Art Up Now

Program description

Art Up Now supports visual artists in establishing themselves more professionally as solo freelancers - with the aim of achieving more visibility and income through their own artistic work. You will be supported over several months in weekly workshops, individual coaching sessions and the joint preparation of a group exhibition. You will develop a personal strategy with experts from the art scene and present your work in a final exhibition.

The program, which lasts several months and comprises a total of 69 hours, offers you:

• 14 hours of individual coaching
• Workshops on topics that are central to self-employment as an artist
• Preparation of a group exhibition under the guidance of an experienced curator
• Group exhibition in the Bethanien project space

Institution

LOK.a.Motion GmbH

LOK.a.Motion Gesellschaft zur Förderung lokaler Entwicklungspotentiale mbH, LOK for short, is a social start-up and business consultancy with a local focus. Since 1999, it has been supporting people in setting up and consolidating their own business - with advice and coaching, in projects and by taking on various services such as marketing or financial management, as well as with networking activities.

LOK develops and implements tailor-made projects for target groups that often have to overcome major hurdles when setting up their own business. Women, migrants and artists in particular benefit from the many years of experience and the resilient network that LOK has built up.

Deadline

Interested parties can apply on an ongoing basis. Applications will be considered for the next start dates.

Funding period

Start dates of the 4 artist groups / cycles:

1. Wednesday, October 1, 2025
   Exhibition incl. set-up and dismantling: February 24 to March 2, 2026
2. Beginning of March 2026
3. September 2026
4. February 2027

The workshops usually take place on Wednesdays from 12 to 4/17 pm - in presence at LOK (near S- and U-Bahn Warschauer Straße) and in exceptional cases at Kreuzbergstr. 72.

Funding types (non-commercial)

Participation

Funding conditions (non-commercial)

Own funds required

Funding criteria

You are a professional artist (proven by your studies and exhibition biography) and live in Berlin. To participate, you should have time for the group meetings on Wednesdays and be able to schedule time for the group exhibition.

Participants in "Art Up Now" commit to binding participation in the project and all planned modules. More information: Terms and conditions / Conditions of participation

Required language skills:
German from B1
We will be happy to help with language barriers!
Aiutiamo volentieri a superare le barriere linguistiche!

Sufficient listening comprehension in German is an advantage for the group formats. In the individual coaching sessions, however, it does not matter if someone "only" speaks English - here all relevant topics can also be covered in English (and other) languages.

Additional conditions

Costs for participation in the funded program (own contribution):

• 190 € for all Art-Up-Now modules (incl. VAT)
• 94 € reduced for those receiving ALG I/II (incl. VAT)

Payment in 4 installments possible.

If you have financial difficulties, please speak to Art Up Now. They will find a suitable solution together with you.

Expenses for (commercial)

Coaching/mentoring services, Further education, Öffentlichkeitswirksamkeit

Funding focuses on

Start-up/Foundation & consolidation, Entrepreneurial know-how, Market development

Stage of the company/self-employment

up to 1 year after founding, up to 2 years after founding, up to 3 years after founding, up to 5 years after founding, up to 7 years after founding, existing company

Company Sizes

solo self-employed/one-man business

Application type

Online form

Application procedure/documents

To apply, please complete and submit the online form on the project website (also possible in English). 10 artists can be accepted per cycle.

Assistance/Downloads

If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to: artup@lok-berlin.de

Funded by

The "Art Up Now" project is funded by the European Union and the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion as part of the European Social Fund Plus.

Funding area

State of Berlin