The art and flea market at Fehrbelliner Platz

Berlin’s ethnic mosaic on a small scale? Abstract: This paper describes daily interactions at a weekend art and flea market in Wilmesdorf, a neighborhood in Berlin with a rich history of Russian emigrants to Germany. I suggests that the ethnic composition and immigrant history of the district may be evinced through market happenings. However I also consider the ways in which the structure of the market and my methodological approach limits decisive conclusions. Before beginning my official ethnography research, I was a regular at the market. This gave me a chance to see the main features of the place and observe who is experiencing the market on a regular basis in terms of visitors and sellers. Once there, I learned more about the history of the market and the district, which consequently gave me insight of the district as a whole. Searching for traces of the Russian past within the stalls turned into the second most important aspect of the research. Read more