Moodle

What makes a project stand out?

Wednesday 28 October, 18:30-19:30 @ Catalyst Social Stage

Two curators, one question: what makes a project stand out?

A conversation with curators Zuraida Buter and Harshini Karunaratne

What actually catches a curator's eye? Two people who programme festivals and platforms in Berlin and beyond join us to talk about how they select work, what makes a submission memorable and how emerging artists can get on their radar.

Zuraida Buter (A MAZE. / Berlin, The Overkill) and Harshini Karunaratne (MANIFEST:IO, Berlin New Media Week, 3AM:ENERGY) work across experimental games, playful design and new media art. They’ll introduce the platforms they curate, share projects they’ve selected and explain what made them stand out.

Open to all students across every programme, and to anyone making work with festivals in mind, whether you’ve submitted before or not.

🎟️ Grab your tickets HERE

Help us make graduation special. 

Graduation is a really special day. Our students cross the stage with their families watching, many of whom have flown in from the other side of the world to be there. It takes a lot of hands to make that feel as special as it should.

• Sign up here

We’re looking for volunteers to join the team. You don’t need any experience, just a bit of energy and some warmth towards the people you’ll be looking after. There’s a mix of roles across the day: welcoming people as they arrive, helping graduates into their gowns, guiding guests to their seats, giving a hand behind the bar, and getting the spaces set up and packed down again.

Mostly it’s about making sure our graduates and their guests have a lovely, celebratory time ❤️

When:

• Friday 30 October, 11:00 to 14:00. Set up, times may change.
• Saturday 31 October (ceremony day), 11:00 to 20:00. Set up, event and pack down

You don’t need to do both days, or the whole of either. Tell us what works and we’ll build the shifts around it.

*Please note that Catalyst will be closed for bookable time on Saturday 31 October. 

🌈 Volunteers get meals on their shift and a Catalyst T-shirt.

It’s also a genuinely good day to be part of. If you’re graduating next year, it’s the best way to see how it all works before it’s your turn.

• Sign up here.

🔥 Deadline: October 23

There’s no better way to show the world what’s possible at Catalyst than through the eyes of our students. 

/// Details

• Application closing date: Friday 28 August
• Interviews: September
• Role: Freelance
• Contract length: October 2026 – March 2027
• Potential extension: 3 months, taking the contract to June 2027
• Monthly wage: 170€ per month

We’re looking for current students to become our Student Ambassadors for social media on a freelance basis. You’ll represent Catalyst through student-led social media content, as well as planning and creating short-form videos. Through original and engaging content, you’ll capture student life at Catalyst, our diverse student community, our courses, student projects, events and everything that makes Catalyst a unique and exciting place to study.

Each Ambassador will make 3 videos per month, working to a content plan discussed in a monthly planning call with our Storytelling team. Although some videos will be briefed directly by the Storytelling team (e.g. documenting a Catalyst event) you’ll be expected to bring your own concepts, while receiving guidance and feedback from us.

Here are just a few examples of themes you might explore in your videos:

• Student life at Catalyst 
• Being an international student in Berlin
• POV: what it’s like to study a specific course
• Documenting a project as it develops
• Documenting specific learnings from a project 

/// Your profile

• Experience of creating social media content. This can be in creating content for other brands and institutions or for your own brand/personal channel.
• Experience in documenting your own creative process, artwork or community.
• Have explored making serialised content before.
• Currently enrolled at Catalyst, with a strong passion for the creative arts – whether that’s music production, filmmaking & VFX, or acting.
• Strong communication and visually creative storytelling skills.
• Familiarity with social media trends and the ability to adapt them.
• Team spirit and willingness to collaborate with your peers.
• Comfortable with camera facing videos.

/// Fee
Must be able to send monthly invoices. Ensure this is possible before applying.

/// Expected hours
We estimate that it will take each Student Ambassador roughly 9–10 hours per month to pitch, create, receive feedback on and edit the videos. You can work these hours flexibly to fit your own schedule, provided the videos are delivered by the agreed deadlines each month. You will also need to attend the monthly planning call, which is scheduled according to your availability.

/// How to apply
Please send the following to storytelling@catalyst-berlin.com before Friday 28 August:

• Links to 2 examples of previous videos you have created.
• Pick your 2 favourite videos from our short content social media feeds – say why you liked it, what you would improve.
• 200 words describing your perspective on community-building through video content, and how you feel you would contribute to our channels as a Student Ambassador.
• Your CV, including any relevant experience.

We look forward to reading your application and getting to know you!

We’re excited to announce that submissions are now open for this year’s "Catalyst Shorts" showcase, which will be presented at the Gijón International Film Festival this November.

We have a 1-hour screening slot, and our goal is to curate a bold, vibrant programme that reflects the diversity of voices, styles, and perspectives across our school.

There are no restrictions on genre or medium: fiction, documentary, experimental, animation, hybrid forms; all are welcome.

To be considered, please fill up this form.

Eligibility criteria:

• The film must be under 20 minutes.
• It must have been created as part of a school assignment.
• Premiere status is not required
• Films from any year of production are eligible
• All students from all programmes are eligible.

🔥 Deadline for submissions: Thursday 23 July

This is a wonderful opportunity to share your work on a professional international platform and take part in a curated programme that celebrates the creative range of our student body.

If you have any questions, you can email with the subject line "Call for Submissions: Catalyst Shorts" in the title of your email to maria@catalyst-berlin.com

(Edited by Hannah Deans - original submission Thursday, 9 July 2026, 12:29 PM)

(Edited by Hannah Deans - original submission Thursday, 9 July 2026, 12:29 PM)

Our cassette tape is back! We are pleased to announce our fourth edition of Catalyst’s cassette tape series partnering with Etikett Radio and produced entirely by the Catalyst community.

/// What is it?
Each release highlights the diversity of music, art and creativity produced by our students and alumni. This project documents the Catalyst legacy and evolution of our school through music.

The Volume Zero compilation dates back to 2020 and we’re happy to relaunch the cassette this year and celebrate your output in analogue format. You can read more about each release:

• Volume ZERO (2019/2020)
• Volume ONE (2020/2021)
• Volume TWO (2021/2022)

/// Creative Producers
As much as possible, each production is managed by our own. This year, recent alumni Ashley Maurice and Nilgün Özer are leading the project as creative producers. They describe their vision as:

We live surrounded by constant social, political, emotional, digital, environmental noise that uses our currency of time and intellect. Yet within this chaos, there are moments of breaths between words, room tones at night, small rituals and unnoticed textures. We envision this project to be one of these moments of relief or resistance.

The tapes are produced locally by our very own alumni tape company Warble: upcycled tape production (@warbletapes). The cassettes and equipment used for recording are all second hand and refurbished.

All audio will be mastered by Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering Alumni and Etikett Radio Lead Pedro Freitas.

/// Open Call
All Catalyst students and alumni from 2023–2026 are welcome to submit a track for Volume THREE of our cassette series. This will be released physically and digitally this October and each collaborator will receive 2 free copies of the tape compilation once released.  

🔥 Deadline for submissions are August 15, 2026
👉🏼 Submission form is HERE