Network Map of Artists and Political Inclinations

A data-driven map revealing how artists positioned themselves politically in their applications to the 7th Berlin Biennale.

This network visualizes the relationships between 4,592 artists and 395 unique political inclinations, based on self-declared statements from their applications to the 7th Berlin Biennale.

Artists who did not specify a political stance appear as disconnected nodes, while those who shared one or more positions are linked through shared affiliations. The map is generated using a force-directed algorithm that simulates attraction and repulsion among nodes, allowing the network to self-organize. This spatial layout reveals central figures, densely connected clusters, structural gaps, indirect connections, and ideological outliers—offering a snapshot of how political identity circulated within the contemporary art world at that moment.

The project raises questions about political expression, solidarity, and visibility in the cultural field, and how these dynamics surface—even in application processes.