Diana Paiva (they or no pronouns) has been part of the strategic project management team at Making a Difference since April 2025. Diana studied business administration and project management in Portugal and has been working in production and event management since 2006. At the end of 2022, Diana founded the production label high expectations together with Anna von Glasenapp and Line Spellenberg, a team of producers, dramaturgs, and friends who work long-term with performance artists with experimentally and interdisciplinary curiosity. In that capacity, Diana has worked with various artists, including Perel and Rita Mazza. At the same time, Diana volunteers in various projects and collectives within the queer community in Berlin.
What does Making a Difference mean to you?
“For me, Making a Difference means taking matters into our own hands. That’s exactly what I encountered and come to love in Berlin. Compared to Portugal, where I come from and where such collective action is less common, I am impressed by the energy of a community that is actively shaping the world in which it wants to live.”
What is your vision for Making a Difference?
“Especially in times of massive cuts in the cultural sector, it is always minorities who are affected first. My wish is that in the short and medium term Making a Difference can redistribute resources—not only money, but also time, space, and knowledge—thereby creating a platform for exchange that strengthens the community of disabled, Deaf, and chronically ill artists in the field of dance. In the long term, I hope this knowledge and these working processes become institutionally anchored.”