Guarantee

Guarantees to Promote the Acquisition of Workspaces by Artists for Own Use

The state of Berlin provides guarantees for loans for the acquisition, new construction, modernization, and renovation of workspaces for personal use by professional artists in Berlin. Guarantees range from €250,000 to €4 million with an 80% or 70% funding rate. Applications can be submitted at any time through the IBB.

Culture Business Financing

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Grant criteria

Application Deadline: Ongoing
Application level: Complex
Region: Berlin
Funding amount: €250,000 - €4,000,000
Funding rate: 70% - 80%

Funding objective

Support for professional artists or artist collectives in acquiring self-used workspaces by assuming guarantees to secure loans for land acquisition, acquisition of shares in partnerships, as well as modernization and repair measures.

Eligible expenses

  • Acquisition of workspaces (land acquisition)
  • Acquisition of shares in partnerships
  • Modernization and repair measures

Non-eligible expenses

  • Commercial real estate trading

Eligible to apply

  • Individuals
  • Non-profit Organizations

Funding requirements

  • Business premises, studio, or residence in Berlin
  • Professionally active artists or artist collectives
  • Lack of customary bank securities for the acquisition of workspaces
  • Proof of loan security through a land charge
  • Expectation of repayment under normal economic conditions

Documents required for application

  1. Description of artistic activity and workspaces
  2. Self-disclosure
  3. Assessment by the financing bank
  4. Land register excerpt
  5. Financing plan and capital requirements calculation
  6. Annual financial statements of the last three fiscal years

Evaluation criteria

  • Cultural relevance for funding
  • Creditworthiness and debt service capacity
  • Lack of alternative securities
  • Contribution to the Berlin location

Description

The guarantee initiative of the State of Berlin enables professional artists and artist collectives to acquire as well as newly construct, modernize, and renovate self-used workspaces in the capital. By assuming default guarantees ranging from €250,000 to €4 million with a funding rate of up to 80% (up to €1.5 million loan volume) or 70% (above that), missing customary bank securities are compensated. The aim of this guarantee is to strengthen the permanent establishment and artistic development in Berlin and to contribute to the urban cultural infrastructure. Applications can be submitted continuously to the Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB), creating a flexible and unbureaucratic funding opportunity for the creative scene.

Funding is provided to professionally active artists with studios, business premises, or residence in Berlin who are denied access to the capital market due to lack of securities. A prerequisite is the collateralization of the loan by a land charge as well as proof of expected repayment under normal economic conditions. Eligible expenses include land acquisition, acquisition of shares in partnerships, as well as structural modernization and renovation measures; commercial real estate trading is excluded. The application must include a description of the artistic activity and workspaces, a self-disclosure, a statement from the financing bank, a current land register excerpt, a financing plan with capital requirement calculation, and financial statements for the last three fiscal years. The IBB reviews submitted documents alternately with the Senate Department for Culture and Europe, thus relying on a well-founded cultural and economic assessment.

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