Ein Interview zwischen Josephine Pritz (Fakultät Musik) und Emilie Intsiful (Jazz Institute Berlin).
Emilie Intsiful (Jazz Institute Berlin) und Josephine Pritz (Fakultät Musik) v. l. n. r.
Einleitung und Hintergrund des Interviews Josephine Pritz: In einer sehr konservativen, überwiegend weiß gelesenen Klassikszene habe ich als weiße FrauMachtmissbrauch an verschiedenen Musikhochschulen in Deutschland erlebt, die meine Karriere geprägt und ungewollt gelenkt haben. In der Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK Berlin) habe ich dann Emilie Intsiful kennengelernt. Auch sie wurde an einer Institution an klassische Musik herangeführt, welche hauptsächlich Männer repräsentiert. Aber nicht nur als Frau in der Musikwelt – sie studiert am Jazz Institut Berlin (JiB), wo nur 10% weiblich sind – erfährt sie Herausforderungen, die strukturell bedingt sind. Besonders als Schwarze Frau in der Klassikszene, die hauptsächlich auch nach wie vor weiß und männlich geprägt ist, und als Mutter in einem Studium, das hauptsächlich abends stattfindet, erfährt sie Hürden, die systembedingt sind. Warum ihr Vater eine fast untypische klassisch musikalische Förderung für Emilie Intsiful gewählt hat, und vieles mehr möchte ich gerne herausfinden und ihrer tollen (musikalischen) Stimme zuhören.
Josephine Pritz: Hallo Emilie. Wie geht’s dir und woher kommst du gerade?
Emilie Intsiful: Hi Phine. Vielen Dank, gut geht es mir. Ich komme gerade von einem Meeting mit Freunden auch von der Uni. Wir organisieren ein Benefizkonzert für Überlebende des Genozids in Palästina. Das ist so das, was ich als Mensch in meiner Situation tun kann. Ich bin nicht so der Demomensch, gerade zumal die Polizei ein bisschen unberechenbar ist. Deswegen also ein Friedenskonzert, wo Liebe und Musik im Vordergrund stehen.
JP: Die anderen, die dieses Benefizkonzert mit dir organisieren, sind die auch von der UdK Berlin. Wann hast du mit dem Studium angefangen?
EI: Ich habe offiziell die Aufnahmeprüfung im Jahre 2021 bestanden. Dann wurde ich schwanger und habe im Wintersemester 2022 mein Studium mit meinem sieben Monate jungen Sohn zusammen begonnen. Während meines Studiums hatte mich meine wundervolle Gesangsdozentin inspiriert, mich mit Jazzmusik zu befassen. Das hat mich motiviert, ich habe mich nach meinem ersten Semester spontan am JIB beworben. Und seit Wintersemester 2023 bin ichalso am JIB.
JP: Studium mit einem Kind – das ist eine krasse Herausforderung, oder? Wie machst du das?
EI: Ich habe angefangen, meinen Sohn mit in jeden Kurs zu nehmen. Und habe dann einfach an Ort und Stelle gefragt,ob das für die*den jeweilige*n Dozent*in okay ist. Und die meisten Dozierenden waren total lieb und verständnisvoll. In einem Kurs wurde ich, weil mein Kind zu unruhig war, schon zweimal gebeten, den Kurs zu verlassen. Andere Dozierende haben auch mal meinen Sohn gehalten.
JP: Du als Schwarze Frau und als alleinerziehende Mutter, wie fühlst du dich unter all diesen Bedingungen, die dich ausmachen, in unserer Institution, der UdK Berlin?
EI: Wie fühle ich mich? Es ist mit viel Unsicherheit verbunden. Ich fühle viele Blicke auf mir seit ich hier angefangen habe. Es gibt hier nicht so viele Menschen mit Migrationserfahrung, vor allem an der UdK Berlin, auch am Jazz-Institut, gibt es mittlerweile keine einzige BIPoC mehr. Ich habe das Gefühl, ich versetze mich sehr oft aus Unsicherheit in die Lage meiner Mitstudierenden und versuche, mich von außen zu betrachten und zu sehen, wie die anderen mich sehen und denke mir, ich bin bestimmt irgendwie nur diese Schwarze Mutter halt. Und die, die vielleicht noch älter ist. Deshalb werde ich auch nicht eingeladen. Weil wenn ich eingeladenwerde, dann nur so spontan, dass ich keine Babysitter*in mehr organisieren kann. Menschen denken nicht zwingend für mich als Mutter mit. Das ist gerade mein Eindruck, vielleicht kannst du mir aber auch mal erzählen, wie du unsere Uni als Frau wahrnimmst. Warum hast du die UdK Berlin gewählt?
