All posts tagged: Urban Nation Museum

Typewriter Keys, Harmony, and Resistance: Innerfields Paint Maria Terwiel in Charlottenburg

Typewriter Keys, Harmony, and Resistance: Innerfields Paint Maria Terwiel in Charlottenburg

October 28, 2025

Berlin brings one of its unsung heroes to a wall this month as part of an Urban Nation mural program. On October 9, 2025, UN inaugurated “Akkord,” the newest addition to its long-running One Wall program—a series built on the premise that it is possible a single wall can carry a powerful message in a community. Created by the Berlin-based collective Innerfields, this mural rises above Schwambzeile 7 in Charlottenburg-Nord, transforming an ordinary apartment façade into a site of memory, artistry, and civic reflection. Following the One Wall charge, it’s meant to be public art with purpose: direct, accessible, and impossible to ignore.

Innerfields. “Akkord” One Wall Project. Stiftung Berliner Leben / Urban Nation Berlin. (photo © Ludger Paffrath)

Innerfields, who have operated at various times as a trio and a duo since forming in 1998, are well known in Berlin’s street art community for their blend of figurative realism and symbolic abstraction. Emerging from the city’s graffiti culture, they often explore the interplay between humanity, technology, and nature—our coexistence and our contradictions. Their murals are recognizable for their human subjects rendered with near-classical precision, often set against conceptual frameworks that invite reflection rather than spectacle.

Innerfields. “Akkord” One Wall Project. Stiftung Berliner Leben / Urban Nation Berlin. (photo © Ludger Paffrath)

For Akkord, the artists turned their focus to Maria Terwiel, a member of the German resistance executed by the Nazis in 1943 for distributing anti-regime leaflets. The mural’s imagery—Terwiel playing an accordion whose keys morph into those of a typewriter, with the sheet music transforming into the very leaflets she once duplicated—captures the merging of art, intellect, and defiance. The work’s title plays on the dual meaning of “chord” and “accord”: harmony in music, and solidarity in human endeavor.

The concept and design was developed through a workshop with students from the Anna-Freud-Schule and Akkord intends to be as much a pedagogical project as a memorial. It engages young Berliners in reclaiming a silenced voice – and translating history into visual language. In a city that wears its past in layers of paint, Innerfields’ wall may remind us that resistance can take many forms—and that in the right hands, even an accordion can be an instrument of liberty.

GO TO URBAN NATION BERLIN TO READ MORE ABOUT “AKKORD”, INNERFIELDS, AND THE ONE WALL PROJECT

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Niels ­Shoe Meulman. Shoe Is My Middle Name.

Niels ­Shoe Meulman. Shoe Is My Middle Name.

October 23, 2025 , , ,
Shoe IS MY MIDDLE NAME. Niels Show Meulman 2016. (photo courtesy of MCL)

Reprinted from the original review by BSA for the Martha Cooper Library.

Graffiti writer, calligrapher, painter, typographer—Meulman’s professional identities have long orbited the written mark. “Shoe Is My Middle Name” gathers those decades-deep orbits into one gravitational field, presenting a mid-career survey whose scale and heft match the artist’s sweeping gestures. Photographs of murals, canvases, and poetry scrolls are sequenced chronologically yet feel rhythmic, echoing the repetitive muscle memory that turns letters into pictures.

The early chapters recall a precocious Amsterdam teen who imported New York Wild-Style back to Europe after meeting Dondi White, while later spreads document how that fluency in urban letterforms morphed into what critics dubbed “calligraffiti.” Ink splashes, broom-wide strokes, and squeegee drags demonstrate Meulman’s commitment to an all-in mark: once pigment meets surface, there are, as he writes, “no half steps.” Quotes, diary fragments, and the full-page poem “A Writer’s Song” punctuate the visuals, anchoring grand abstractions in an autobiographical voice both swaggering and reflective.

