Funding is awarded through Musicboard Berlin GmbH upon recommendation of an independent jury of Berlin-based pop experts and in consultation with the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion. Jury members are usually appointed for a period of three years. The following jury is currently appointed to the scholarschips and residencies programmes:
AIDA BAGHERNEJAD
Aida Baghernejad is a freelance cultural journalist, podcaster and presenter. She writes in German and English for regional, national and international publications about pop and food culture. Her work has earned her the 2021 »International Music Journalism Award« for Music Journalist of the Year, among others. She is the founder of the podcast »Pasta & Politik« in cooperation with Edition F, co-host of the podcast »55 Voices for Democracy« produced by Thomas Mann House and the Los Angeles Review of Books, and writer and host on Spotify Studios’ podcast »Man lernt nie aus«. She lives in Berlin, sometimes in London, and mostly on the Internet.
EBRU »EBOW« DÜZGÜN
Ebow is a multifaceted artist who has released four albums to date, combining themes of social criticism, queerness, and feminism. Her latest, ›Canê‹, was released on her own label Alvozay, which she founded in 2020. With Alvozay, she has also organised music festivals and shot a short documentary on safer spaces in club culture in collaboration with Franco-German TV network Arte. Furthermore, Ebow manages up-and-coming female artists together with her Alvozay label partner Tmnit Ghide. She is also a member of the musical collective Gaddafi Gals, with whom she released her second studio album in 2022. In addition to her music career, Ebow acts in film and series, having landed her first lead role in a film directed by Helene Hegemann.
JI-HUN KIM
Ji-Hun Kim is an editor, journalist, lecturer and music producer. He studied musicology and philosophy. He was editor at De:Bug for many years and is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Das Filter. As a freelance author, columnist and journalist, he works for Monopol and Der Freitag, among others. He has received teaching assignments from Humboldt University Berlin and the University of Bonn. He was responsible for the concept and content of the multiple award-winning book »Electronic Beats«. Ji-Hun Kim lives with his family in Berlin-Kreuzberg.
MISLA TESFAMARIAM
After working for Highsnobiety and studying business administration in Amsterdam, Misla Tesfamariam followed an invitation to Los Angeles, where she worked with Childish Gambino on his second album ›because the internet‹. She brought her experience to Guerilla Entertainment, for example, where she looked after Namika, DAT ADAM and Xatar, among others. Since 2018, the artist manager is independent again and looks after Alli Neumann in the management. Together they founded the label JAGA Recordings in 2021, which is distributed by Four Music.
THIEN NGUYEN
Thien Nguyen is a label owner, international DJ, music and film producer. Together with his long-time business partner, he organises the open-air series Hallo Montag, which provides a musical platform for young artists. His work as a remixer, as a music producer and composer brought him several awards and various nominations. As a DJ, he has been flying around the world for almost two decades, playing in all the well-known clubs and festivals. Since 2019, Thien Nguyen has additionally focused on working as an executive producer for musical film projects of ARTE Concert, among others.
YEŞIM DUMAN
Yeşim Duman is a curator for the Pop-Kultur-Festival Berlin and organises various queer series, including »Erdogay«, »Bubble«, and »Queer Ping Pong«. They also focus on participatory events such as the »Queer Chess Club« and »Karaokee Xpress« at the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin. In their work, from a post-migrant perspective, Duman sheds light on topics such as queerness, social exclusion, and the status of female and non-binary artists in pop and club culture. They curate talks such as »Let’s talk about gender, habibi«, »Tops or Bottoms« and »Wish you were queer« and, as a member of the platform female:pressure, is committed to furthering inclusion of people perceived as women within the music and cultural scene. Duman is also a member of the Goethe-Institut’s music advisory board. They live and work in Berlin.
