We invite you to propose a one-day situation (free of charge for participants/visitors) in our space—created with, for, or inspired by one of the many communities that Arts of the Working Class engages with. We will select up to three events to take place between February and April 2026.
Curatorial Frame
In 2026, Arts of the Working Class dedicates its editorial and curatorial program to the concept of Transformers. Over five issues, themed Synthetics, Energy, Global Players, Organisms, and Ancient Battles, we will investigate the systems and figures that convert, manipulate, and redistribute energy—symbolic, material, and affective. Transformers is not to be merely a metaphor, but the substance of our political, technological, and editorial reality: invisible forces circulating through ecological, economic, and social terrains. Transformers are machines that regulate power, mediators between communities, engines of augmented fertility, the collapse of futurity, and arbiters of the infrastructures that govern survival.
Within this framework, we invite you to study, rehearse, or hack a transformation within the span of a single day. Under the title of Community Conduits, we ask you to develop tools and situations despite dystopia.
What is a Community Conduit? Think of each Community Conduit as a transmission mechanism—a channel that facilitates flow between communities, knowledge systems, and resources. These are temporary infrastructures for collective practice that are oriented toward usability and access, redistribution of resources and knowledge, acts of services for cultural workers, our vendors, and our readers. They are forms of mutual aid action, sonic experiment, gathering, and collective fiction that engage the systems, urgencies, and frictions behind our editorial theme.
Examples might include:
– Counterpropagating zine-making workshops;
– Conflict resolution or mediation trainings;
– Stress-releasing somatic sessions;
– Digital legibility for precarious cultural workers;
– Hacking the system: funding for artists.
Or surprise us with unconventional formats that defy categories while remaining grounded in purpose.
Each selected proposal will reconfigure our Berlin-Neukölln office—typically used for editorial meetings and co-working—through a one-day intervention designed to test how bursting bubbles of expertise, sociability, and knowledge can ignite transformative mechanisms in the lives and struggles of those with whom we work.
What We Can Offer
- Access to our main project space (approx. 30m², capacity 20-40 people with limited seating), a reception room (approx. 15m²), a shared kitchen, and access to a non-accessible all-gender toilet.
- Basic furniture with the possibility for bringing in additional seating if needed (self-provided).
- Visibility for your event through our media channels: Instagram (40,000+ followers), monthly newsletters, and, potentially, the inclusion of your project in the print edition of our newspaper.
- Support in sourcing basic equipment, if needed.
- Curatorial frame, conceptual and organizational feedback from AWC's team.
- Assistance connecting you with potential team members or collaborators if needed.
What We Look For
Existing practices that engage directly with one or more of the following communities (we encourage focus on specific communities rather than attempting to serve all):
– AWC Vendors: Individuals who sell our newspaper on the streets, including older adults, single parents, people who use drugs, unhoused or undocumented individuals, formerly incarcerated people, youth at risk, etc.
– Precarious cultural workers: e.g., artists, curators, critics
– Socially-engaged art practitioners and social workers
– Community allies: privileged individuals interested in relinquishing their status to advance a just society
Community Engagement Levels: Your proposal can involve direct community participation (workshops with community members present), community-informed practice (drawing on your ongoing relationships with these communities), or community-inspired interventions (addressing urgent issues affecting these groups). Please specify which approach you plan to take.
Other requirements:
- A clear concept for a one-day activation (including setup and clean-up the day prior and the day after).
- The ability to facilitate your event independently or with a small team (2-4 people maximum).
- Responsibility for returning the space to its original condition after the event (incl. cleaning, resetting furniture, and trash removal).
- If your activation includes selling beverages, please note that it should not center around alcoholic drinks. Non-alcoholic options are strongly encouraged.
Event Dates
You will be asked to indicate your preferred timeframe when applying. Exact dates will be coordinated after the selection process. We are currently planning one activation per month in February, March, and April.
Budget
We currently lack funding for materials or honoraria. However, we are willing to collaborate with selected applicants to jointly apply for small grants and/or funding to cover basic material costs (up to €200-500). Please indicate any essential material needs in your application, and we will explore funding options together after selection.
How To Apply
Application Requirements
Proposal Format: Submit your application as a PDF document, maximum 5 pages, containing up to 500 words of written content. Name your file using the following format: name_surname_timeframe.pdf (example: maxine_musterman_april2026.pdf)
Written Proposal
Your 500-word proposal should clearly articulate the following:
- A description of your existing practice and your experience working with one or more of our communities of engagement.
- Which community engagement level are you proposing (e.g., direct participation, community-informed, or community-inspired).
- The specific objective of your proposed one-day activation.
- The methodologies and approaches you will employ.
- How your concept functions as a “Community Conduit” and as a “tool and situation despite dystopia” within our Transformers curatorial framework.
- Your preferred timeframe (i.e., February, March, or April 2026).
Supporting Materials: Enhance your written proposal with relevant documentation, including links to previous work, visual materials, audio recordings, or video content that demonstrate your practice and support your application.
Practical Considerations: Address logistical elements such as the composition of your support team (if any), anticipated participant numbers (max. 15-20), basic equipment needs, and any essential material costs that would require joint funding applications.
Submission Details
Email: Send your complete application to Dalia Maini, dm@artsoftheworkingclass.org
Deadline: November 30, 2025
Results: Notification mid-December 2025
Selected proposals will work collaboratively with our team to finalize event dates and receive curatorial and organizational support for their Community Conduits activation.
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