JP: Mein Eindruck ist, dass der immer präsente Machtmissbrauch an Musikhochschulen noch viel krasser ist, als an anderen Institutionen wie wissenschaftlichen Universitäten z. B. Ich schätze mein Studium und das, was ich hier gelernt habe. Ich habe gemerkt, wie privilegiert ich bin und wie wenig privilegiert andere Personen sind, weil ich das reflektieren konnte, indem ich über den Tellerrand der UdK Berlin hinaus geblickt habe, was auch total wichtig für mich ist, um eine Struktur aufzubrechen. Man müsste sehr groß aufräumen, was die Strukturen, die Hierarchien und so einige Habiten angeht. Wer muss sich wo und wie vorstellen? Oder welche Diskriminierungsformen, die in jeglicher Struktur oder aufverschiedenen Ebenen, in verschiedenen Ismen an der Uni stattfinden, gibt es? Da muss man wirklich ganz genau überprüfen. Ein Ziel sollte sein, dass viel mehr Menschen die Möglichkeit haben, an der UdK Berlin zu studieren, und es sollte möglichgemacht werden als alleinerziehende Mutter auch ein Studium zu bewältigen.
JP: Und jetzt bist du am Jazz-Institut. Was würdest du sagen, ist der Unterschied zwischen dem Lehramtsstudium an der Fakultät Musik und am Jazz-Institut zu studieren?
EI: Die Hauptsprache ist dort Englisch, das fand ich auch irgendwie angenehm. Die Fakultät Musik war mir einfach zu Deutsch irgendwie. Also ich habe dort gemerkt, dass es mir gut tut unter “Ausländern”. Auch wenn die am JIB zwar alle weiß sind, aber sie kommen trotzdem von überall her und dadurch ist die Mentalität und die Offenheit für BIPoC anders. Ich glaube auch Musiker*innen haben da mehr Berührungspunkte mit Menschen mit Migrationserfahrung, weil die Musik in Berlin so vielfältig und bunt ist, dass man da gar nicht drum rumkommt. Aber im Lehramt Musik war ich in einer weißen Blase und da wurde mir einiges klar. Okay, ich sah den Menschen irgendwann an, dass sie tatsächlich ausschließlich weiße Freunde haben, und da keine Notwendigkeit sehen rauszukommen. Ich merke, dass ich die einzige Schwarze Person bin, die die kennen. Ich fühle es mittlerweile einfach. Ich bin dies zwar gewohnt, aber gleichzeitig heißt das nicht, dass es leicht ist, sich in dieser Welt zu bewegen, wo mandas Gefühl hat, ich bin jetzt das Paradebeispiel, was du kennst.
JP: Also es ist in deinen Gedanken nicht nur der Faktor, dass du als Mama nicht integriert wirst, sondern als Schwarze Frau auch? Oder vielleicht auch als ältere? Ich glaube nicht, um dir das jetzt mal zu spiegeln, dass du als älter wahrgenommen wirst. Du wirkst in meinen Augen offen und frisch.
EI: Danke. Ich glaube, dass eine Frau mit Kind einfach dann für viele Leute den Eindruck erweckt, die Frau muss älter sein. Man wird direkt anders wahrgenommen. So war auf jeden Fall mein Eindruck. Ich habe als Person mit Migrationserfahrung wahrscheinlich ein paar andere Unsicherheiten als weiße Menschen und stelle mir andere Fragen. Dadurch, dass ich weiß, ich bin offen, ich bin nett, kann das kein schlüssiger Faktor sein, nicht gefragt zu werden, also fällt per Ausschlussverfahren der Blick auf äußere Faktoren, sprich, meine Hautfarbe, mein Muttersein oder vielleicht mein Alter.
