“Identity_ies”: Visual arts workshop seminar for volunteers in the FSJ/Culture program Berlin-Brandenburg, April 9-14, 2016:
"Be yourself – everyone else is already taken ." As beautifully insightful as this Oscar Wilde quote may seem at first glance, "being yourself" isn't so simple. The search for one's own identity, and identities in general, occupies us throughout our lives. The German Basic Law grants all citizens the "right to the free development of their personality" in Article 2, but how freely can (and do we want to) actually develop? Are we autonomous in finding and creating our own identity, or are we influenced in this process? Are we and do we feel unique, or do we merely choose from prefabricated identity models that are offered to us daily in the flood of media images?
These and many other questions surrounding the theme of "identities" were explored by 23 participants of the FSJ/Kultur Berlin-Brandenburg program in a visual arts workshop at the wannseeFORUM in early April. The visual arts were particularly well-suited for this exploration, as images, visual models, and patterns significantly shape and define identities. The young adults, who typically manage projects, lead groups, or organize events at their placements, were able to dedicate themselves intensively to art for six days, far removed from their daily work routines: developing ideas, experimenting, discarding, trying again, and finally presenting their work.
The workshop took place in three parallel artistic settings: Participants in the "Drawing/Illustration" workshop (led by Malte Beisenherz) explored various techniques, materials, and artistic possibilities to approach the question of self through drawing, graphic art, and illustration. The resulting works revealed that identities can manifest not only in people and faces, but also in places and memories. The works created in the "Sculpture/Installation" group (led by Martina Becker) addressed, among other things, questions of gender identity and role attributions, as well as the many facets that comprise identities. The complex relationship between the inner (perspective) and the outer (perspective) also played a crucial role in the "Painting/Movement" workshop (led by Olga Kozlova). Throughout the week, participants engaged in a series of intensive perception and body exercises. Their effects were reflected in the paintings and performances that the group presented on the last day of the seminar.
As a whole, the works created during the seminar were as multifaceted as the numerous building blocks and mosaic pieces that make up identities. The seminar concluded with the realization that art offers some answers to the big questions of self, other, and collective existence – while simultaneously raising many new questions.
Seminar impressions on Flickr:
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The elective seminar in Fine Arts is a cooperation with the State Association for Cultural Youth Education Berlin eV (LKJ Berlin eV) and was funded by the Senate Department for Education, Youth and Science.
