Das Nicht-Festival des Sommers in Berlin
Solidarity Festival for Independent Berlin-Based Artists and Culture Makers Facing Extreme Financial Hardship
Das Nicht-Festival des Sommers in Berlin
Solidarity Festival for Independent Berlin-Based Artists and Culture Makers Facing Extreme Financial Hardship

60,000 EUR Collected - Recipients Have Been Determined
Niemand kommt, alle sind dabei (No One’s Coming, Everyone’s Going) brought in around 60,000 EUR via the sale of tickets and merchandise as well as donations, 100% of which will now be passed on to Berlin’s one-of-a-kind independent arts community. The aid package recipients from the proceeds of the solidarity festival for freelance artists and culture makers facing extreme financial hardship have now been determined, each of whom will receive 1,000 EUR. This was made possible thanks to the solidarity of hundreds of artists, with some of the most prominent examples including Peaches, Axel Prahl, Gayle Tufts, Sasha Waltz, She She Pop, Gob Squad, Marc Zwinz, Eva Mattes and Daniel Hope, as well as the solidarity of numerous art and culture institutions and all of the discipline-specific arts advocacy associations.
The organizers, Ulrike Badke, Naomi Boyce, Daniel Brunet, Susanne Foellmer, Elisa Müller, Paul Netzer, Torsten Oelscher, Sarah Rosenau, Jenny Schrödl and Casey Tower, would like thank all of the supporters for their role in achieving the great success of this inititive:
Thank you to the 1,800 ticket holders! Thank you to all of the generous donors! Thank you to the more than 300 artists, theaters and cultural institutions who participated! Thank you to everyone who helped to spread the word about our (non) festival and the call to buy tickets and make donations! Thank you to Merchroadie, Reservix and Wall Decaux! Thank you to our media partners! Thank you to our supports from the academic, business, media and political sectors! All of you helped to make Niemand kommt a success and to ensure that will be able to help a large number of the artists who submitted an application! At the same time, we know that this is only a drop in the proverbial bucket and call on decision makers and policy makers to ensure long-term protection for culture in times of crisis as well!
On July 24, 2020 July 31, 2020, Niemand kommt, an enormous festival, will take place in Berlin where a stunning number of independent artists and culture makers working in all disciplines will take part – by not showing up. During the coronavirus pandemic, many freelance artists and culture makers have been unable to earn money and pay their living costs. This is why we’re turning to you: Show your solidarity! Buy tickets for Niemand kommt, Berlin’s (non) event of the year, and don’t show up!

60,000 EUR Collected - Recipients Have Been Determined
Niemand kommt, alle sind dabei (No One’s Coming, Everyone’s Going) brought in around 60,000 EUR via the sale of tickets and merchandise as well as donations, 100% of which will now be passed on to Berlin’s one-of-a-kind independent arts community. The aid package recipients from the proceeds of the solidarity festival for freelance artists and culture makers facing extreme financial hardship have now been determined, each of whom will receive 1,000 EUR. This was made possible thanks to the solidarity of hundreds of artists, with some of the most prominent examples including Peaches, Axel Prahl, Gayle Tufts, Sasha Waltz, She She Pop, Gob Squad, Marc Zwinz, Eva Mattes and Daniel Hope, as well as the solidarity of numerous art and culture institutions and all of the discipline-specific arts advocacy associations.
The organizers, Ulrike Badke, Naomi Boyce, Daniel Brunet, Susanne Foellmer, Elisa Müller, Paul Netzer, Torsten Oelscher, Sarah Rosenau, Jenny Schrödl and Casey Tower, would like thank all of the supporters for their role in achieving the great success of this inititive:
Thank you to the 1,800 ticket holders! Thank you to all of the generous donors! Thank you to the more than 300 artists, theaters and cultural institutions who participated! Thank you to everyone who helped to spread the word about our (non) festival and the call to buy tickets and make donations! Thank you to Merchroadie, Reservix and Wall Decaux! Thank you to our media partners! Thank you to our supports from the academic, business, media and political sectors! All of you helped to make Niemand kommt a success and to ensure that will be able to help a large number of the artists who submitted an application! At the same time, we know that this is only a drop in the proverbial bucket and call on decision makers and policy makers to ensure long-term protection for culture in times of crisis as well!
On July 24, 2020, Niemand kommt, an enormous festival, will take place in Berlin where a stunning number of independent artists and culture makers working in all disciplines will take part – by not showing up. During the coronavirus pandemic, many freelance artists and culture makers have been unable to earn money and pay their living costs. This is why we’re turning to you: Show your solidarity! Buy tickets for Niemand kommt, Berlin’s (non) event of the year, and don’t show up!
Niemand kommt - how it works
Peaches is going, Sasha Waltz & Guests and cie. toula limnaios are going, Sharon Dodua Otoo is going, She She Pop are going, Kathrin Röggla is going and Berlin’s entire independent arts community is going – but none of them are coming.
On July 24, 2020, an enormous festival will take place in Berlin where a stunning amount of artists, ensembles and culture makers working in all fields will take part - by not showing up. During the coronavirus pandemic, attendance and physical presence can be deadly. And, exactly because of this, many freelance artists and culture makers in Berlin haven’t been able to earn money for months and can no longer pay rent or buy groceries.
