After the fall of the Berlin Wall, West and East Berlin became one city with Berlin becoming the capital of a united Germany. Economic restructuring hit Berlin and the city had to abandon the belief in development and large-scale construction projects that had prevailed in the 1990s. However, by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Berlin had developed a significant creative economy, including media, music and design industries. The city of Berlin sought to build a creative economic hub out of a financially troubled metropolitan area, using Richard Florida's creative city theory and Charles Landry's creative city 'tools'. An interesting phenomenon related to Berlin and the idea of a creative city in the early 2010s was the migration of creative professionals to the city. I this thesis, I explore Berlin as a creative city in the early 2010s through the experience of a group of Finnish contemporary artists who moved to Berlin as members of the creative class. As research data, I use semi-structured interviews with Finnish contemporary artists residing in Berlin. The interviews were conducted in the winter of 2009–2010. In my thesis, I ask: what was it like to live in Berlin, a creative city - to make art, to be exposed, to be inspired and to live - in the early 2010s? What was the significance of mobility on the one hand and of home on the other hand for the Finnish 'creative class' in Berlin? How did the 'creative class' perceive and respond to the changes underway in Berlin in the early 2010s? How did the city of Berlin use the theory and tools of the 'creative city' in its promotion and marketing? By 2010, Berlin had achieved a prominent position in the art scene and had become a centre for contemporary art, where many international artists wanted to work, live or at least visit. However, it was not quite up to the standards of London and New York, for example, which were and still are the economic centres for artistic activity, as well as the centres for the presentation and trade of art. While people lived and worked in Berlin, artists mainly exhibited and sold their work elsewhere.
Berlin has retained its appeal as an open and tolerant city, a city that presents interesting art, at least in the free art scene. In the early 2010s, artists were concerned about the economic growth Berlin was pursuing and the gentrification trend they were seeing across the city. If the cost of living continued to rise significantly, many creatives would be forced to move out of the city. However, there were also countervailing forces to urban develpoment. The main obstacles to change in Berlin were the complex geography and history of the united city and the slow economic development.