JP: Kurzer Rückblick zu deiner Musikausbildung. Wie hat das, was du heute machst, angefangen? Wer hat dich dazu gebracht?
EI: Mein Vater wurde als Gastarbeiter in diesem Land willkommen geheißen. Er war sehr motiviert, sich zu integrieren. Somit wares ihm ein Wunsch, dass wir als seine Kinder so deutsch wie möglich sind, um akzeptiert zu werden. Und dadurch war ihm das ein willkommenes Geschenk, als ich gefragt habe, ob ich aufs musische und katholische Mädchen Internat gehen darf. Es stellte sich dannraus, dass ich da keine Popmusik hören darf, nur klassische Musik und vielleicht noch Volksmusik. Meine CDs haben sie mir abgenommen. Eines Nachmittags haben sie mich irgendwann Whitney Houston “I will always love you” schreien hören und dann war denen klar, dass sie mir Gesangsunterricht sponsern müssen, damit ich ja in die richtige Richtung gehe und mein schlechter Einfluss minimiert wird.
JP: Gesangsunterricht war dann aber klassisch, oder wie?
EI: Klassisch. Genau. Und ich habe aber trotzdem immer heimlich weiter meine Popmusik gehört auf einem Disc-Man. Und was ich hörte, habe ich dann tagsüber in der Schule auf dem Klavier gespielt. Und das war so meine persönliche Beziehung zum Klavier und zur Musik: mir Sachen rauszuhören und zu merken und meinen Freunden vorzusingen. Ich war so deren „real life Radio“. Dieser Teil meiner Jugend war echt schön. Nach der Schule habe ich eine Ausbildung in der Berufsfachschule für Musik Altötting gemacht, ein Kurzstudium für zwei Jahre. Klassische Musik. Ich hatte in Altötting oft Auftritte als einzige “Jazzsängerin” in diesem kleinen Örtchen. Pro Auftritt habe ich damals 15 Euro verdient.
JP: Davon können Musiker*innen nicht leben.
EI: Nein (schmunzelt)
JP: Wie sieht das heute aus? Ich habe ja das Glück, dich als Bratschistin begleiten zu können. Die Musik, die du schreibst, kommt ja auch aus deinem klassischen Background. Du trittst ja einfach, ich sage jetzt mal in Anführungsstrichen, groß auf. Wo andere einfach nur ein Klavier und einen Bass und ein Schlagzeug haben, suchst du dir ganz andere Instrumente und dementsprechend auch mehr Leute aus. Und kannst dann auch hoffentlich mehr verlangen als 15 Euro pro Abend.
EI: Das sieht heute ganz anders aus. Heute würde ich das nicht mehr durchgehen lassen.
JP: Und nun bist du am Jazzinstitut quasi musikalisch am Ursprung. Jazz ist ja Musik, die von Schwarzen Personen kommt.
EI: Ja, Jazz kommt von Schwarzen Menschen. Aber es wurde halt sehr intellektualisiert. Menschen, die Migrationserfahrung haben, gehen seltener als Weiße den akademischen Pfad, vor allem nicht, wenn er nicht als lukrativ gilt. “Musiker” ist gesellschaftlich gesehen kein lukrativer Beruf. Und du siehst wahrscheinlich viel mehr Menschen mit Migrationserfahrung, die Architektur oder Ingenieurwesen studieren. Musiker*innen werden unterstützen Migra Eltern selten, denn in diesem Land bringt Kunst kein Geld. Ich glaube deswegen sieht man einfach keine Schwarzen an meiner Uni, obwohl das unsere Musik ist. Und leider glaube ich auch, dass Jazzmusik deshalb Gefahr läuft, auszusterben. Sie wird halt nicht mehr so gelebt wie früher. Es war früher die Musik der Resistenz, die Musik des Widerstands. In Deutschland war das ja auch sehr lange verboten und viele jüdische Menschen haben Jazz für sich entdeckt, man siehe Kurt Weill. Aber diese Schwarze Jazz-Szene in Deutschland war so klein, dass sich das nie so ausgebreitet hat und nie so gelebt wurde wie in den Staaten. Und dadurch ist hier kein Selbstverständnis wie in den Staaten, daszu studieren. So erkläre ich mir das.
