Stadtschloss.Forscher at Deutsche Guggenheim
6 - 8 November 2009
Stadtschloss.Forscher is a cooperation project of kleine baumeister with Wili-Graf High School. Not far from Deutsche Guggenheim Unter den Linden one can find what is possibly Germany’s most famous unbuilt site: the Berlin Schlossplatz. Deutsche Guggenheim and ANCB Junior Campus ask children and youths about how they envisage the future of this area.
Should a museum be built here? An outdoor swimming pool? Perhaps a large Ferris wheel? What function do young Berliners think the square and the building should fulfil? Surrounded by the history of the Schlossplatz, children can familiarise themselves with the area, explore the square and its surrounding buildings whilst discovering why this piece of land is so controversially debated. The artist Julie Mehretu, exhibited at Deutsche Guggenheim, will also deal with the history and influence of architecture in her commissioned work Grey Area. She asks what we have learnt from the past and what we can pass on to the future. Following a guided tour of the architectural-abstract image world of the artist, children (7 years and older) are offered the opportunity to come up with their own ideas for the Schlossplatz in the classrooms at ANCB. Their work will be presented in an exhibition at the Deutsche Guggenheim on November 10 at 5pm.
Stadtschloss.Forscher Projekt – Berlin Castle Research ProjectThe subject of the Berlin castle’s reconstruction and its usage as the Humboldt-Forum will send students from the Willi Graf High School in Berlin on an expedition to the past and future of this pivotal site in Germany.
Construction plans, surveys, films, collages and interviews with decision makers will be compiled to form a multimedia library on the topic. The students will learn to actively position themselves with regard to the subject, to form an opinion in the current politco-cultural debate, to develop their own questions, and to independently look for solutions, to document these solutions and to pass them on. They will break new ground by asking a lot of questions: What were the pros and cons of the reconstruction of the castle for the Humboldt-Forum? Why is there such a heated debate on the subject? What would a topical and appropriate reconstruction of the castle look like?
Stadtschloss.Forscher is under the patronage of Dr. h.c. Kristin Feireiss. It is part of the Kultur.Forscher! Programme of the Pricewaterhouse Coopers Foundation Youth-Education-Culture and the Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung (German Children and Youth Foundation) which supports students throughout Germany to actively look into their cultural environment. Kultur.Forscher! aims at developing and strengthening new approaches of enquiry in Germany.
