NEUE NARRATIVE — ALTERNATIVE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES AND CRUCIAL QUESTIONS

Business magazines: they’re all about profit margins, share prices and strong leaders, right? Maybe that used to be true, but there is a (relatively) new kid on the block that wants to change all that. Neue Narrative is the self-proclaimed “magazine for new work” which takes a more nuanced approach to business writing. Aimed at both managers and employees, the magazine’s three issues a year explore many of the usual workplace themes such as innovation, social responsibility and entrepreneurship. But rather than offering buttoned-up economics and stiff management science, the nicely-illustrated pages are full of colorful ideas, from Freudian psychology to the latest business thinking straight from Silicon Valley.

The latest issue is all about the ego, and includes tips on how to hold respectful meetings and an explainer on the phenomenon of psychopaths and narcissists in business. The magazine also hears from Laura Zuckschwerdt from Soulbottles and Christian Kroll from Ecosia on all things ego. Like all the editions (there have been 13 since 2017), the magazine is not just to be passively read: it’s full of quizzes, tools, and exercises that make your work life better. Packed with critical thought and fresh science, this is a publication that will have you rethinking everything you thought you knew about work.

Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Sophie Doering

You can get an annual subscription to Neue Narrative for €29 online.

@neuenarrative

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Events

BURNING FUTURES — JOIN EXPERTS AT HEBBEL AM UFER TO DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION

I recently read that in the past 20 years, the time available to escape a burning house has dropped from 17 to four minutes due to the flammable materials we now surround ourselves with. It’s a fitting metaphor for the escalating climate crisis, with newspapers offering ever-bleaker prognoses of ecological collapse. And with politics offering more words than actions, it feels like we need another boost to our pro-planet efforts. Luckily this is what the discussion event Strategies on Fire: What Next for the Climate Movements, held this Friday (21.01.2022) at Hebbel am Ufer, is all about. Hosted in front of an audience in the HAU1 hall, the talk brings together a diverse panel of key activists – including solar start-up owner and journalist Annemarie Botzki and degrowth activist and economist Tonny Nowshi – to present an alternative future for climate campaigning. The questions they ask are certainly tough: are governments actively preventing climate rebellion? Are politicians fooling the public into believing that they are being listened to? In response the panellists want to counter what they see as lip service with more radical ideas, from global climate networks to creating autonomous ecological habitats.

The event is a continuation of the discussion and podcast series “Burning Features: On Ecologies of Existence” which presents radical solutions for the climate crisis. It can sometimes feel overwhelming to hear constant talk of environmental collapse, but it’s precisely this kind of lively discussion that offers a vision of lasting change, calming the apocalyptic anxiety many of us feel. If you want to catch up with previous talks in this series (topics include fossil fuels, big farms, and coexistence) you can also listen online.

Text: Rosie Gilmour / Photos: HAU Hebbel am Ufer & Pixabay

Hebbel am Ufer, Stresemannstr.29, 10963 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map

Strategies on Fire: What Next for the Climate Movements, 21.01.2022, 19h. In English with live German translation. Tickets can be purchased here for €5.

@hauberlin

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Events, Culture

CTM FESTIVAL 2022: MUSIC AND ARTS PROGRAM RETURNS WITH PERFORMANCES, ART AND A GIANT DECONSTRUCTED ORGAN

This year’s CTM Festival has such a big program that organizers have had to split it in two. Okay: the current Covid situation is part of the reason, but the line-up really is packed. Running until 06.02.2022, Part 1 of the multi-genre music and arts event features high-tech installations, interactive music performances and online workshops (the usual club events and concerts will follow in May). First up: continuing tonight (20.01) and throughout the festival is the Modular Organ System, a sound installation at Silent Green’s Betonhalle that consists of a giant organ constructed out of ceramics and papier mâché by composer duo Phillip Sollmann and Konrad Sprenger. This experimental spirit is also on show at 40 Years of Touch, a concert in the Silent Green Kuppelhalle that celebrates four decades of the UK audio-visual label. The show features ambient sounds from Canadian sound artist Crys Cole and Australian multi-instrumentalist Oren Ambarchi.

Over in Kreuzberg, Bethanien is once again hosting the CTM exhibition. This year’s theme is Connected Alienation, with a multi-media group show that explores how artists have kept collaborating during the pandemic (opens on 28.01). Events continue online with Jump Cut, a six-part web series featuring musical compositions and 3D graphics created by artists in lockdown. The series is available via the HAU4 platform, while over on YouTube you can check out CTM’s collection of streamed concerts and discussions. If you what to know what Part 2 has in store, you can get a sneak-peak of the line-up here.

Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Camille Blake, Jan St. Werner & Catherine Opie

CTM 2022 Part 1 (until 06.02.2022), various venues and online. You can view the program and buy tickets online.

@ctmfestival

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Bars

OONA — IN-STUDIO BAR AND COMMUNITY SPACE FROM NEUKÖLLN’S REFUGE RADIO

Neukölln-based radio station Refuge Worldwide has been on our radar since it hit Berlin (and the world’s) airwaves in spring 2021. As well as growing online listenership, the station’s presenters and DJs now have another audience: the guests and regulars at Oona, Refuge’s very own in-studio bar at their home on Weserstr. Located in the front part of the studio space, the bar is a place to listen to the station’s programming right where it’s being broadcast. The interior itself is a simple, relaxed affair: its standout feature is a groovy chrome bar area that comes courtesy of designers at ErtlundZull(who are also responsible for the kitchen and lighting in one of our favorite bakeries). The bar is as well-suited for afternoon meetups as late night drinks dates, stocking a great selection of organic orange wines and cocktails including a vegan whiskey sour made with aquafaba. You can hang out at one of the intimate tables or pay a visit to the back room where you can get a glimpse of the live studio and booth designed by DJ Christopher Hreno. (read more)

Besides broadcasting everything from Afrofunk to modern British electronica, the studio also serves as a workshop space that offers free sessions on music production (with priority given to marginalized groups), voice embodiment and sound healing sessions and even the odd spoken word night. Far more than just a drinking venue, Oona feels like a community hub where all sorts of people from Neukölln and beyond come together. Indeed, the idea for the bar was inspired by a child who frequently visits the space, much to the delight of the regulars. The child’s name: Oona.

Text: Rosie Gilmour / Photos: Savannah van der Niet

Oona, Weserstr.166, 12045 Berlin–Neukölln; map
Tue–Thu 13–0h, Fri–Sat 13–2h

@oona.bar
@refugeworldwide

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Shops, Sponsored Post

PROVOCATIVE TEXTILE DESIGNS AND STATEMENT WALLPAPERS — TIMOROUS BEASTIES SHOWROOM IN SCHÖNEBERG

Sleek and minimalist – it’s an aesthetic that has dominated interior design since seemingly forever. But since the October 2019 opening of the Timorous Beasties showroom in Schöneberg, this has started to shift. The Scotland-based textile studio has gained an international following for its provocative, surreal – and utterly maximalist – designs. And now you can bring these bold patterns into your own home with wallcoverings, fabrics, furniture, rugs and cushions available to view and buy at the showroom, which is located in a former art gallery near Gleisdreieck Park. With high ceilings, concrete floors and bare white walls, it really lets you appreciate the full spectacle of the designs. They’re without exception statement works – whether it’s the abstract spots and specks of the Storm Blotch wallpaper or the tongue-in-cheek underwater scene of the Eel Colonnade fabric. The products are manufactured in the UK and Europe (hand printing still takes place in Glasgow) with natural inks used to reduce the environmental impact.

Since joining forces at the Glasgow School of Art in 1990, the “Beasties” Alistair McAuley and Paul Simmons have gone on to create designs for a varied and sometimes unusual range of projects. You can check out the duo’s fabrics and papers for yourself at the showroom, which welcomes private customers as well as interior designers and architects. It also serves as a space for events and collaborations with local designers (interested parties: get in touch at berlin@timorousbeasties.com). Timorous Beasties offers a creative counterpoint to the understated interior design we’re used to seeing – a welcome splash of Scottish punk in Berlin.

Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Sophie Doering & Timorous Beasties

Timorous Beasties Showroom, Kurfürstenstr.14, 10785 Berlin–Schöneberg; map
Currently open Tue & Wed 10–18h and by appointment (check the website for the latest opening times)

@timorous_beasties

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Back Next

Language

NEUE NARRATIVE — ALTERNATIVE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES AND CRUCIAL QUESTIONS

BURNING FUTURES — JOIN EXPERTS AT HEBBEL AM UFER TO DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION

CTM FESTIVAL 2022: MUSIC AND ARTS PROGRAM RETURNS WITH PERFORMANCES, ART AND A GIANT DECONSTRUCTED ORGAN

OONA — IN-STUDIO BAR AND COMMUNITY SPACE FROM NEUKÖLLN’S REFUGE RADIO

PROVOCATIVE TEXTILE DESIGNS AND STATEMENT WALLPAPERS — TIMOROUS BEASTIES SHOWROOM IN SCHÖNEBERG