WHO REMEMBERS THE DANCEFLOORS OF REUNIFICATION?
OPEN CALL FOR STORIES, ARCHIVES, MATERIALS AND MULTIFACETED PERSPECTIVES ON CLUB CULTURE AFTER 1989
Submissions: open until June 10, 2026
Multimedia Exhibition: October 3 – November 9, 2026 in Berlin
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, new spaces of freedom emerged across Berlin and many regions of East Germany: clubs and temporary raves, self-organized parties and cultural spaces in basements, factories and vacant buildings. They became experimental grounds for a society in transition, shaped by both upheaval and new beginnings. What was negotiated on the dancefloors of reunification? Which memories left traces behind? Whose voices are still missing from the stories being told?
For the multimedia exhibition “Tanzflächen der Wiedervereinigung”, we are collecting memories, materials, voices and artistic positions from and about the period of German reunification that that reflect how club culture after 1989 became part of a wider social transformation in Berlin as well as in East German regions beyond the capital. We are especially interested in stories that have rarely been told so far.
Submit your contribution now and become part of a multivocal collective archive that preserves and makes tangible the social significance and lived realities of club culture during the time of reunification.
Submissions can be made until June 10, 2026.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We invite individuals, contemporary witnesses and protagonists, collectives, artists and initiatives to submit contributions related to club culture before, during and after German reunification (1989 to approximately 1995).
We are looking for, among others:
- Photographs, videos and audio recordings (e.g. from clubs, parties, raves or everyday moments)
- Archival materials and collections (e.g. flyers, magazines, recordings, documents, press materials)
- Objects and artefacts from club, scene or party contexts
- Personal memories and testimonies (e.g. texts, interviews, conversations)
- Artistic worksengaging with club culture after 1989 and its relevance for the present day (photography, installation, video, sound, performance and more)
WHAT PARTICULARLY INTERESTS US
We are especially interested in contributions that reveal club culture as a site of social negotiation. We mean moments in which more than music and nightlife were negotiated on dancefloors: questions of belonging, freedom, access, community or conflict.
- What did life after 1989 feel like on the dancefloors?
- Which stories and perspectives are still missing from narratives of club culture during reunification?
- Which personal experiences between freedom, self-determination, rupture, transformation and loss shaped this period?
- Which new forms of community, self-organization and cultural practice emerged?
- How did East and West encounter one another? Where did differences become visible and where were they overcome?
- To what extent were clubs, raves and subcultural spaces places of freedom and where did they meet limitations?
- Who had access to these spaces and who did not?
- Which rules, forms of coexistence and collective practices emerged beyond state structures?
- How were spaces collectively used, shaped or defended?
- Which conflicts, exclusions and shifts in power shaped these scenes?
- Did clubs, raves and subcultures help people learn and practice democracy? If so, how?
We are particularly interested in perspectives that have remained less visible so far:
- East German experiences, including beyond Berlin
- Experiences from smaller cities and rural regions in East Germany
- Voices and roles behind the scenes of different scenes, subcultures and genres (e.g. organizers, artists, visitors, activists, door staff, bar workers, neighbors, administrative workers or people from local scenes in East German cities)
- Cultural influences that paved the way for the club culture of that time
- Perspectives of women, queer, migrant and other marginalized actors
- Club cultural influences, scenes and protagonists in the GDR before the fall of the Wall
HOW TO SUBMIT
Please submit a preview of your contribution via this form by June 10, 2026.
Your submission should include:
- Information about yourself / your initiative (anonymous submissions possible)
- Short description of the contribution
- Preview of the materials (file or link)
- Information about location, time period and context
- If applicable: information about objects (dimensions, material, requirements)
Possible formats include image, video, audio, text, documentation of objects/archives or interview requests. We are open to all forms of contributions.
After reviewing the submissions, we will get back to you personally.
AUSWAHL, AUSSTELLUNG & ARCHIV
A selection of submitted contributions will become part of the exhibition “Tanzflächen der Wiedervereinigung”. The selection will be made by the curatorial team with the aim of presenting a diverse and multivocal picture of club culture after 1989.
Independent of the exhibition, all submitted materials may also be considered for long-term archiving at the Archiv der Jugendkulturen e.V. (AdJ) in Berlin. The AdJ archives various kinds of materials and testimonies in both physical and digital form. If you are interested in this option, you can indicate this directly in the online form.
VERGÜTUNG & TRANSPARENZ
Participation in the open call is initially unpaid.
Selected artistic contributions for the exhibition may be compensated within the scope of the project budget. Details will be discussed individually during the selection process.
We handle all submissions with care and respect requests regarding naming, copyrights and anonymity.
QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at: tdw@clubcommission.de
