As a reaction to the political and social situation in Europe in 2016 YANTE developed a workshop format on „Intercultural work in an artistic / pedagogical context”. The workshop was planned and implemented for artists and educators from the cultural sector.
From May 30th to June 3rd 2016 YANTE implemented a five-day workshop with 15 participants from the cultural sector in cooperation with Tanzquartier Wien. The second workshop took place in Stockholm between September 19th and 25th with the support of Danscentrum. From October 12th to 16th the workshop was successfully held for a third time, this time in Hamburg in cooperation with K3.
The workshop served as a platform for the exchange of ideas regarding projects with refugees and migrants. Participation was open to individuals who were either already involved in projects or were interested in planning and implementing such initiatives. The trainers of the workshop, Nadia Arouri and Lina Höhne, have extensive experience with intercultural artistic and educational work through their projects with various social groups in Palestine, which was part of this workshop. The participants were supported in their work through know-how on the subject of interculturality with a focus on Arab culture. We also provided room for the development of new cooperation and projects.
The workshop covered the following:
1) Society and Aesthetics: Approaching Arabic culture, initial assessment of the cultural understanding.
2) Freedom, Resistance, Racism: Embedding one’s work into the political and social context of the European society.
3) Intercultural work: Bridging, exchange, experience and the possibilities of intercultural work
4) Shared realities: Networking, discussion of existing projects. What are we aiming at? Why are WE involved?
5) Building networks: Assessment and discussion of the needs of the participants. Establishing working groups, answering open questions and developing future prospects.
Depending on the participants’ needs a three to six months mentorship phase succeeded the workshop. During this phase the artistic team supported the participants in their work. The following aspects were covered in order to ensure individual mentoring:
1) Discussion of current situations and challenges in everyday practice
2) Support in the preparation of artistic concepts
3) Recommendations for the establishment of synergies
4) Food for thought and critical input during the course of the projects
This workshop provided the participants with the chance to get in touch with other artistic actors who share their visions. The workshop was a starting point out of which an exchange forum was created that will hopefully ensure lasting cooperation among the participating artists.