Black Swan is a Berlin-based collective experimenting in horizontal and decentralised, infrastructure and governance. Challenging conventional decision-making and resource allocation models in the arts and culture sectors, Black Swan facilitates the development of new artist-led models of communal support, collaboration, and governance. Through democratising access to resources and funds – as evidenced in experiments led at Berlin’s Trust and KW Institute in 2021 – Black Swan is actively developing a more equitable and democratic cultural ecosystem.
Using the collective’s digital toolkit, including a quadratic voting application known as Cygnet, participants will collectively decide how to disseminate and allocate the resources pledged to the project. The concepts that drive Black Swan are rooted in open source interdependency, collaborative institutional formations, and intersectional access.
Open Call
We are looking for 10 Berlin-based individuals / collectives to participate in the project. Special attention will be given to applications from Ukrainian and underrepresented artists in the field. You need to be in Berlin for the key dates (26th May and 23rd June 2022, marked with * in the schedule below).
Project Timeline
9th May – Call deadline
13th May – Participants notified on outcome
26th May – Workshop with selected participants (approx 4 hours)*
28th May – Check in on Discord (1 hour)
30th May – Proposals submitted to Cygnet
14th June – Successful applications announced
20th June – Introduction to Silent Stakeholders announcing resource allocation
23rd June – In-person meetup, debrief and meet dinner for CTM, participants, stakeholders and Black Swan*
end of 2022 – Production/Realisation (timelines varying dependent on resource)
Resources include: workshops courtesy of Ableton; a paid commission at CTM 2033; sessions with Kassian Troyer at the renowned Dubplates & Mastering; a radio slot with Reboot.fm; and Web3 and NFT support from Zora.
The call closes May 9. Reach out to XX if you have any questions, and check out this conversation with Black Swan at CTM 2022 Part 1 for more information.