“The Urban Sacred” was shown at Kunstquartier Bethanien in Berlin, Germany, from the 7th to 22nd of May, 2016.
VISITORS FROM THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
In May 2016 children from St Michael’s Kindergarten, Berlin, come to see “The Urban Sacred”. During their visit of the exhibition they lively discussed the presented objects and especially the maps. Furthermore they seem to be happy to recognize and point out places they know on the photographs!
WHAT DO YOU HOLD SACRED?
Students from a “Welcome Class” (classes for students who have recently arrived in Germany as migrants) take part in a workshop organized as part of the exhibition. “What does the dragon stand for?”, one student wants to know and points to the pewter figure of St Michael. “It stands for the evil that has to be overcome”, explain facilitators Susanne Lanwerd and Bärbel Rothhaar. “But it is unclear whether ‘evil’ refers to people with different beliefs, or to the evil in ourselves that we have to fight against.” They proceed to discuss militant interpretations of religion. When asked what they consider holy in their lives, the students give different answers: “My free time”, says one. Going on holidays, nature, and the Qur’an are also named as things they hold sacred.
(See the workshop presentation here)
