When the family photographed the gorilla for the third time, I spoke to them. They come from Munich and had travelled specially for the festival at the art college. And to say straight away, everything that is now being told remains friendly and yet anonymous. Why? Because I didn’t do what children usually do. The first thing they ask is, “What’s your name?”
This – what’s your name – somehow didn’t come up, and strictly speaking, I wasn’t there as a journalist. You do that with every quote, automatically or professionally, as you please. At the art festival, it was different. Such an investigative question would have destroyed the atmosphere. The four of them were already irritated when I simply approached them.
One woman works as a book illustrator. That’s why she didn’t feel like participating in our writing workshop, but she found the idea appealing. However, she really just wanted to relax in Dresden and soak up the art and atmosphere like a dry sponge, and it was very warm that day. She mentioned in passing that her niece wants to study at art college. She will be doing a taster week in October. She has submitted 15 pieces of work for this, some of which feature animals.
The prospective student is fascinated by the lifelike depiction of the gorilla wearing a hat. She finds the combination so funny. She is also taken with the other animal sculptures. Her mother raves about how approachable the people here are. The fact that one of the professors is taking so much time to show and explain everything to them would not have happened in Munich. There is much more distance there, and simply approaching artists like this does not happen. At that moment, students climb out of the ground floor window to put up advertisements for the bar and its cocktails on the outside of the window. She promptly adds: “And nobody climbs out of windows in Munich either. The microclimate here is great.”
Goodbye Munich. Do you only get excited when Thomas Müller plays on the football pitch?
Rosa Hauch
ANSPRECHBAR
We are ANSPRECHBAR – for a better understanding! We get people talking – regardless of language, culture, age, budget or social status – at creative workshops, exhibitions and in an interview magazine with empathetic portraits. Join us and let’s build bridges together!
Period
01-12.2025
Project coordination
Yvonn Spauschus (project management)
Yulia Vishnichenko · Moussa Mbarek · Nadine Wölk · Rosa Brockelt · Bela Álvarez (workshop leader)
Rosa Hauch · Birthe Mühlhoff (moderation, documentation)
Cooperation partners
JugendKunstschule Dresden – Standort Passage, Omse e.V., Malteser Hilfsdienste e.V., Montagscafé am Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Umweltzentrum Dresden – ABC Tische, Internationale Gärten Dresden e.V, Uniwerk e.V. (Pirna), Buntes Meißen Bündnis Zivilcourage e.V. and many more
Supported by
The project is funded by Heidehof Stiftung GmbH the State Ministry for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. This measure is co-financed with tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the Saxon state parliament within the framework of the state programme Integrative Maßnahmen.
