited international experts, I spoke in an impulse about the requirements and design processes of living and working spaces in which people want to live and work.

In May 2019, I was invited to Graz by Karl Stocker, exhibition curator and institute director at FH Joanneum as part of Design Month, to speak to students in the LUNCH LECTURES format about creativity in the tension between freedom and security.

The Vision Plus conference in Mexico City addressed the question of how information design can be used effectively as a tool for a better city. Over a total of three days, international experts exchanged ideas with students and teachers about necessary skills, competencies and formats that can enable the sustainable development of cities. As one of the invited international experts, I used the example of Berlin to talk about the importance of designing urban experiences that do not exclude anyone.

Under the leadership of UNESCO, the VIII International Cultural Forum “Forum of Creative Industries” took place in Ulyanovsk, Russia, in 2018. International Cultural Forum “Forum of Creative Industries” was held. As one of the invited international experts spoke in an impulse about how to improve the condition of cities in difficult economic situations with the help of the tools of cultural and creative industries.

In October 2018, Gosia Warrink, in her role as artistic collaborator at the Berlin UDK, invited several experts for a longer workshop process on the topic of MANIPULATION. In addition to Preethi Mariappan, VP and Head of Design APAC, Attila Hartwig, photographer, Raban Ruddigkeit, author and designer and Sonja Knecht, text and conception, I was asked to give cross-cutting input at the beginning of the workshop series. The results were presented at UDK in February 2019.

SIYUM Forum 2018 was the first international investment forum of architects and designers in Kazan. The aim of the event was to prepare the local design and architecture industry for global changes and to strengthen Tatarstan internationally as a region with high creative potential. I was invited and asked to speak at the official opening of the forum about why the creative industry is an important driver for the sustainable development of cities.

In an impulse presentation around the topics of the city as a brand and urban brand experiences, I joined Sebastian Brunner, an expert in brand strategy and user experience design in the space, and Sebastian Fleiter, founder of a creative network in Kassel and initiator of THE ELECTRIC HOTEL, to guide ITB convention attendees through the many ways in which urban brand experiences can be designed, using extraordinary international best-case scenarios.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of “Berlin – UNESCO City of Design”, I published the Berlin Design Digest together with Raban Ruddigkeit in 2017. The book shows 100 selected projects, products and processes from Berlin agencies, networks, institutions and universities that connect Berlin with the world. In addition, there are impulses on various design topics, such as from Anita Tillmann (Premium Group), Nikolaus Hafermaas (ArtCenter, Los Angeles) as well as Lars Krückeberg, Wolfram Putz and Thomas Willemeit (GRAFT). The book was published by Slanted Publishers.

The Europe + Asia Event Forum (EFEA) is a tourism and MICE forum held annually in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The event aims to help improve the expertise of local experts and professionals and identify new business opportunities. In 2016, I was invited to Saint Petersburg by the organizers and spoke in a keynote about the opportunities and challenges of transforming cities into multi-layered experiential spaces.

The first NACHTSCHICHT (Nightshift) took place in June 2012. A festival that invited design studios, agencies, architecture firms, publishers, studios, showrooms, workshops and other creative makers to give anyone interested a glimpse into their workspaces and work. In addition, Berlin-based industrial companies were networked with design and communications agencies in upstream themed tours. Together with Jörg Suermann (DMY), I initiated the NACHTSCHICHT format in my role as an honorary board member of CREATE BERLIN and advised the production team on conceptual issues until 2015.

How do you successfully develop cities and urban regions into livable and valuable living spaces? After a multi-day learning journey through Berlin and an urban design thinking workshop with the RDI Group, a real estate development company in Moscow, all results were prepared for a playbook. The result is a structured collection of ideas, concepts and formats for the development of urban environments and communities. On behalf of the RDI Group and TRIAD Berlin, I was responsible for the Learning-Journey in Berlin, moderated the Urban-Design-Thinking-Workshop in Moscow and compiled the Play-Book from the results.

MICA is a trade fair supported by several Argentine ministries and aimed directly at the cultural and creative industries. The multi-day program includes various marketplace and conference formats where national designers and producers network with international company representatives. In 2013, I was invited to Buenos Aires to evaluate national projects and products and provide helpful feedback to designers and companies for further marketing.

The METROPOLIS THINK TANK SUMMIT was the launch of a series of events organized by the Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation (BCAF) as part of “China-EU High Level Intellectual Dialogue”. The 3-day event consisted of round table sessions, case study presentations and Beijing creative industry tour. In 2013, I was invited to Beijing to exchange ideas with intellectuals, artists and other cultural professionals. The event was supported by the Chinese Ministry of Culture.

