The team from TU Berlin took part in the Global Conference on Economic Geography, held at Clark University in Worcester, USA. Dr Janet Merkel contributed to the paper session “Democratising the Economy: Theories, Approaches, and Case Studies of Alternative Economic Development”, chaired by Dr Franziska Paul (University of Glasgow).

In her presentation, Dr Merkel drew on her ongoing research into cultural commoning in the heritage sector, with a particular focus on how grassroots cultural initiatives organise and sustain themselves beyond market logics and state dependency. Her talk examined the financial practices these initiatives develop to maintain autonomy, foster resilience, and cultivate collective cultural infrastructures over time. Her research also shows that such initiatives re-socialise money—treating it not as a neutral medium of exchange, but as a means of enacting social values, constructing collective identities, and organising non-extractive economies. In doing so, they draw boundaries around the types of money they consider useful or appropriate for their purposes.