RUB Arts & Culture International | Ruhr-Universität Bochum, August 2017, in Collaboration with Anke Hannemann.

In this workshop we invite the participants to discuss the transformation and state of social and urban space. We deal with questions regarding the potentiality of artistic interventions, the culture of memorials and the politicization in and of the public sphere. Furthermore we look into methods of self as well as collective empowerment, short term collaborations and ad hoc interventions. What are the difficulties and challenges faced when teaching public art within an international group of people inside an institution? 

“Who does the city belong to?”, “Who is it entitled to?” and “Who defines public space?” questions like these urge artists and citizens to confront challenges of urban life in regards to less and less space within cities and to find ways to reclaim the public realm. The participants are asked to investigate the surroundings and to mark specific spots, locations or areas within the cityscape of Bochum. In groups we try to find solutions to channel awareness on these spaces and to shape them into something new. We examine formats of interventions and test their application in public space. The goal is the tangible (re-)connotation of spaces and to change the perception on space(s). Together we discuss and put to use suitable formats of presenting public interventions to a broader audience.