This is why we’re turning to you: Show your solidarity! Buy a ticket for Berlin’s (non) festival of the year and don’t show up! By buying a ticket, you can help to ensure Berlin’s one-of-a-kind artistic and cultural landscape still exists after this crisis has passed. Please help us to collect as many donations as possible to provide real support (we intend to provide relief packages of € 1,000) to as many artists and culture makers as possible.
The German Federal Government as well as Berlin’s Senate Departments have created a variety of aid programs for freelancers, but these are, unfortunately, incredibly far from sufficient. Added to this is the unfortunate fact that many freelance artists do not meet the requirements to receive this aid: artists who are currently in a rehearsal process are unable to benefit from compensation for performances that cannot take place. Guest performers at state and municipal theaters are also unable to apply for relief programs for freelancers as they have formal contracts, even if these are not upheld. Worst of all, most freelance artists and culture makers fall completely through the cracks of the German Federal government’s Soforthilfe II program, whose strict requirements are written generally for freelancers and fail to take freelance artists and culture makers into consideration. While there are, sadly, a multitude of other examples that can be named, the fact is that far too many artists in Berlin are currently unable to earn money and are forced to live off of their savings or from loans. Their livelihoods are under serious threat.
This is also how Klaus Lederer, Berlin’s Senator for Culture, sees things: “I am receiving phone calls from people who don’t know how they are going to pay their rent next month. At the moment, no one knows what consequences this crisis will have, to name only a few examples, for independent cinemas, concert promoters, literary readings, clubs and sociocultural activities or how there are to be expected to be make up for their loss of income. […] In light of the threats to the livelihoods to many freelance artists and culture makers, I see an urgent need for action.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung, March 17, 2020) While restrictions have already been eased for other fields or there are at least prospects of this, everything remains closed for live art until July 31. Following this, nearly all theaters will be on their annual summer break and the regular summer events, normally full of festivals and open air events, have been cancelled. For many, this means that the events in which they typically earn the majority of their annual income will not be held this year. Even if discussions are currently being held about opening art and culture institutions and specific concepts are being worked out for theaters, concert halls, movie theaters, exhibition spaces and rehearsal spaces (any many other types of spaces), it still looks like most art and culture institutions will not be able to offer programming again until the fall – and then to houses that will be anything but full. As Berlin’s Senate Department for Culture and Europe announced on May 29, 2020: “Public events in theaters, concert halls and operas that are primarily financed by public money may not take place” – presumably until July 31, 2020. After this, venues will have to follow strict hygiene concepts that allow only a fraction of the previous audience capacity with a corresponding loss of income from tickets. These financial problems will unfortunately persist far beyond this summer for many art and culture organizations and especially for freelance artists and culture makers. In light of this, we want to demonstrate our solidarity with Berlin’s independent artists and culture makers who make the German capital so famous and attractive worldwide and put on this shared festival that everyone goes to by not coming. Once again, this is why we’re turning to you: buy a ticket to make a donation of € 22 (additional prices levels: € 11, € 44 or € 95). Freelance Berlin-based artists and culture makers can apply to receive relief packages from these donations through July 23, 2020. The applications will be reviewed for completeness, but we are not asking for any artistic content as part of the application. (The criteria are a registered residence in Berlin, a tax number for freelance work, a brief statement about the applicant’s financial situation and that the applicant did not receive relief funds from the state of Berlin’s Soforthilfe II program.) The funds will be distributed by means of random drawings from those qualified in order to be able to distribute higher sums instead of many small disbursements. Our goal is to be able to make a real difference with the funds we are able to provide (e.g. € 1,000 per artist). Please help us to collect as many donations as possible!
you can still donate until August 3rd, 2020.
Bank details at the bottom of the page.
No One’s Coming, Everyone’s Going. Solidarity Festival for Independent Berlin-Based Artists and Culture Makers
An impressive number of Berliners are purchasing a ticket for € 22 and, with that, are making a donation that directly benefits freelance Berlin-based artists and culture makers. We warmly invite you to take part by not coming, buying a ticket and helping us to get the word out!
Normal Price: € 22,00 €
Additional price levels: € 11, € 44 or € 95
The tickets are sold via our partner Reservix and all prices are subject to a one-time processing fee per order.
Beginning now through July 23, 2020, freelance artists and culture makers based in Berlin can apply to take part in the drawing to receive a relief package from the donations received!
The criteria for submitting an application are: a registered residence in Berlin, a tax number for freelance work, a brief statement about the applicant’s financial situation and that the applicant did not receive relief funds from the state of Berlin’s Soforthilfe II program. We are not asking for any artistic content as part of the application. The applications will be reviewed for completeness.
Help us and help yourselves! Apply, don’t come and take part in the drawing!
How to submit your application:
1) Fill out the application completely, print it out and sign it.
2) Scan the application and please be sure to create a single PDF file.
3) Name the PDF file LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME.pdf
4) Submit it via email to: antrag@niemandkommt.de
Application deadline: July 23, 2020
To download the application click on this → link.
And please forward this call for donations within your networks, families, neighborhoods, et cetera via Facebook, Twitter, email, Telegram or WhatsApp. Use your website, Facebook and Instagram accounts to help us spread the word!