Shoe IS MY MIDDLE NAME. Niels Show Meulman 2016. (photo courtesy of MCL)
Shoe IS MY MIDDLE NAME. Niels Show Meulman 2016. (photo courtesy of MCL)

Title: Shoe IS MY MIDDLE NAME
Published: Lebowski Publishers / Overamstel. Amsterdam, 2016.
Author: Niels Shoe Meulman
Language: English


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Julien Malland (Seth Globepainter). Seth: On Walls.

Julien Malland (Seth Globepainter). Seth: On Walls.

October 14, 2025 ,

Seth: On Walls. Julien Malland. 2023

Seth: On Walls. Julien Malland. 2023. (photo courtesy of MCL)

Reprinted from the original review.

On Walls presents a decade of mural work by French street artist Julien Malland, known as Seth Globepainter. Published by Editions de La Martinière and distributed by Abrams, the book documents Seth’s travels through urban and rural communities worldwide, placing his distinct visual language into diverse local contexts shaped by history, conflict, and transition.

Seth’s imagery blends saturated palettes, geometric constructions, and elements of folklore. His recurring figures—faceless children—are staged within environments that suggest both vulnerability and resilience. Across 256 pages, On Walls traces a path from Phnom Penh to Palestine, from Haiti to Ukraine, each mural shaped by the physical and social landscapes where it was created.

Seth: On Walls. Julien Malland. 2023. (photo courtesy of MCL)
Seth: On Walls. Julien Malland. 2023. (photo courtesy of MCL)

Title: SETH on Walls
Published: Editions de La Martiniere. 2022. Distributed by Abrams. An imprint of ABRAMS, 2023.
Author: SETH
Language: English

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Another Page in the City’s Love Letter – Urban Nation Berlin

Another Page in the City’s Love Letter – Urban Nation Berlin

July 15, 2025

BSA Special Edition
LOVE LETTERS TO THE CITY at Urban Nation Museum
Newly released Interview snippet with curator Michelle Houston and Steven P. Harrington

The LOVE LETTERS TO THE CITY exhibition at Berlin’s Urban Nation Museum continues to evolve, provoke, and inspire—inviting new eyes and fresh conversations nearly a year since its debut. Curated by Michelle Houston, the show features over 50 artists from Berlin and around the globe, each offering their own “letter” to the city in the form of street art, sculpture, video, photography, and installation.

In this short video, BSA’s Steven P. Harrington sits down with Houston to revisit the themes driving the exhibition—urban transformation, inequality, climate crisis, and the radical hope that public art can awaken something deeper in our cities. Together, they explore the continued resonance of works by icons like Banksy, Lady Pink, Shepard Fairey, and Vhils, alongside emerging voices and Berlin-based practitioners such as Rocco and His Brothers, Susanna Jerger, and Jazoo Yang.

With the show remaining open for at least another year, this is your reminder: don’t miss the chance to experience a rare international dialogue unfolding inside—and outside—the walls of the museum. It’s not just a show. It’s an ongoing conversation between artists and the city.

Berlin Wall Milestone : Down as Long as It Was Up
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Books in the MCL: Liz Munsell, Greg Tate (ed.): Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation

Books in the MCL: Liz Munsell, Greg Tate (ed.): Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation

July 8, 2025 ,

Liz Munsell, Greg Tate (ed.): Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation

Reprinted from the original review.

The catalogue Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation, accompanying the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston exhibition, is as multifaceted and dynamic as its subject. Edited by Liz Munsell and Greg Tate, this robust volume unravels the layers of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s artistic world and his role within a transformative cultural era. It positions Basquiat not just as an individual artist but as a pivotal figure in a constellation of intersecting movements reshaping art, music, and performance in 1970s and 1980s New York City.

The book is as much a cultural chronicle as it is an artistic study. It captures the chaotic, electrifying energy of a New York where the boundaries between “high” and “low” art dissolved, and the street became an unregulated gallery. The text delves into the social and cultural exchanges between the Uptown and Downtown scenes—worlds simultaneously divided and united by race, class, and artistic vision. These layers are vividly brought to life through essays that explore the societal forces shaping Basquiat’s era: the collapse of urban economies, the rise of hip-hop, and the cultural syncretism that defined the city’s creative spaces.

