Exclusive offers for members

The bbk berlin is the only artists’ association in Germany to provide legal aid for its members. Please note that in order to do so, Berlin must be the place of jurisdiction.

Professional legal protection can be provided for legal disputes, e.g. with galleries, exhibitors and clients or – if professionally related – with insurance companies or government administrations. Please contact our legal advisor as soon as possible, as the bbk will not cover the costs of legal consultations made prior to getting in touch with our legal department!

In order to avoid unjustifiable risks to your fellow members, the chair committee will only grant free legal protection after consulting our expert lawyers’ opinion on your case. Your claim should be legally justified and have a good chance to succeed in court.

Any application for legal aid should be made to the bbk berlin. A personal interview is required.

NEW Contact: Mr. Achim Bedenk, attorney

-> see Legal advice

Rechtsschutzverordnung des bbk berlin e.V. (only available in German)

Legal advice from the bbk berlin is available to members and comprises a comprehensive range of services. These include contractual matters relating to clients and contractors, galleries and exhibitors, and disputes with administrative authorities. The bbk berlin's legal advice can also help in the event of problems with the artists' social insurance fund (KSK), the job centre, and the social welfare office. As a rule, advice should be sought before concluding important agreements and contracts.

Contact: Mr. Achim Bedenk, attorney

Office hours wednesdays:

  • from 9:30 -12 (without registration by phone: 030-230 899-29) - new phone number!!
  • from 12 - 2 pm (only with registration!)

The consultations on March13, 2024 will not take place.

For all issues involving rental law, please contact the → legal advice on studio rental team (this is an offer open to all artists* in Berlin ↓)

You can find more information in the FAQs - Social Affairs / Keyword: Künstlersozialkasse-KSK, ALG II, Social emergency

The tax consultancy service provides members assistance with all types of taxes, bookkeeping and accounting questions and tax registration in a 20-minute consultation. During these consultations, the advisors inform you about your tax obligations and rights and are also available to answer individual questions on specific topics.

Contacts: Ms Hobohm, Mr Dr. Klier, Mr Vogel

Office hours: once a month on Wednesdays from 11.00 am - 3.00 pm, by appointment only.

Current KSK: Additional income limit remains higher: "In 2022, artists will continue to be allowed to earn up to 1,300 euros per month from non-artistic or non-publicist self-employment on the side. The regulation to avoid pandemic-related hardships will thus be continued for the time being." Informationsblatt: Versicherung bei der KSK trotz (Neben-) Job?

Tax treatment of the Special Scholarship Program of the Senate Department for Culture and Europe in 2020

As we have been informed by the Senate Department for Culture and Europe, the Special Scholarship in 2020 will be classified as taxable income as determined by the Senate Department for Finance. A corresponding instruction was and is available to all tax offices. 

Our insurance advice service provides members with information on various types of insurance policies in advance of planning a commission or transport etc. as well as to find individual solutions for essential insurance protection. Insurance advice at the bbk berlin answers the following questions:

  • Which insurance policies are absolutely essential? Analysis of existing risks and requirements
  • How much should they cost and what coverage is to be expected? A comprehensive and independent assessment is made regarding offers, contract specifications and general terms and conditions
  • What points should be considered when terminating an insurance contract? Tips for cancelling, changing and signing contracts
  • What can be done in the event of an insurance company refusing to meet its legal obligations? Advice on claims
  • Drawing up expert reports to let the rvbb Berlin deal with your claim: rvbb Berlin
  • In which circumstances do you need to be insured through the KSK (the artists' social insurance fund? Assistance with application forms and general questions regarding compulsory insurance policies

Contact: Ms Susanne Haid, independent insurance consultant, certified according to AG Berlin / permission according to §34d Abs.2 Gewo (rvbb-Rechtsberatung für Versicherungsangelegenheiten in Berlin und Brandenburg: www.rvbb.de)

Office hours: every second Thursday of a month by prior appointment from 11.00 am – 1.00 pm

You can find more information in the FAQ - Social issues / Keyword: Insurance advice

Members of the compulsory statutory pension insurance scheme receive state subsidies within the framework of private provision. These include self-employed persons, such as artists, teachers, parents pn parental leave, and people in marginal employment (mini-jobs) under certain circumstances. Members of the bbk berlin who are compulsorily insured through the Künstlersozialkasse (KSK, the artists' social insurance fund) should not miss out on this state support under any circumstances. In order to decide whether an additional, private old-age provision makes sense for you, you should examine your current status carefully, as well as your ideas about how financially secure you wish to be in old age. You should answer the following questions for yourself before coming to a consultation session:

  • How much is my expected statutory pension? (see pension notification from the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund)
  • My current financial situation
  • How much money do I need to spend now in order to reach my personal target for pension provision in old age?

Riester Pension Prerequisite: You are a member of the KSK and obligated to pay pension insurance in Germany. The Riester pension is offered in five different forms such as bank savings plan, fund savings plan, building society savings contract, and classic or unit-linked pension insurance.

Conversation partner: Ms Susanne Haid, independent insurance consultant, certified according to AG Berlin / permission according to §34d Abs.2 Gewo (rvbb-Rechtsberatung für Versicherungsangelegenheiten in Berlin und Brandenburg: www.rvbb.de)

Office hours: every second Thursday of a month by prior appointment from 11.00 am – 1.00 pm

You can find more information in the FAQs - Social issues / Keyword: Insurance advice, Pension advice, Riester pension

What claims can artists assert as members of the VG Bild-Kunst collecting society? Beginning in 2020, the bbk will offer  its members advice on questions concerning their free membership within VG Bild-Kunst.

Contact: Mr Martin Zellerhoff, artist and photographer

This advice is currently not offered!

These advisory services are free of charge to all members of the bbk berlin. In urgent cases, non-members who are professional visual artists can also contact the office.

    In order to make an appointment for an advisory session, please call the bbk berlin office
    Mon - Thu   11:00 - 15:00
    tel. 030 230 899 - 0
    The message recording of the answering machine is currently deactivated.
    mail: info@bbk-berlin.de

    Free advisory services for all visual artists in Berlin

    The bbk berlin and its legal services team provides artists with advice on problems relating to studio rentals, i.e. rental law, exorbitant rent, difficulties due to a mixed use of premises for private and commercial use (studio flats), faults and repairs, disputes occurring on shared studios before new leases. The bbk berlin offers this service in cooperation with the Berlin tenants' association (“Berliner Mieterverein”).

    Conversation partner: Mr Johann Heinrich Lüth, attorney.

    Office hours: every first and third Wednesday of the month from 5.00 pm – 7.00 pm (no appointment required!).

    At present, the legal advice regarding studio rental is provided exclusively by telephone: 030 230 899 - 42

    This office provides advice to visual artists from Germany and abroad who want to take up professional work in Berlin. It offers them assistance with key questions about the profession and helps provide orientation within the artistic metropolis that is Berlin. Consultations are free of charge.

    Contact: Nina Korolewski

    Office hours by appointment only:
    Tel. 030.230 899-15 or via email: welcome@bbk-kulturwerk.de

    What is important for all of us:

    Please share your experiences with the counselling services of the bbk berlin or give us suggestions what you miss.

    Mail to: info@bbk-berlin.de

    On this basis, we can improve, adapt or expand the offers.

    Thank you very much,
    The office of the bbk berlin

    These advisory services are provided free of charge to all visual artists in Berlin.