Orta Okul 2024
Urgent Needs of Berlin
In 2024, Orta Okul focused on The Urgent Needs of Berlin, exploring the city's pressing issues and developing a seminar program designed for diverse groups. Our aim was to engage those often excluded from the arts and culture scene due to linguistic, social, or class barriers, as well as to connect with art educators and activists.
We organized five seminars in different languages. While this page is in English, you can click on each seminar to access more details in its original language.
This program was realized with the support of Urbane Praxis Berlin.
OPEN FRAME
Facilitated by Mohamed Badarne, conducted in Arabic.
Open Frame was led by Palestinian photographer and human rights activist Mohamed Badarne, working with unaccompanied refugee children at Yekmal e.V. The seminar, conducted in Arabic, focused on using the camera as a storytelling tool with eight boys aged between 9 and 14. Since the participants did not speak German, the workshop aimed to help them socialize and use visual language as a means of communication.
CRRRRRACKS
Facilitated by İpek Çınar, conducted in English.
CRRRRRACKS: Artivism in the Face of Censorship explores guerilla methods of artistic production, focusing on strategies to express ourselves and navigate the challenges posed by authoritarian regimes. It seeks ways to create cracks to expand social and political messages. How can we create counter-hegemonic interventions to reclaim our spaces and disrupt the polished image that authoritarian states strive to project? What balance can be found in the complex relationship between art, activism, collaboration, and participation? How can we use the tools and spaces we already have—humor, social media, public spaces, and beyond—to envision alternative futures?
GRUPA PODRŠKE
Facilitated by Jelena Fuzinato, conducted in BCMS.
The workshop brought together a diverse group of women artists living in Berlin, connected by their Balkan backgrounds, shared BCMS language, and varied experiences in the arts. Designed for women who had paused their careers, the workshop offered a space to explore approaches to working and collaborating that transcend formal, bureaucratic, and competitive frameworks. Participants engaged in discussions and hands-on activities, emphasizing relationship-building, knowledge-sharing, and the creation of new collaborative practices rooted in trust and mutual support.
RECLAIMING DIALOGUE
Facilitated by Alejandra Camacho Nieves, conducted in English.
The workshop series wasdedicated to improving communication skills in community building processes through non-violent communication tools. These workshops are designed primarily for art mediators, educators, and cultural workers focusing on participatory art practices and community building.
BİZİ YAPRAKLARA SOR
Facilitated by Ece Gökalp, conducted in Turkish
Ask the Leaves About Us is a oral storytelling workshop blending with participatory practices and sustainable photography techniques. Through gatherings, excursions, and different printing methods, the seminar aims to collect the personal stories of first wave immigrant women from Turkey, so-called Guest Workers.
Part of DRAUSSENSTADT, Orta Okul's program for 2024 was funded by the Berlin Project Fund for Urban Practice and the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion.
...
Das Programm von Orta Okul für 2024 wurde im Rahmen von DRAUSSENSTADT durch den Berliner Projektfonds für urbane Praxis und die Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt gefördert.