Die Stadt in mir

A project with children from Fröbel Kindergarten mittendrin for Urbane Künste ERbeLEBEN

We all have favorite places in the city where we feel safe, accepted, and comfortable. These places accompany us and form an inner map of our dream city. We asked the children: what would the city look like if we combined these favorite places? What colors, textures, and motifs would this city have?

For our excursion, we drew inspiration from the Minga tradition of the Chilean island of Chiloé. The word minga embodies the heart of island life and means “an exchange of help for mutual benefit.” If an islander wants to move, they take their whole house with them—this is only possible with the active support of neighbors.

In a collective act, the children brought the neighborhoods they had created to the Plantsche at Nordbahnhof. There, they built this imaginary city, transformed it, expanded it with chalk, and, most importantly, moved freely within it.

2024

Artists
Valeria Germain and Valeria Schwarz

Pictures
Elma Riza

In the frame of
Urbane Künste ERbeLEBEN Caring City

Berlin, GER, 2024

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