Berlin, 21 January 2016: It finally is official: as of now, Piranha Arts from Kreuzberg is the new operator of Berlin’s „Karneval der Kulturen.“ This was confirmed today by Paul Bräuer, press officer of the international project organisers and record label with a local-global profile. The House of Representatives of Berlin approved the funding for Karneval der Kulturen 2016 through their budget decision at the end of last year.

The agreement is in accordance with a concept dialogue regarding Karneval der Kulturen by the participants during last autumn. Piranha Arts enjoys the trust of the Karneval groups as well as the senate, thanks to their international expertise – amongst other things, Piranha Arts is the operator of the leading network meeting for global music WOMEX – and their know-how concerning Berlin and the Karneval.

Piranha Arts founder Christoph Borkowsky was one of the original conceptualisers of Karneval der Kulturen and has been the president of the Karneval’s jury for years. Piranha has published CDs for the Karneval and started the traditional after-parade parties known as ‘Die Lange Nacht der Soundsystems’.
 
Piranha Arts CEO Michael von Petrykowski has been an active musician at Karneval der Kulturen since its first year in 1996. With festivals such as ‚Heimatklänge’ and ‚Nächte des Ramadan,’ he is proud to take over even more responsibility for the diversity of the city through the cooperation with the organisation of the Karneval:

„In a joyful way, Karneval der Kulturen sets an example of how different cultures can peacefully live and work together. We all need this festival of lived integration for Berlin – especially now. The most recent funding negotiations show that all participating parties agree. Piranha Arts offers the Karneval to develop further by using our international network and by contributing our intercultural expertise – this is especially important for a festival like the Karneval, affecting the organisation as well as administration.“

Structure and organisation of Karneval der Kulturen stay the same under the new conditions. „The existing concept works; all parties and the senate agree.“, adds Michael von Petrykowski.
 
The reorganisation carves the way not only for planning the 4-day streetfest and the Karneval street parade with over 1.5 million visitors, but also ensures the continuation of the city-wide integrative work, which is performed by the Karneval groups of the streetfest throughout the year. According to Nadja Mau, head of the Karneval office:

„We are looking forward to starting our work on all levels now. Like last year, times start pressing at this point. Piranha Arts has been connected to Karneval der Kulturen since the beginning – the Karneval groups know that Piranha has proven its intercultural expertise in local and international projects over more than two decades and they feel that they are in good hands with this operation.“

The distant future of the unique festival is still open. Should the still-existing funding gaps for the budget in 2017 be closed, which is in sight according to what the senate has signalled, Piranha Arts as well as the organisation team are ready to continue the new structure in the following year.

As an international company „made in Kreuzberg“ Piranha Arts is well prepared for the task as operator of Karneval der Kulturen. Founded in 1987, Piranha has been based in Berlin for almost three decades and works with a team of over 30 staff members as an operator, organiser, curator, developer and multiplier.

It all began with Piranha Records, a label with its own publishing house, which brings new tunes and artists from the whole world to the whole world via Kreuzberg. Amongst the artists and projects Piranha Records has released are Fanfara Ciocarlia, The Klezmatics, Ali Hassan Kuban, Berlin projects such as „Semer Re:Loaded“, „Balkan Beats“ and the annual „listen-to-berlin“ compilations for the Berlin Music Commission.

Piranha Kultur initiated groundbreaking festivals in Berlin, such as „Heimatklänge“, „Bands United“, „Clubs United“, „Fête de la Musique“, „C3 - ClubContemporaryClassical” and „Die Nächte des Ramadan“.

Furthermore, Piranha operates two international networking events and showcase festivals in changing European venues, WOMEX - The World Music Expo and Classical:NEXT.

Piranha Consult advises conferences and networking initiatives worldwide – in Africa (Atlantic Music Expo, Praia, Cabo Verde), Brazil (Porto Musical, Recife), China (Sounds of Xity, Beijing), Latin America (Circulart, Medellín, Columbia), as well as in the Caribbean from 2016 (Primera Linea, Havana, Cuba).

Piranha Research works on the interface of music and IT, e.g. together with Frauenhofer IDMT. Piranha Film is currently developing with a focus on music and film. Karneval der Kulturen will now equally join the Piranha branches as a new action field of Piranha Arts.

...is four days full of music, dance and enjoyment – since 1996, Karneval der Kulturen has brought the diversity of Berlin alive every year. Culture can be many things in this festival: from culinary adventures to colourful costumes and masks from all over the world to dance, music and street theatre. Karneval der Kulturen is a real audience-magnet for hundreds of thousands of visitors and has become a famous date in the cultural calendar of Berlin.

Karneval der Kulturen in numbers:

Karneval der Kulturen is realised through the commitment of the Karneval groups, an experienced team of staff, the operator Piranha Arts AG and the support of the senate department for employment, integration and women.