Best art community: London or Berlin?

Stu2Prof

Hi guys,
I am an Irish artist living in Munich for the last 1+ half years and am preparing to make the next jump to a new city at the start of the new year. I have gotten tired of Munich because of the lack of a young artsy culture and so want to start up shop in either Berlin or London. I am not seeking out a strong job market immediately as I intend to take up a part time job in the new city and focus more time on growing my art practice. What is most important to me is finding other people in the same position as me doing arty social things. e.g. drink+draw events, starting up exhibitions, going to art events. Basically a group of inspirational friends and like-minded people
I would love to have people's input because right now its not clear which city is better and Munich (although breath-takingly beautiful) is not supporting my art needs.

Note:
1) At the time of moving I will have saved up 5k to help support me in the initial stages of moving.
2) I have not learned German as I came to Munich just because I was a desperate graduate in need of a job and did not plan on settling in germany.

Goeddy

dont know about art communities and stuff, but if you decide to go for london, those 5k are not gonna last you long, so you better start looking for a job before you move there.

+i have learned that art is mostly about yourself.
feed of off other inspirational peoples creativity and stuff is mostly bullshit. only thing that makes you good is practice, and you are better off practicing for yourself.

and if you do already have the skillz then you dont realy need anyone. shure its fun to hang around other artists, but its not going to help you get any better.

its like at the gym;
if you go with friends it might be a little more motivating, but in the end you are doing the pushups just as if you were alone. and you are likely to waste more time, so you are more effective on your own.

Jonas Ronnegard

yeah being around like minded people is all good and fun, but I don't think it will help you in getting better, might make you more motivated though, motivations works different for everyone.

One thing I have noticed though working at both big and small companies,
I learn a lot more being around people that know less then me, you get to be the one that helps out and you get asked things you might not know the answer to either and look it up.

when surrounded by people better then myself of course I get to learn a lot of new cool stuff, but the problem is that when you ask for help with something it's easy to forget, I learn a lot more when I look it up or figure it out myself.

If I had time for self improving I would bunker up at home, join a competition or something.

Stu2Prof

Thanks for the response. I agree with you guys that you can't expect others to carry you and you have to bring your own passion to the table. My motivation for moving is to try and live a more balanced life.
I currently have a full-time job that is more focused on design instead of illustration/3d modelling and the hours required of me in my spare time to improve have made it difficult to socialize.
If I was in a city with an art community I believe I would have a better chance as I could chat/hang out while also networking/improving skills e.g. "drink and draw" Plus being a "starving artist" can be a bit strange when your social circles are people who are mechanical engineers, IT specialists and lawyers.
The issue of money though is definitely a fair point. I have considered moving home but am hesitant to move back in with my parents. At the moment I would plan to get a part-time job and be financially tight while I take online courses,join exhibition, competitions etc with the extra time.

Kwramm

Berlin should be cheaper than London. I think even Munich is more expensive for living than Berlin

FelixL

There are plenty of talented artists in Berlin. Also in the CG field. I'd say Berlin as it's a lot cheaper than London, and the city itself is quite inspiring as well.

Stu2Prof

Im not too worried about living expenses as im prepared to live cheaply if there is a good community around to socialize with. I am not too familiar with a CG community in Berlin. Do they have any main online portals that they use? Just so I could get a better judge of their activity

FelixL

Well there is Yager Games, and lots of freelancers, for example the Airborne guys. I don't live there, so I can't say how tight-knit the community there is. I just know that there is a very vibrant art scene. If you're looking strictly for CG, London might have more to offer with lots of film FX houses and a bunch of game devs as well.

Goeddy

studtoprof wrote: »

Im not too worried about living expenses as im prepared to live cheaply if there is a good community around to socialize with. I am not too familiar with a CG community in Berlin. Do they have any main online portals that they use? Just so I could get a better judge of their activity

there is no way to live cheaply in london, the rents alone are horendous.
might want to start polishing up your german.

Stu2Prof

Thanks Felix for the names. London is also pretty big for design and Illustration as well which may be a good support system for me.

@goeddy Cheaply/poorly Potato/pu-tah-toe

thomasp

well, standard of living/how far your money goes should be miles better in berlin - but going someplace where you don't even speak the local language - that must make a difference in your daily life surely?

Stu2Prof

Thats exactly my consideration at this point. Are you currently living in Berlin thoamsp?

thomasp

money or language, which one is it?

i'm in frankfurt, btw. and i only know london from experience, not berlin. and i would not personally want to live in london these days on less than say 70k ukp a year. not one for re-living the student lifestyle personally.