MARTHA COOPER LIBRARY: BOOK RECOMMENDATION⁠

? | Title: Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation
? | Publisher: MFA Publications, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (May 5, 2020)
? | Authors: Liz Munsell, Greg Tate (ed.) With contributions by J. Faith Almiron, Dakota DeVos, Hua Hsu, and Carlo McCormick
? | Language: English

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Text: Steven P. Harrington & Jaime Rojo, Fotos: Eveline Wilson

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Urban Nation Berlin, Situationists, and “Love Letters To The City” Part 3

Urban Nation Berlin, Situationists, and “Love Letters To The City” Part 3

March 20, 2025

First day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and what better sign of renewal than a fresh Urban Nation bloom—sprouting defiantly among the dried leaves, cigarette butts, and abandoned Berliner Pilsner bottles?

As part of an ongoing conversation with curator Michelle Houston about the latest show at Urban Nation, LOVE LETTERS TO THE CITY, we find ourselves drawn to the echoes of the Situationists, those restless wanderers who believed the city wasn’t just a place but an experience—one that tugs at your emotions, plays with your psychology, and sometimes leads you straight to an impromptu picnic on Görlitzer Park’s slightly suspect grass.

The show isn’t just a tribute to urban spaces; it’s a love note, a protest, and a collection of insights into the streets that shape us and our experience.

Video credits: Commissioned by Stiftung Berliner Leben. Shot by Alexander Lichtner & Ilja Braun. Post-production, additional footage, graphics, and a final version by Michelle Nimpsch for YAP Studio/YES, AND… productions GmbH & Co. KG

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Books In The MCL: “Graffiti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora”, Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón.

Books In The MCL: “Graffiti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora”, Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón.

March 4, 2025 ,

Books in the MCL: Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón. Graffitti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora

Reprinted from the original review.

“Graffiti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora” by Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón provides an insightful look into the world of women graffiti artists, challenging the perception that graffiti is a male-dominated subculture. This book highlights the contributions of over 100 women graffiti artists from 23 countries, showcasing how they navigate, challenge, and redefine the graffiti landscape.

From the streets of New York to the alleys of São Paulo, Pabón-Colón explores the lives and works of these women, presenting graffiti as a space for the performance of feminism. The book examines how these artists build communities, reshape the traditionally masculine spaces of hip hop, and create networks that lead to the formation of all-girl graffiti crews and painting sessions. This aspect is particularly useful in understanding how digital platforms have broadened the reach and impact of women graffiti artists, facilitating connections and collaborations worldwide.

MARTHA COOPER LIBRARY: BOOK RECOMMENDATION⁠

? | Title: Graffitti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora
? | NYU Press. June 2018. Softcover.
? | Author: Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón
? | Language: English

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Text: Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo Fotos: Sebastian Kläbsch

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The 2026 Martha Cooper Scholarship At Urban Nation, Berlin

The 2026 Martha Cooper Scholarship At Urban Nation, Berlin

February 25, 2025

We are thrilled to once again announce the Martha Cooper Scholarship, in partnership with Urban Nation. This scholarship offers a promising photographer the chance to spend 10 months in Berlin in 2026—fully supported and immersed in the city’s dynamic creative environment.

This extraordinary opportunity provides not only free accommodation in an artist residence and full coverage of travel and living expenses but also regular mentorship, collaboration with artists across disciplines, and participation in Urban Nation’s projects and partnerships.

Now in its second year, this scholarship continues to celebrate the vision and legacy of Martha Cooper, who remains an integral part of the selection committee. Berlin is a global epicenter of urban contemporary art, where history, rebellion, and creative experimentation collide. Its streets are an open-air gallery, layered with decades of graffiti, murals, and artistic interventions that reflect the city’s ever-evolving identity. A magnet for artists, Berlin fosters a culture of artistic freedom, collaboration, and innovation, making it one of the most dynamic places for street art, photography, and contemporary expression. As the first recipient fo the Martha Cooper Scholarship embarks on their journey in Berlin right now, we are eager to welcome the next photographer ready to explore and capture the spirit of Berlin.

