Diaries
Intern's Diary
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by Nathan M., 9 Oct 2013While I was debating whether or not to review Starbucks as an artistic institution, Despina suggested it might be more fruitful to check out Döner shops instead—it would be much more Berlin! Up for the challenge, I eagerly biked to Kreuzberg to do some fieldwork. That was probably my first mistake.... -
by Nathan M., 2 Oct 2013I grew up on a 30 square-kilometer island. There were between seven and nine Starbucks on our island, depending on whom you asked. As both the cool place to hang out (when you were 12 years old) and a part of your daily routine (when you were 40 and too boring for an independent coffee shop), Starbucks was an integral... -
by Nathan M., 24 Sep 2013While we waited at Michael Janssen gallerie last week for John Baldessari to arrive (late, against all odds) at the preview reception, Meg Cranston, his work partner, filled us in on the collaborative pieces they had made for their show Real Painting (for Aunt Cora). The colors, she said, were intentionally... -
by Katy Hawkins, 5 Sep 2012Unfortunately I've been unable to write the blog for the past 2 weeks as I somehow managed to get Salmonella (which I had half thought was a made-up illness used to ward off children from licking the bowl when making cakes) so I ended up spending a week in the Gastroenterologie ward in Klinikum Friedrichshain (a... -
by Katy Hawkins, 16 Aug 2012As the office that I currently work in is located in the new-new Berlin gallery "hot-spot", situated around the Check-Point Charlie area, I have been attempting to break up the monotony of the working day, or to find some quick-fix through occasional visits to the surrounding galleries. A slightly... -
by Katy Hawkins, 8 Aug 2012Living spitting distance from Simon-Dach-Straße now, has forced me to often ask the question of -what differentiates me from the tourists? Is Berlin more my home that theirs? And, consequently- what makes anywhere your home? Knowing the literal geographical-city, the short-cuts or back routes? Having a job and a... -
by Katy Hawkins, 1 Aug 2012So, to pick up where I left last time... Money One of the things I love most about Berlin, especially when experienced in comparison to London, is that the role of money as a driving component, or force, within society is considerably less prominent – or perhaps people are just better at hiding it here. In... -
by Katy Hawkins, 27 Jul 2012Part Two My involvement with Bpigs has been a bit…haphazard to date. The post you are about to read in now, is approximately 5 months delayed. To summarize … It was February, I was unemployed and running out of money fast …on the brink of a self induced/self indulgent "depression",... -
by Sarie Nijboer, 10 Jan 2012Dear Diary, The start of an internship is never easy. You will like it from day one or hate it immediately. However you will get an overdose of information and discover thousands of new possibilities, which you did not know they existed before. Welcome to the real world! My favourite task has been the weekly... -
by Sarie Nijboer, 19 Dec 2011Dear diary, From Monday till Wednesday looking for the perfect working annex coffee place kept me busy. My dearest neighbor with whom we share the internet turns it off every night, and most of the time she forget to turn it on again… That's how my search for the perfect place for coffee AND internet... -
by Sarie Nijboer, 9 Dec 2011Dear Diary, Winter has arrived and I am spending more and more days at home.. so this time no stories about bars. Or maybe a few.... because on Sunday Despina took me and the other girls, Maria and Rachel from Pigs, out for dinner at Themroc and we ended up at a nice bar with good looking people called Neue... -
by Sarie Nijboer, 2 Dec 2011Dear diary, I'm already at the half way point of my internship… and because living in Berlin feels so normal I decided to go to Copenhagen for a weekend… Berlin is sooo boring and of course there is nothing that I've missed this weekend… no expos, no parties, no reading… Argh... -
by Sarie Nijboer, 15 Nov 2011Dear Diary, A quote from Willem the Kooning on the front of the building of my school says, "You have to change to stay the same", quite inspiring for an art academy but not only for an art academy. Bpigs is growing… every week we get more and more people who subscribe to the newsletter…... -
by Sarie Nijboer, 2 Nov 2011(the best live music so far... at Mauerpark) Dear diary, Please forgive me for talking so much about drinks… but I think that happens to you when you're living in Berlin…. Thirsty Fridays My Friday night was a pub crawl of exhibition openings instead of pubs. We started at... -
by Sarie Nijboer, 25 Oct 2011Dear diary, Starting the week with working on Mondays isn't bad… only if it starts after 12h. Any earlier and you might run into problems like showing up too late, making mistakes, or being too tired. 12h is perfect… Luckily I got two internships who understand how it supposed to be. Every... -
by Sarie Nijboer, 18 Oct 2011Dear Diary, This is already week 6 of my life as a Berliner. Life is running fast, and it's getting harder to keep up. On Tuesday we had Bob Rutman's opening at Atelierhof Kreuzberg. Todays note: People don't like openings on Tuesdays… Luckily the Möbel Olfe saved some... -
by Sarie Nijboer, 5 Oct 2011This Monday we started with a cup of coffee at Soho House Berlin where we had a such a great view over Berlin. Despina had invited Maria and me for a meeting. It was a good start of the week and at the same time a nice moment to look back at my weeks before. For already one month I'm living in this city. Even if... -
by Sarie Nijboer, 20 Sep 2011Big and Beautiful Berlin is immense! I knew that already, but now I'm totally convinced... I can’t help comparing it to a Dutch city, although that is almost impossible… Berlin makes me feel to me like I am the smallest person in the world (and I'm really tall). On Saturday...