Berlin is a multicultural city, a global epicentre of freedoms and expressions. A place that has not been driven by big business (a beer on the street is no more than two Euros, rent an apartment about 400). It is a city who believes and commitment to art and artists. It is a place where an artist can survive without being in the current art market.
But who better to speak of art than an artist in Berlin. Beatriz Crespo, better known in this environment as Beatritze, agree that one of the reasons that have made Berlin the European capital of culture is because "there are still many empty spaces where you can find small places where artists gather, make associations and mount their own exhibitions”. The artist adds that this is very interesting because "you can see a lot of things very fresh, very different, that maybe would have no place in commercial circles, which are established and governed by certain people."
Beatritze speaks with the voice calm and relaxed. She is a painter, illustrator, and teacher who was born in Valladolid. After becoming unemployed at the outbreak of economic crisis in Spain, she decided not to pursue industrial design and go in search of her dream. "A friend wrote a children's book and invited me to illustrate. We seek a European city to go a month and be isolated in it. It is very nice when you go to a site you do not know, because you are very open mind and absorb new things, and creativity soars. " I came wine spree, selling everything, don't knowing anyone, don't knowing the language and without expectations and "I was very surprised. The Germans were neither as cool or as ugly as we think. "
Beatritze says that the writer Bertolt Brecht and the painter Egon Schiele is her source of inspiration. "There are artists, whose their own lives are an inspiration for others, more than their works" added the painter.
Despite being both Spanish and French nationality, Beatritze chose a city far removed from their culture. Upon her arrival, she found the free spirit of a city, in which artists take the city and take part in the city. "In a street there is an artist who, rolling a VHS tape in the branches of trees, rode an elephant which can be seen in three dimensions", is a way of bringing art to people. There is another artist who works with packing cartons, cut them and paint with spray to create something that resembles the Communist houses of Berlin. Artists have made interventions and exhibitions in abandoned buildings, and the public can see there very good works without pay.
Despite having an open public that gives the opportunity for artists to say something, the criticism is very demanding because it "is used to seeing very good works, and competition is intense." However Beatritze is fortunate, because since the city was welcomed. When she said she was an artist, people immediately asked commissions and began teaching at a school for graphic design.
One of the things that has surprised is the persistence of Nazi ideals in one part of the population. In fact that "last year there was a Nazi raid on a building, here in Kreuzberg, that leftist groups used to give workshops and give lectures to raise awareness of fascism."
But ultimately Berlin is a city where an artist can grow, where society is cosmopolitan and you can find all sorts of urban tribes and people are open to meet you. A place where the work seems to matter more than the rest.
For those interested, Beatritze is looking for agent. Those who wish to contact the artist, can do so by visiting her website www.beatritze.com or via e mail, beatritze.u@gmail.com.
