Berlin residency for CCA artist

The residency connects Derry - City of Culture 2013 - to one of the most creative cities on the planet.

Speaking to the ‘Derry Journal’ from Berlin, the artist reveals: “This CCA Derry~Londonderry Residency is an opportunity for me to relocate to Berlin, widely regarded as one of the world’s main centres of contemporary art production, to make contacts, to work, and to gain first hand experience of the international art-world.”

The former Lumen Christi College pupil went on to study Sculpture at the Manchester School of Art, where he recently attained a Masters Degree in Fine Art. As an artist, Burns’ work is cross-disciplinary, taking in sculpture and the written word.

“It’s a different world over here, to put it frankly, an art scene that is often commercially driven and largely independent of public funding,” Kevin notes. “Interesting galleries and project spaces do not rise and fall on the fortunes of public funding, in the same way that we are used to seeing at home. On-top of that the general lifestyle here is tolerant and outward looking, not to mention a particular street-food called ‘currywurst’ that is as wonderful as it sounds!”

Burns also writes and intends to use his Berlin trip as a starting point for a future book. “I aim to use this opportunity to write a series of texts and essays, as the start of a body of written work that I hope to eventually bring to publication,” he says. “Although it’s a huge urban sprawl, Berlin is an unusually quiet and relaxed city for one of its size, which is why I have found it to be a good place to think and reflect. Just down the road from me on ‘Museum Island’ are some of the world’s great archaeological treasures, which I have been able to explore and reflect on, further making this a fantastic city to come and think,” he said.