Coming from a background in technology and sales, our Tech Entrepreneur in Residence reflects on entering the gallery world and rediscovering space for creativity, observation and exchange.
We are happy to welcome Julia as a new perspective within Circle Culture. She first found her way to us through our long-standing artist André Saraiva and has since begun spending time at the gallery alongside her career in technology and sales.
Our exchange offers her insight into the world of contemporary art, while her experience brings valuable new impulses into our conversations about communication, processes and the future development of the gallery.
In her first contribution, Julia shares how she found Circle Culture, why she wanted to enter the gallery world and what the experience has given her so far.
My name is Julia and this is my introduction: to Circle Culture, and to you, the community I’ll be reporting to during my residency.
Circle Culture’s space on Gipsstraße has been part of my daily routine for almost a year now. I’ve been passing the windows and their artworks every day and only recently learned that I could be part of its creation.
The warmest thanks must go to an artist and friend who introduced me to the gallery: André Saraiva, whose work you may already know through the streets around the world he has marked with the presence of his iconic Mr. A figure, or through Circle Culture, which has presented his work in Berlin since 2005.
This one introduction became the first rope of a bridge between two worlds: art and tech, the latter of which my career has been closely tied to for the past few years.
My current scene, filled with reasoning and logic, has given me plenty of satisfaction. But it didn’t take long for me to realise that something was missing. In my line of work, there was little room for expression and creative fulfilment. To put it simply: something in me had gone quiet and I wanted it back.
I first spoke with Lilith Jandrig, who, as Gallery Director in Berlin, has been the most insightful mentor. Her stories paint pictures in my mind and add necessary frames to what’s fleeting. Meeting Dirk Staudinger, the founder of Circle Culture, and learning about the direction and mission behind his work has filled my understanding with colour.
During our conversations, the shape of my residency became clear: to translate my curiosity into a practice of observation and exchange.
I’ve been observing the gallery up close for nearly two weeks now. I will continue to do so by spending my noons at the gallery three times a week, exchanging ideas and perspectives while gaining insight into the art world.
One of the most fascinating pieces slowly coming together in my head is the interaction between Berlin and Hamburg. I’m only beginning to explore this cultural relationship at the centre of Circle Culture’s world. It seems to reflect the gallery’s ability to carry forward what is timeless without losing its edge.
I have a habit of moving through places sideways rather than in a straight line. Four years ago, that meant a life suspended between Lisbon and Paris, and I don’t think I ever reconciled these two realities: one was taking away from the other.
A year ago, it meant moving to Berlin to search for footing and grounding in what I knew how to do best.
Two months ago, it gained a new meaning: the pull back towards expression and creativity. It emerged through the streets I hold dear. Three Japanese-made red sketchbooks from Mulackstraße, a teacup sold at Rua das Gaivotas and a stolen blue pencil from Rue de Navarin all led me, all the way back, to the only round, yet wooden, doorstep in the city: Circle Culture on Gipsstraße.
I wish I had known the role Circle Culture would play in my life from the very beginning of our story. How do we make sure that the next time we pass by the window of what could be the future, we stop and walk through the door?
In other words, how can we arrange everyday reality into something closer to a circular kind of balance, rather than a straight line? This is what I hope to resolve and report back on throughout my residency.