The Calvert Forum is a think tank that explores the impact of the creative industries on economic, social and urban development. Alongside former Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, Dmitry Ozerkov, Director of the Hermitage Museum’s Contemporary Arts Program, and Ruth Mackenzie, Director of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, I was invited to participate in the first Calvert Forum at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg as an expert to share my experiences.

In a five-week exhibition at the Volkswagen Automobil Forum Berlin, CREATE BERLIN showed contemporary design from Berlin in all its facets. The focus was on the networking of Berlin’s creative scene with Berlin’s business community. The exhibition was accompanied by live performances and expert lectures. Together with the CREATE BERLIN team I developed the exhibition format. The variable design surface was created by Raban Ruddigkeit.

CREATE INPUT was a free monthly networking event for the members of CREATE BERLIN, which I initiated. Designers, architects, trend researchers and other communication experts were invited to give an insight into their current projects in exciting impulses. The Münzsalon was kindly made available to us free of charge by the manager Michael Rensen.

Together with international specialists from the fields of urban planning, architecture and mobility, I was invited to Moscow in 2012 to further develop ARTKVARTAL, an urban development project for a creative transformation of over 500 hectares in Moscow’s inner ring road, in several workshops. The results were subsequently presented and discussed at the MOSCOW URBAN FORUM, an international congress on the development challenges of global megacities.

In 2010, Berlin presented itself with the BERLIN SQUARE as part of the German Pavilion at the Expo in Shanghai, giving visitors the opportunity to experience Berlin’s creativity in full for five days. In addition to live performances by Berlin music bands and DJs, a permanent interactive installation was the focus of the five-day presentation. As project manager and creative director, I was responsible for the production of all on-site activities. I was supported in the programming and production by CREATE BERLIN members, BERLIN PARTNER and COORDINATION ASIA. The client was the Berlin Senate Department.

In 2010, I was invited to the Digital China Symposium in the forefront of the upcoming EXPO in Shanghai. Using Berlin as an example, I spoke about the sustainable power of creativity and the possibilities of controlling and promoting all activities and measures via an overarching contact point, such as the Create Berlin association.

On the occasion of the tsunami and the subsequent reactor accident in Japan in 2010, I collected illustrations, photographs and objects worldwide for a charity exhibition that dealt with the disaster in terms of design. I was supported by Martina Zeyen and Aliana Jakobs of Create Berlin, photographer Frank Rösner and the many dedicated designers around the world who provided posters, t-shirts and other Help Japan products. The exhibition also included the sale of the “HELP JAPAN” poster designed by Raban Ruddigkeit. The proceeds were donated to the alliance of aid organizations “Aktion Deutschland Hilft”.

ALL YOU CAN MEET was a joint initiative of six Berlin-Brandenburg networks to coordinate their activities and create synergies. For this purpose, the networks invited their members every year to a large New Year’s networking event. In 2010, as an honorary board member of CREATE BERLIN, I was able to provide the impetus for this interdisciplinary series of events together with Internationales Design Zentrum, Berlin Music Commission, Club Commission Berlin, Interface Berlin and media.net berlin-brandenburg.

The aim of the first all2gethernow camp & conference in 2009 was to engage in a dialogue about the present and future of music at a time when production, distribution, business and communication have been transformed by digital opportunities. As an honorary board member of all2gethernow, I supported the team in the organization and networked with partners. all2gethernow

In spring 2009, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Berlin presented itself as a city of creative freedom at the New Museum in New York City. In this context, the New Museum also became the venue for several events on the topics of film, art and design. Alongside several Berlin experts, I was invited to present Berlin’s creative diversity at a Pecha Kucha evening.

24h Berlin was a multimedia television project and tells a day in the life of Berlin. For this, on September 5, 2008, about 80 teams filmed for one day all over Berlin. One year later, on September 5, 2009, the result was broadcast as a television program for 24 hours without interruption. The idea came from Volker Heise, who was also responsible for the overall direction. The producer was Thomas Kufus from zero one film. The project was supported by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb), ARTE and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. I was responsible for the accompanying participatory website, which accompanied the production process and also gave all Berliners the opportunity to upload their own video material. I was supported by the agencies COMPUCCINO and GOLDENER WESTEN. 24h Berlin

As part of an exclusive sales exhibition of Berlin product design at the MoMA Design Stores in New York, there was the accompanying exhibition “Suitcases from Berlin”. For this, Berlin talents such as Werner Aisslinger, Paul van Dyk, Olaf Hajek, MIA, Gestalten Verlag, Mykita, Zeha, Bless, Kaviar Gauche, Michael Michalsky and Graft showed how much creativity fits into a suitcase. The exhibition was opened by the then mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit. Together with the CREATE BERLIN team I was responsible for the exhibition design and the interactive project website.