THE SPÄTI RESIDENCY: We Did It!
EXP002: Recapping our Berlin residency in August 🇩🇪
EXPERIMENT is a global residency founded by Sho Neary and Kora Kwok, two artists who live on different continents and work across borders. We are committed to fostering meaningful cultural exchange between artists and local communities.
The residency aims for artists to not only create, but to collaborate with and contribute to the places they inhabit. Each iteration of the residency is shaped by its location, responding to the people and environments that make each place unique.
BERLIN.
The second edition of EXPERIMENT took place in Berlin this August. For 4 weeks, 15 artists developed creative projects alongside spätis – the cornershops that serve as the lifeblood of the city.
The residency culminated in a 3-day Späti Art Walk: a weekend of activations across 7 different spätis throughout the city. From Thursday to Saturday (Aug 28-30), residents held art exhibitions, dance performances, raves, and workshops at their partner spati.
Art was made. Art was shown. The streets of Berlin got a little louder. Booties were shaken on the dance floor. Memories were made. And most importantly, we deepened our connection with the spätis and their owners, honoring the people whose presence and care keep these Berlin third-spaces alive.
See the list of EXPERIMENT projects below.
🧪 Resident Projects
🖼️ Yael Haskal (@yael_haskal) created a shadow puppet show and a mini-museum exhibition exploring the story and family history of a späti owner.
🪩 DJ Panama Mama (@djpanamamama) brought the party to a späti along Schlesisches Tor, spinning Caribbean Latinx vibes with singers, art performances, and a collective energy that everyone enjoyed.
🖼️ Frederic Marschall (@marschall_draws) sketched portraits of spati visitors during the residency. His activation was an exhibition of these portraits, accompanied by Panebasa, an African-influenced band who performed a mini concert.
💃 Ian Edwards (@ian_edwerdz) choreographed a dance performance piece in the garden area of Zuhause Kiosk Späti.
🖼️ Marina Manoukian (@crimeiscommon) transformed trash collected from spätis into collage artwork, exhibiting them at Gula Sor Späti in Friedrichshain.
🪩 Beats & Bytes (@beats.x.bites) and Rush Berlin (@rush_berlin) threw a mini-festival at the first anti-racist späti in Berlin— bringing together DJs, art by resident Yasemin, performers, and inviting the community and passersby to co-create artworks. It turned into a full-on party!
🎧 Danaja launched a podcast from inside spätis, interviewing artists about their work, lives, and creative processes.
👾 Shona (@sketchyshona) ran a paste-up street art workshop to engage locals in creating their own public art.
You can view the full Späti Art Walk lineup here.
Throughout the residency, we hosted weekly office hours, where artists gathered to co-create ideas, troubleshoot, and help each other organize activations. The collaboration, inspiration, and co-creation that took place during this time is what we love most about hosting EXPERIMENT. Each final project is more than just the result of one artist’s labor – it involves the collective influences of everyone in the cohort.
Thank you to our artists
Once again, a round of applause for our residents – and all their tremendous work they put in this month.
