Art workshop “Talk about it” on the occasion of the exhibition LONELINESS AND OTHER FALSE FRIENDS

Today, April 27 at 7 pm, the exhibition LONELINESS AND OTHER FALSE FRIENDS opens at the URBAN NATION Project Space. On this occasion, on 17 and 18 April, the art workshop of Freunde fürs Leben e.V. “Talk about it” took place in the attic of the URBAN NATION Museum, in which the pupils of the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Oberschule participated. The Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Oberschule is a partner of the Stadtraum!Plus programme of the Stiftung Berliner Leben. Photographer Darius Ramazani and artist Fehmi Baumbach were also participating. Fehmi Baumbach inspired the young people by telling them about her artistic work and her experiences as an artist.

For Freunde fürs Leben e.V., it is about showing the students how they can access their feelings through art. The artistic process broadens the view of the photographic self-portrait, i.e. the inner world – the world of feelings, personality and what moves the pupils – should become visible to the outside. That which otherwise remains hidden and which is often difficult to talk about can be portrayed in a creative way.

For the association, photography is a means of expression and also captures emotions and feelings. People tend to convey different moods and feelings through their facial expressions, body language, choice of clothing and hairstyle. All these factors feed into the narrative you want to convey.

Art thus encourages an open dialogue that starts with the choice of colours and materials and can lead to a conversation about mental health issues and crises.

In this workshop, participants had the opportunity to create their own photo portrait under the guidance of a professional artist and also to creatively transform it. The workshop leader Diana Doko first started with an introduction. Then there was a photo session with the photographer who took portraits of the students so that they could edit them in the art workshop. The session was fun, the students did their best and great shots were taken. They also engaged in drawing, painting and making stickers from old magazines with the support of the artist. Several of them commented that this was the first time they had experienced such a format and as a result they discovered whole new ways of working with materials to print with.