Selection Process
What Does Your Community Need?

This was Orta Okul’s first-ever Open Call, and as artists and cultural workers ourselves, we put a lot of thought into making the process as accessible and transparent as possible. We’d like to share some details about how the selection was made, should you be interested.

 

In total, we received 75 applications. Since this was our first Open Call, we were unable to set expectations about the number of submissions. To ensure a manageable review process for our jury members—who needed to be informed in advance about the scope of their task—we introduced a pre-selection step. The Orta Okul team reviewed all applications and identified 20 proposals that most closely aligned with the criteria outlined in the Open Call. These 20 projects were then passed on to the jury for evaluation.

 

Our jury was composed of three members with diverse professional and geographical backgrounds:

 

• Alejandra Nieves Camacho, a diversity and anti-discrimination officer at the Berlin University of the Arts

• Jelena Fuzinato, a visual artist and educator

• Mohamed Badarne, a photographer and human rights activist
   

All three come from different regions—Mexico, Bosnia, and Palestine—and share lived experience with migration. They also each served as facilitators in last year’s Orta Okul program, which made us particularly confident in their insight and care throughout the selection process.

 

The committee evaluated submissions using the following criteria:

 

• Does the project respond to a clear and urgent need within a community underserved by Berlin’s dominant arts and culture infrastructures?

• Is the proposal realistic and feasible to implement?

• Does the applicant demonstrate relevant experience?

• Is the project interesting, ambitious, and courageous?

• Does it reflect an intersectional approach and/or ecological awareness?
   

Each jury member was expected to bring a preselection of 7 projects, and we discussed all proposals that were highlighted by at least one juror.

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Because this was our first Open Call, we are especially committed to learning and evolving. That’s why we’re sharing this overview—and if you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions for future editions, we would be truly glad to hear them.

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We hoping to improve our methods and procedure for the upcoming years.