Applications for 2026 are now open—we look forward to seeing your work!

Read an excerpt from the official Call below:

The Martha Cooper Scholarship (MCS) offers a unique opportunity for an individual from Africa or Latin America to dedicate themselves for eleven months to an artistic project through the medium of photography. With the newly announced MCS, the Foundation Berliner Leben acknowledges the importance of documentary photography and purposefully offers a production scholarship for documentary photographers with an ethnographic focus to apply for this scholarship, seeking projects that critically and thoughtfully engage with the places, communities, and social realities they document. Prioritizing work that captures the context between people and their environments, we support projects that reflect everyday life, shifting cultural landscapes, and the ways communities adapt and change. The scholarship encourages applications from photographers whose work offers fresh, honest perspectives on lived experience, community, and identity with depth and optimism. The scholarship is based on the annual topic of Fresh A.I.R., the scholarship programme of Stiftung Berliner Leben. It addresses social and political developments that affect us in the present and highlights the diversity of human experience and perception of the world.

The scholarship is based on the annual topic of Fresh A.I.R., the scholarship programme of Stiftung Berliner Leben, which addresses social and political developments that affect us in the present, and highlights the diversity of human experience and perception of the world.

The chosen photographer will be invited to live and work in one of our Fresh A.I.R. residencies in Berlin Schöneberg.

The current call is for the 11th class starting in February 2026 and ending in November 2026.

Application for a scholarship in 2026

Application deadline: Sunday,16th March, 2025

Applications are only accepted via Email: FreshAIR-office@stiftung-berliner-leben.de

For a successful application please hand in the following documents:

• Curriculum vitae

• Project outline/description

• Budget plan

FOR MORE DETAILS, HOW TO APPLY AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION CLICK HERE

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Books In The MCL: “Born In The Bronx”

Books In The MCL: “Born In The Bronx”

February 20, 2025 ,

Books in the MCL: Johan Kugelberg (ed.). Born in the Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop.

Born in the Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop. Johan Kugelberg (Hrsg). Expanded edition 2023

Reprinted from the original review.

“Born in the Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop”  is an in-depth exploration of hip-hop’s roots in the Bronx during the 1970s and early 1980s. Edited by Johan Kugelberg, this hardcover serves as a historical archive and a tribute to the pioneers who transformed a local movement into a global cultural phenomenon.

The book’s heart lies in the photography of Joe Conzo, known as “the man who took hip-hop’s baby pictures.” His candid images vividly capture the scene’s raw energy—block parties, breakers (break dancers), and iconic figures like Grandmaster Flash, the Cold Crush Brothers, and Afrika Bambaataa. Conzo’s photos spotlight the performers and document the surrounding community and atmosphere, reflecting the creativity and resilience that defined hip-hop’s grassroots beginnings. His work reveals a culture inventing itself amidst the social and economic challenges of the Bronx.

MARTHA COOPER LIBRARY: BOOK RECOMMENDATION⁠

? | Title: Born in the Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop
? | 1xRUN. August 2023. Hardcover.
? | Author: Johan Kugelberg
? | Language: English

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Text: Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo Fotos: Sebastian Kläbsch

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Books In The MCL: Alan Ket. The Wide World of Graffiti

Books In The MCL: Alan Ket. The Wide World of Graffiti

February 13, 2025 ,

The Wide World of Graffiti. Alan Ket. 2023

Reprinted from the original review.

The Wide World of Graffiti by Alan Ket is a comprehensive exploration of graffiti art, tracing its evolution from a marginalized expression to a globally recognized art form. The book delves into the origins of graffiti in the late 1960s and 1970s, primarily in Philadelphia and New York City, where it began as a voice for youth who felt excluded from mainstream society. Ket, a graffiti writer and co-founder of the Museum of Graffiti in Miami, provides an informed perspective, blending personal experience with scholarly insight.

