WorkArt Summer 2025 Reflection
This summer CGES offered nine WorkArt Fellowships to undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Minnesota, Boston College, and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. These competitive fellowships place interns interested in the field of art management at one of Germany’s 300+ community-based nonprofit art associations and galleries (Kunstvereine). This year, students lived and worked in communities from the Black Forest to Braunschweig, practicing German, building professional skills, and pushing themselves outside of their comfort zones in new cultures.
Below is a reflection from WorkArt Intern and linguistics student, Allison Moon who spent her summer at a Kunstverein on Rosa-Luxemburg Platz in Berlin. Interested in learning more about WorkArt and applying in 2026? You can do so here.
WORKART REFLECTION
Allison Moon
This summer, through the WorkArt Fellowship program at the Center for German and European Studies, I had the opportunity to spend six weeks in Berlin at the Kunstverein on Rosa-Luxemburg Platz. The Kunstverein looks out upon the Volksbühne, the 'People's Theatre', and stands dutifully among a long street of other galleries, which together form the border of the 'Platz' itself . This area, located in historic East Berlin, has been a continual hub for the arts since the building of the Volksbuhne in 1914, where working class Berliners went to enjoy affordable and politically engaged performances. Around the Volksbühne, other accessible spaces for working class people and artistic expression began to pop up, one of which is now home to the Kunstverein on Rosa-Luxemburg Platz.
My time at the Kunstverein on Rosa-Luxemburg Platz was invaluable– I am currently studying linguistics and German, so this opportunity, to be on the art scene in Berlin and explore a passion of mine, felt like stepping into a brand new world. I learned so much about what it takes to run a gallery, and the importance of seeking out connection and sharing ideas with those around you.
One might think that art and art management are two very different things: the management portion being completely removed from the art, focusing purely on the logistics. However, I've learned this is far from the truth. Being a part of an art gallery takes an immense amount of passion for art and deep curiosity for the world around you– even if you are not the one making the art. The two are absolutely inextricable. Much of my time with the gallery involved helping with set-up/take-down of the works. This is, in and of itself, a form of art, a process that requires creativity and collaboration with the work. During these processes, I learned about the artists themselves and what motivated them to create their art, which I found to be one of the most memorable parts of the experience.
The Kunstverein displayed art from a handful of artists this summer, a few of which I spent a lot of time with. One artist in particular, Carmen Mariscal, was doing research on the Mexican Embassy in Berlin, as she herself was from Mexico. I spent a long time talking with her about why she had moved so far from home, the motifs and motivations in her art, and her experience as a current Ph.D. candidate. She originally studied architecture and then moved to set design, and has had creative endeavors throughout. Meeting her came at a very important time in my life, a time in which I'm unsure of the path I want to take in my life. Carmen assured me I did not need to know what I want to do for the rest of my life, as she herself followed many different paths. She also expressed that she saw a future for me in art management, which filled me with a great sense of happiness and relief, as I see a future for myself in it too.
As for Berlin itself, I consider myself immensely lucky to have been able to spend quality time with the city. The common perception of Germany and Germans can be quite stereotypical– never late, true to typical German cuisine, and never crossing the street on red (Rotgänger Totgänger!). Spend one day in Berlin and anyone who believes in these stereotypes will be quite surprised. Even before coming to Berlin, I thought I may have to be a certain way or bend my identity to fit this perception of the 'typical' German. On the contrary– Berlin is a city that invites you to come as you are and exist that way. It's expansive, international, and deeply engraved with history and beauty. People have been coming to the city from many corners of the world for a long time, which makes Berlin a continually contemporary and inviting city. I connected with many Germans and immigrants alike. I also used the time here to try as many different cuisines as I could!
All in all, I can safely say this summer in Berlin has changed my life and the path I see myself taking. One day I will live there and hopefully work in the arts because of this experience!
