What actually constitutes one's own identity? What role does it play in a group and in society? And how do prejudices and discrimination against individuals and groups arise? How can these be countered? From September 11th to 17th, 32 students from a 10th grade class at the Heinz-Bergruen-Gymnasium explored these questions in workshops focusing on photography, music, and theater, experimenting with artistic forms of expression to present their insights, perspectives, ideas, and questions.
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The participants in the music workshop initially engaged intensively with their own identity as well as the group's identity. Many found it quite challenging to break free from the protective group identity and focus entirely on themselves; and then to reveal something of themselves. A path through music was needed: What musical means could I use to reveal something about myself as an individual and express feelings that would otherwise remain hidden? This path was quickly found, as almost everyone in the group played an instrument. The result was "The Living Jukebox," the title of the impressive musical performance. This symbolically placed box was loaded with nine short songs, which were played one after the other, each reflecting a facet of the individual group members' identities. These ranged from purely instrumental pieces to sung songs and performative interludes in which the entire group participated.
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The performance by the theater workshop. There, too, the participants had first explored the theme of identity: When and why are people different? What commonalities exist within the group? How and why do people's characteristics change throughout and over the course of their lives? Based on these questions, the participants developed a piece in which the identities of the individuals were made visible through theatrically portrayed emotions. The performance showed how these characteristics and feelings intertwine within the group, how individuals influence one another, and how stories and life paths intersect. The result was a very emotional and moving piece.
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was just as impressive as these two remarkable results photography workshop. Here, too, aspects of individual and group identity were explored, along with questions about gender roles and stereotypes. What is typically feminine, what is masculine, and can one even categorize based on gender attributions? How strongly do I define my identity through appearance and clothing? What does beauty mean? How important is it to me, and how do I present myself in a photograph? The idea quickly arose to play with these stereotypes and attributions, even to exaggerate them. For example, the girls posed with painted-on beards, and the boys were made up by the boys and assumed feminine poses. This footage was edited into a photo-film that showed the individual group members in these poses in very rapid sequences, thus depicting a kind of group identity. The rapid cuts were interspersed with longer still images of the individuals, each accompanied by a personal written statement from the person shown: What makes me happy? What do I hate? What makes me sad or thoughtful? In this way, the individual personalities also became visible.
These three results of the artistic workshop were presented publicly to almost 30 parents and siblings at the wannseeFORUM on the penultimate day of the seminar. A team of three students moderated the evening in the packed foyer and then guided the audience through the event. The workshop results were presented with great concentration and seriousness, and followed by an amazed audience. In the end, pride was evident not only on the faces of the parents, but also on those of the students, who seemed to realize only now what they had worked so hard on all week and what fantastic results they had achieved, born from their own ideas. Many agreed in the subsequent workshop debriefings that presenting themselves to their parents and classmates in this completely different way would remain an unforgettable experience.
More impressions from the seminar can be found on Flickr.
The seminar was funded by the Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family.