The narrative chronicles the development of graffiti, emphasizing its grassroots beginnings and connections with other subcultures such as skateboarding, hip-hop, and tattooing. This holistic approach provides a broad understanding of the cultural milieu that nurtured graffiti’s growth. Ket documents how graffiti evolved over decades from simple tags to complex murals, reflecting the changing social and political landscapes. The book offers a detailed account of various styles and techniques, highlighting how graffiti artists and street artists have pushed the boundaries of traditional art forms.

MARTHA COOPER LIBRARY: BOOK RECOMMENDATION⁠

? | Title: The Wide World of Graffiti
? | The Monacelly Press. December 2023. Hardcover.
? | Author: Alan Ket
? | Language: English

CLICK URBAN NATION BERLIN TO CONTINUE READING

Text: Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo Fotos: Sebastian Kläbsch

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Books In the MCL: “Protecting Art In The Streets: A Guide To Copyright In Street Art And Graffiti”, Enrico Bonadio

Books In the MCL: “Protecting Art In The Streets: A Guide To Copyright In Street Art And Graffiti”, Enrico Bonadio

February 6, 2025 ,

Enrico Bonadio. Protecting Art in the Street: A Guide to Copyright in Street Art and Graffiti. 2020

Reprinted from the original review.

Enrico Bonadio, a seasoned expert in copyright law, delves into the complexities of legal rights surrounding street art and graffiti in this insightful book, “Protecting Art in the Street.” Accompanied by a foreword from renowned graffiti writer, artist, and historian Zephyr, the book is a thorough and accessible guide for artists in understanding and navigating copyright laws.

Bonadio underscores the heightened vulnerability of street art and graffiti to unauthorized use and exploitation. He highlights that these art forms, often placed in public spaces, face greater risks of misappropriation and destruction compared to traditional fine art. This vulnerability, he points out, has led to an increase in legal actions against those who commercialize these works without the artists’ consent or proper compensation.

MARTHA COOPER LIBRARY: BOOK RECOMMENDATION⁠

? | Title: Protecting Art in the Street: A Guide to Copyright in Street Art and Graffiti.
? | Dokument Press. December 2020. Soft cover.
? | Author: Enrico Bonadio
? | Language: English

CLICK URBAN NATION BERLIN TO CONTINUE READING

Text: Steven P. Harrington & Jaime Rojo, Fotos: Eveline Wilson

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Books In The MCL: “Swoon. The Red Skein”

Books In The MCL: “Swoon. The Red Skein”

January 30, 2025 ,

Books in the MCL: Swoon. The Red Skein.

Reprinted from the original review.

In “The Red Skein,” Swoon (Caledonia Curry) thoroughly examines her artistic work over the past decade, encompassing both her street art and studio pieces. The book, spanning 224 pages and containing over 200 color images, is a detailed account of Swoon’s contributions to street art and related fields. It includes contributions from notable writers and critics, such as Dr. Gabor Maté, RJ Rushmore, Melena Ryzik, Jerry Saltz, Pedro Alonzo, Jeffrey Deitch, and Judy Chicago, offering a multifaceted analysis of Swoon’s career.

The book is structured as a visual compilation and a narrative documenting Swoon’s artistic development. It covers her pioneering efforts in street art, studio work, animation projects, and community initiatives, providing insight into her innovative techniques and wide-ranging influence. The title, “The Red Skein,” draws on the mythological concept of Ariadne’s thread, symbolizing the complex trajectory of Swoon’s career and the interconnections within her work.

MARTHA COOPER LIBRARY: BOOK RECOMMENDATION⁠

? | Title: SWOON: THE RED SKEIN
? | Drago Publishers. October 25, 2022. Hardcover
? | Authors: SWOON
? | Language: English

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Text: Steven P. Harrington & Jaime Rojo, Fotos: Sebastian Kläbsch

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