The View From Berlin: why stickers speak for the city’s creatives and activists

Whether three drinks into a quiet night in the local “knipe”, bumpin’ that in a basement or reaping the tender rewards of a well-matched date, there are a multitude of reasons Berliners find themselves frequenting the bathroom stalls of bars and clubs, but what each scene’s backdrop invariably has in common is the overwhelming presence of the humble sticker. Democratising the decibels of the word on the street since their creation by American inventor R. Stanton Avery in 1935, stickers are the visual language spoken by Berlin’s creative and activist communities, with a prominence and impact comparable to the graffiti-laden landscapes of other major cities around the world.

From quick-witted slogans promoting club nights, collectives and artists, to head-turning political propaganda and subculture sentiment, surfaces throughout the German capital are enlivened by the voices of the people, often facilitating heated dialogues between opposing perspectives with layers of adhesive forming tactile artefacts of unspoken arguments – but it’s not just venue visitors who empower themselves via decal.

Small round stickers similar to those used for marking workplace stationery, or the sale of artworks in galleries, have become synonymous with Berlin’s nightlife, with the door staff of the city’s clubs enforcing their infamous “no-photo” rules by obscuring the phone camera lenses of party attendees with them. Widely favoured by regular clubgoers – who are familiar with the scene’s culture of uninhibited sexuality – venues use their camera bans as a tool for maintaining an atmosphere of freedom and privacy.

While the club-scene’s signature camera obscuras (if you will) have become instantly recognisable as a symbol of Berlin, it is the city’s creative and political communities that own sticker culture. Perhaps a nod to Germany’s infamous reluctance to embrace digitisation — never assume you can pay with card and expect to have to file all paperwork in print and in person — those particularly proud of their sticker designs tend to produce them in their thousands; meaning you’ll often see the same graphics throughout many neighbourhoods of the city, tracing years of commitment to a single logo or phrase from area code to area code. One of the most prevalent designs of recent years is Swiss creative Cyril Vouilloz’s Too Shy To Rap!, which I must have seen in different locations literally hundreds of times in my six years here.

Thanks to the internet, almost anyone with a design and a dream can get a sticker printed with ease. Swedish company Stickerapp is one of the most popular producers of its kind in Europe, with many of Berlin’s creatives relying on them for standout material finishes with serious staying power. The brand’s global CMO, Magnus Hedin, is passionate about supporting creatives in spreading their names and messages and enjoys collaborating with Berlin’s vibrant community of artists and designers. He explains, “Berliners have this amazing ability to mix humour and rebellion, and stickers are the perfect medium for that. They’re quick, easy to slap up, and unlike graffiti, they feel more like a personal message rather than public art. I think it’s their way of saying, ‘Here’s what I stand for.’”

Since 2008, Berlin has been home to one of the world’s only dedicated sticker museums. Located in the Friedrichshain district of the city, expert and collector Oliver Baudach’s Hatch Sticker Museum collection includes upwards of 30,000 examples. Dividing his collection into art and commercial categories, including skateboard hardware, snowboarding, x-sports, skate and streetwear, skate shoes, sneakers, music, magazine and store stickers, Baudach states that he attempts to “keep the museum as politically neutral as possible” by showcasing political stickers in separate exhibitions and not as part of the main collection. Other groups, however, are committed to collecting political artefacts such as these, honing in on the importance of documenting pivotal moments in history through printed matter.

Palestine Solidarity Archive is an independent project focused on building a community archive that documents the rising tide of repression of Palestine solidarity in Berlin, and also resistance to it. The project is archiving a comprehensive range of documentation in German, English and Arabic; from state communication with activists and video footage of police violence, to photographs, media and printed matter such as banners, signs, flyers and, notably, stickers.

As Berlin-based archivist, activist and writer BB explains, Germany’s state-mandated pro-Israel stance has led to individuals and collectives against genocide being forced to fight for their space on the streets and for their voices to be heard above the government’s increasing political and physical violence. She says, “We live in an extremely repressive moment for anyone who is a person of conscience — anyone who is against the genocide and in Berlin — but walking around with stickers in one’s pocket and having something that is a direct response to these visual traces of reactionary, fascist viewpoints is an individually empowering thing.”

As well as preserving and archiving those they find on the streets, Palestine solidarity activists in Berlin are also designing and producing the stickers that can be spotted around the city, often covering or replacing “Zionist Antifa” stickers that have appeared since October 2023. Describing how these supposedly left-wing voices are harnessing familiar cultural motifs as a culturally-contextualised vehicle for their own aggressive messaging, BB explains: “What we see in these stickers is a really strange mix of German subcultural visual language that is a blend of football ultras culture and references to the need to silence or destroy local Palestine solidarity groups. Their ideology (a subcultural anarchist over-identification with the Israeli state) is a holdover from what was called the Antideutsch movement which was at its height in the late 90s and early 00s. These stickers spread often extremely racist positions and are put up usually in Arab neighbourhoods and gentrifying areas.”

While stickers have long been a defining feature of Berlin’s visual landscape, the increasing polarisation of political viewpoints within Germany in the wake of the country’s violently pro-Israel position has rendered the walls, streets and bathroom doors of a city an increasingly heated battleground for those using using them to make their views heard.

Milly shares some tips for further reading and research into Berlin culture, from stickers to activism via clubbing.

• If you’re interested in the political ideologies and discussions shared by communities in Berlin, check out unframe, a festival of socialist ideas and culture, organised in collaboration with The Left Berlin and held at Oyoun Berlin.

• Photography book No Photos On The Dance Floor, Berlin 1989 — today documents the world-famous Berlin club scene, capturing ecstatic moments, queer community and the rise of techno from the fall of the Berlin Wall until now, featuring with works by Wolfgang Tillmans, Sven Marquardt, Martin Eberle, Carolin Saage, Silva Giovanna and many more.

• C/O Berlin’s current exhibition Dream On — Berlin, the 90s is well worth a visit if you’re keen to cultivate an understanding of the ever-evolving identity of a post-reunification Berlin. A city in flux, finding its feet culturally and politically following the fall of the Berlin Wall, is seen through the lenses of internationally recognised East Germany-founded photo agency OSTKREUZ.

• The Hatch Sticker Museum is a must-visit for sticker fans. From late 2023, the sticker museum in Berlin has existed as Sticker Museum Studio, showcasing around 2000 highlights from the wider collection as a permanent exhibition.