„Nur wer feste feiern kann, kann auch erfolgreich kämpfen!“ Das Kreuzberger Chamissoplatzfest zwischen Politik und Kommerz

Abstract

By presenting a case study of the Chamissoplatz Festival in Berlin Kreuzberg the article analyses interrelations of urban development and local popular culture in West Berlin. Founded as a political festival in the late 1970s, it was supposed to foster a leftist local counter public. The event’s growing success, however, led to its highly contested commercialization and eventually predated current conflicts about Kreuzberg’s gentrification. This article seeks to scrutinize the interdependencies between urbanity and pleasure as well as between politics and consumption.