Between communities and identities

In this article, Sophia Abidi maps out an exhaustive list of cultural areas of Berlin and the different clubbing scenes and nightlife subcultures it generates. Through insightful ethnographic fieldwork of her PhD thesis project and qualitative interviews with young people participating in the scene collected through her research, she reflects on the place of leisure-focused lifestyles within the composition of sub-communities. This project also refers to analysing the hedonistic behaviours within Berlin's prominent techno and queer scene and its correlation with social and cultural identities. By studying different parties and venues, this paper analyses the diversity available in fashion, types of drugs, the genre of music or social interactions. It examines the impact of a subculture and its characteristics on a multifaceted nightlife. This paper aims to relate the importance of Berlin's nightlife as a strategic cultural hub, allowing space for young people to be actors in the techno and queer scene to explore their individual and collective identities. It brings a better understanding of the fluidity and diversity of the leisure-life-related events and places in Berlin and helps evaluate the limits these scenes generate.

Geography · Night-time city culture · Public Spaces through Art · Spatial and Cultural Studies