dear friends,
berlin's media>arts<lab TESLA is facing closure
by the end of this year. the spaces in the
podewils'sches palais and the complete funding
are being withdrawn after three years of
pioneering work.
the immediate reason for this is that the local
government that funds tesla needs the money for
something else ('cultural education', fostering
the appreciation of art by young people, e.g. by
bringing artists into schools, building
partnerships between art institutions and
schools, etc.). moreover, they were supposedly
not happy about the relatively low number of
paying visitors at tesla. they completely
disregarded the fact that we had many non-paying
visitors, and ignored the singular role that
tesla has as a laboratory and production place
for artists working with different media and
technologies.
if you would like to comment on this to our state
secretary for culture, andre schmitz, who is
politically responsible for this decision, it
would be much appreciated. please, cc us.
regards,
-a
t e s l a
media > art < laboratory
call to action
in light of the current threat to t e s l a 's
existence, we call upon artists, audience, and
colleagues, to communicate to the state of berlin
what the city risks to lose with this decision.
learn more about the current situation at
http://www.tesla-berlin.de , write a letter or an
e-mail to mr andre schmitz, the state secretary
for cultural affairs, and please remember to send
a copy to t e s l a , as well, for our
documentation. you will find the necessary
addresses at the end of this mail.
rather than generic protest letters, we
particularly encourage qualified statements on
the meaning and importance of media art, on the
need for venues for artistic production,
presentation, and reflection, on support for
media art in berlin, and on t e s l a 's role in
both a local and international context. in the
coming months, we will increase our efforts to
attain support from the state of berlin for this
branch of the arts, and we hope that this action
will make it clear that a real need and a broad
interest exists.
we thank you for your support. we hope that this
campaign will reach those responsible for
cultural politics and demonstrate to them the
vital need for a competent center for art and
media in berlin. please forward this call trough
your mailing list. please address any questions
to moritz von rappard (pr and press) at 030. 247
49 788 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
andreas broeckmann, detlev schneider, carsten seiffarth
Herrn Staatssekretär André Schmitz
beim Regierenden Bürgermeister von Berlin
Senatskanzlei - Kulturelle Angelegenheiten
Brunnenstraße 188 - 190
D - 10119 Berlin
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
t e s l a
media > art < laboratory
podewils'sches palais
klosterstraße 68
d - 10179 berlin
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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