--- title: "Archive of Social Art Funding of Berlin" date: 2025-02-10 last_modified: 2025-02-10T15:09:47+01:00 generated_at: 2026-05-26T08:59:11Z url: "https://www.stadtmuseum.de/en/archive-of-social-art-funding-of-berlin" description: "As a dependent foundation at the Stadtmuseum Berlin, the archive is tasked with preserving artworks from the former “Soziale Künstlerförderung Berlin” (Social Art Funding of Berlin, 1951-2004) and making them accessible to Berliners." image: "https://www.stadtmuseum.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SASK_1_MelanieHuber-1440x1920.jpeg" language: "en-US" --- # Archive of Social Art Funding of Berlin # Archive of Social Art Funding As a dependent foundation at the Stadtmuseum Berlin, the archive is tasked with preserving artworks from the former “Soziale Künstlerförderung Berlins” (Social Art Funding of Berlin, 1951-2004) and making them accessible to Berliners. ![](https://stiftung-stadtmuseum-berlin.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SASK_6_MelanieHuber-225x300.jpeg) - > "Emergency Programme for Visual Artists" or "Artist Emergency Deployment": In 1951, the West Berlin programme was launched with funds from the Marshall Plan. It offered unemployed artists who relied on financial support the opportunity to earn a living through artistic work. Today, internationally renowned artists such as [Hannah Höch](https://sammlung-online.stadtmuseum.de/Result/Index?page=1&q=%22Hannah%20H%C3%B6ch%22) (1889-1978), Georg Baselitz (born 1938), or Cornelia Schleime (born 1953) were able to secure their artistic existence during precarious times. The Senate awarded clearly defined commissions for artworks at a fixed fee as part of the funding programme. The programme was discontinued in 2004. ## The Foundation at the Stadtmuseum Berlin In 2022, the “Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales” (Berlin State Office for Health and Social Affairs (LAGeSo)) and the Stadtmuseum Berlin established the dependent foundation “Archiv Soziale Künstlerförderung Berlins” (Archive of Social Art Funding Berlin). ![Außenansicht des niedrigen Flachdach-Gebäudes](https://stiftung-stadtmuseum-berlin.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SASK_1_MelanieHuber-225x300.jpeg) ![Abstraktes Gemälde](https://stiftung-stadtmuseum-berlin.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/PeterSteinforth_SASK_SSB_1951-I-125-300x242.jpg) ![Depot-Innenraum mit eingelagerten Kunstwerken](https://stiftung-stadtmuseum-berlin.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SASK_2_MelanieHuber-300x225.jpeg) ## The Depot in Mariendorf In 2024, the process of scientifically cataloguing the collection began. This work will continue in the coming years. As part of its mission, the foundation is also developing a concept to make artworks and related archival materials accessible to the public in the medium term, thus contributing to the unique art and social history of divided and reunified Berlin. ## Questions & Answers ### How many artworks does the collection include? The collection includes over 15,000 works by more than 2,000 artists. These works are being scientifically catalogued, researched, and made digitally accessible. ### What artworks does the collection contain? The collection contains paintings, works on paper, photographs, room installations, sculptures, and statues, as well as related documents. ### Who owns the collection? The LAGeSo is, alongside the Stadtmuseum Berlin, the main owner of the artworks and archival materials. As a subordinate authority of the LAGeSo was responsible for the Social Art Funding and the management of its artworks, as it was a social funding programme. LAGeSo has commissioned the newly established foundation with cataloguing and researching the collection as well as developing an operational concept. ### What happens to the collection? The cataloguing of the artworks is carried out chronologically by decade – starting with the 1950s until 2003, the last year of funding. The works are conservatively assessed, measured, photographed, and digitised. At the same time, the foundation is researching the works, the funded artists, and the history of the funding programme. ### When will the entire collection be catalogued? The basic data of the entire collection is expected to be catalogued by 2027. ## Background The funded artists were commissioned to create new works that were provided for the furnishing of public institutions such as authorities, hospitals, homes, schools, or state-owned companies and could be borrowed from them. Later, private companies and individuals could also borrow works. Even after the end of the funding, works could be borrowed from the Artothek. ##### Artworks as a Contribution to Urban History At the beginning of the funding in the 1950s, the artists were also commissioned to implement specific motifs – such as newly constructed or restored buildings, new streets, or parks in the West Berlin districts. Works in public spaces were also realised through the funding. The reconstruction of West Berlin was to be documented and actively supported in this way. ## Citywide Funding from 1990 From the beginning of the funding programme, a selection committee was tasked with ensuring the artistic quality of the works. The committee was mainly composed of artists from Berlin's professional associations and universities, but also included the art department of the Berlin Senate and Berlin cultural institutions. Interested artists submitted originals to the committee for evaluation, based on which funding decisions were made. Formal requirements for funding included the amount of income, main residence in (West) Berlin, and artistic training. From 1990, the funding was expanded: To support artists from East Berlin, the funding amount for the overall programme was doubled. In April 2004, the Social Art Funding was discontinued by resolution of the main committee of the House of Representatives. The decisive factor was the budgetary situation of the state of Berlin. ### Why at the Stadtmuseum Berlin? The foundation's collection offers valuable insights for urban society. It is not only of art-historical interest but also of cultural, social, societal, and funding-historical significance. Thus, it fits perfectly into the theme of the Stadtmuseum Berlin, which preserves and conveys Berlin's history and culture on behalf of the public. ![](https://stiftung-stadtmuseum-berlin.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SASK_5_MelanieHuber-300x225.jpeg)