Making a Difference – Teaser in German Sign Language with German subtitles.

Making a Difference

Making a Difference is a Berlin-based network founded in 2018 to promote the independent work of disabled, d/Deaf and chronically ill artists in dance. Eight organisations have joined forces to create high-quality, accessible training and production opportunities through workshops, residencies and co-productions. The central guideline of the project is to fill all leadership and expert positions with disabled, d/Deaf and chronically ill people.

News and recommendations

Call for residency

Making a Difference is awarding two residencies as part of the festival “Unrenewable Energies.”

One residency is aimed at an individual artist who will, next to their fee, receive a budget to temporarily form a team.

The other residency is aimed at a team, which can consist of both artistic and non-artistic individuals.

The residency periods are:

  • September 15 to 28, 2025
  • September 22 to October 5, 2025

Disabled, Deaf, and/or chronically ill artists and allies from Berlin can use Studio 2 and Studio 12 at Uferstudios. They are invited to work on the topic of the festival —energies, time, and resources from a crip perspective.

With “Unrenewable Energies”, Making a Difference celebrates the strategies of crip artists as a critical perspective that can spark broader social change. A central approach is the structuring of time: the festival will be stretched out over four weeks and create rest spaces.

A final presentation as part of the festival is possible.
Making a Difference provides €4,800 for each residency, as well as a smaller budget for material costs and technical support.

Access:
Studio 2 is 175 m² and equipped with a sprung floor.
It is accessible via a ramp with a 1.5% incline.
Studio 12 is 265 m² and also has a sprung floor.
The studio is nearly at ground level. There is no elevated area inside the studio. The entrance has a slight 1.0% incline from the outside.
Wheelchair-accessible toilets are available in the courtyard, about 20m away.
There is no separate changing room.
Bean bags, chairs, and mats are available in the studio. Blankets and other seating or lying options can be provided upon request.
If you have questions about accessibility or want to inform us of individual access needs in advance, please feel free to contact us.

Application:
Please send your application with a statement of motivation (maximum one A4 page or a 5-minute audio/video presentation) and short bios of all participants by June 27, 2025 to mad@uferstudios.com.
Please also state in your application whether you are applying as a team or an individual, and which residency period works for you.
You can expect a response by July 20, 2025.

We look forward to your applications!
Juli & Diana
Making a Difference

Residency

Lecture performance by Carolin Hartmann and Tamara Rettenmund

Two bodies, two nervous systems, two different movement patterns. Carolin Hartmann and Tamara Rettenmund explore how their chronic nerve diseases shape and transform movement.

The performance lecture will take place on February 2, 2025 at 5.00 pm in Studio 2 of Uferstudios.

For reservation requests and access information write to mad[at]uferstudios.com.
If telephoning is more accessible: + 49 30 460 60 887

Our publication is out!

Under the title „Making a Difference 2018-2024. Developing, cultivating, and strengthening anti-ableist practice in the field of dance”, we look back on the last six years. In the form of interviews with artists and reports on developments in the network’s partner organisations, Chapter 1 provides insights into project practice over the last six years. Chapter 2 “What it takes to act – a knowledge transfer” gives an overview of our perspectives on disability, ableism, privilege and audism as well as initial practical recommendations for anti-ableist working practices in the cultural sector and beyond.

Click here to open the digital publication as accessible PDF