Freedom, Ramadan and Smartphone

If young refugees do with young German video art together, inevitably results in a promising, eclectic mix of images, impressions and experiences.In the framework of the integrated media project contact lenses at the Villa Stuck was unaccompanied refugee minors together with German students with video art, their ideas and bring the reality to express what moves them. The results were presented on Monday.
The project contact lens was an interesting mix of colorful diversity of cultural multitasking required of each participant. In the workshops, three main languages ​​spoken: English, German and Afghan. It was therefore necessary to overcome language barriers and to practice tolerance. Many of the young Germans first came to the same age with refugees from countries such as Afghanistan, Ghana, Nigeria and Somalia in contact. Some participants had previously not yet visited the Villa Stuck indeed any museum. And for some of the participants was for the period in which the workshops took place, especially Ramadan. The project contact lens was two different worlds collide: Young people with different cultural backgrounds and horizons of experience working together in workshops to develop their own creative ideas and put them in the form of video art.
Collaboration and cooperation was not only very important in the workshops, including the project itself brought together various organizations. Participants of the workshop were both high school students, students from the BFZ (Professional Research) and the Clever school students (school education for young refugees Analog). The young people were looked after by media educators Mareike Schemmerling Kupser from JFF and Thomas (Institute for Media Education in Research and Practice), which have the project in cooperation with Kajuto (campaign by young people for tolerance) designed and implemented.Inspired by the young people were the video artists Tamara Moyzes and Martin Brand. The Slovakian Tamara Moyzes wearing gas masks in their videos or shows dancing dolls in military uniform and carries criticism of the political situation in Israel. Video artist Martin Brand portrayed in his videos skater cliques, amateur rappers and the lives of young men. For contact lens, they have presented their work to young people.Anne Marr, head of the agency says the Villa Stuck: "It's always great to work with artists, because they have no pedagogical impetus, but also a bit crazy. Nevertheless, they find a very good access to young people and manage to tie them to their work. The artists have shown the majority of young people for the first time in her life, why and how to make artistic films and what this actually means. It was nice to see how this has affected the young people, and how they have directly converted. "
"The special thing about contact lenses this year was that it consisted of two entirely different projects. The first project was a weekend workshop and the second is a project week. Quite different formats have emerged, in the first workshop in the second mobile phone clips and short films that were shot with a normal camera. "Said Anne Marr.
The short films can be seen on smartphones and Ipads. Casual, of course, and in a plain format are the young people that is what makes them tick. A short film showing the youth how to ride a glass elevator up and down in their hands they hold signs. It says: "Today I would like to go dancing at 11 Clock" and ". No, you have to sleep in your own room," The films are about freedom in Germany and the severe restrictions in refugee shelters, of dreams and the reunion with the family of Friendship and peer pressure, joy and sadness, of identity and homeland.
How do you measure the success of contact lens can be, is set for Anne Marr: "When I learned that a Nigerian and I have made a German students after the workshop on their own initiative, I was very happy."