JP: Was würdest du dir vom JIB wünschen mit all den Dingen, die wir jetzt heute besprochen haben, auch nicht nur was „Race“ angeht, sondern auch was Muttersein angeht in dem Studium, was auch hauptsächlich abends stattfindet, was dann auch eine Herausforderung ist. Und auch als Person, die irgendwie mit Machtstrukturen Schwierigkeiten hatte. Was gibt es für Sachen, die einfach umzusetzen wären oder vielleicht auch schwierig oder utopisch? Also: was ist dein Traum?
EI: Mein Traum? Am liebsten hätte ich am JIB mehr weiblich gelesene Dozierende. Das würde für mich schon einen großen Unterschied machen. Mehr Schwarze Studierende und Dozierende. Ich würde gerne die Professorenschaft abschaffen, damit da mehr Flexibilität ist, wenn Dozierende keinen guten Unterricht machen, sage ich jetzt mal ganz klar. Und ich würde mir auch wünschen, dass die Musik mehr im Kontext geschieht. Wenn Menschen Name-droppen an unserer Uni, dann weiß ich nicht, ob die wissen, dass die Menschen deren Namensie gerade nennen Schwarz waren und was die für Leben gelebt haben. Dann entsteht ein Bezug. Ich glaube, diese Losgelöstheit vor dem Hintergrund einer jeden Musikist die wahre Cultural Appropriation, wo die Musik irgendwie ein bisschen weiß gewaschen wird. Und ja, ich wünsche mir da mehr Hommage an die Gründer des Jazz und mehr Nachforschung, warum er entstanden ist. Und dann, wenn man diesen Spirit vielleicht erkennt, würde ich mir auch mehr Widerstand von meinen Kommiliton*innen wünschen und sogar von meinen Dozent*innen. Wir machen Musik des Widerstands, also sollten wir auch mehr Widerstand leisten. Wir sollten uns das verdienen, dass wir diese Musik machen dürfen und diese Musik auch für Politik, Widerstand und Protest nutzen. Irgendwie lehrt mich unsere Zeit gerade, dass Musik eine der stärksten Waffen ist unddeswegen will man sie unterdrücken, glaube ich. Wir sollten uns unserer Verantwortung als Musiker*innen bewusst sein.
JP: Ich würde noch ergänzen, dass der erste Punkt, den du gesagt hast, dieses Repräsentieren von den Menschen, die das geschaffen haben, das passiert ja an der Fakultät Musik wahnsinnig. Wirhaben ja nur alte, tote weiße Männer, die in Form irgendwelcher Büsten, in Bilderrahmen oder mit Raumnamen dortverewigt sind. Man könnte das JIB ja theoretisch auch schon mit einem Untertitel einer Person umbenennen. Es gibt ja so viele Möglichkeiten. In der klassisch, weißen, konservativen Szene wird Repräsentanz jaauch groß gelebt. Nur aber eben von weißen Männern. Und das zeigt natürlich auch wieder, das fällt mir jetzt auf, wo wir drüber reden, dass es immer noch diese weiße Welt ist, die klassisch konservativ ist, einfach weil sie immer schon so war und hier werdenalle, die reinpassen gepusht und gefördert. Und Jazz, ja, wir nehmen uns oft nur das, was vermeintlich gut ist, oder eher bequem: die Musik.
EI: Ja, genau das.
JP: Ja, man müsste da konsequenter sein: n der Fakultät Musik ein bisschen mehr alte weiße Männernamen abschaffen und vielleicht auch mehr Frauen da repräsentieren. Und am JIB vor allem diese Namen und Menschen und Gesichter zeigen.
EI: Ja, voll gut. Voll guter Punkt.
JP: Das wäre doch vielleicht ein Wunsch, auf den man sich einigen könnte.
EI: Ja, voll. Ich hätte noch eine Frage an dich. Du bist ja an der UdK Berlin Frauen- und Gleichstellungsbeauftragte derFakultät Musik und bekommst ja da auch ein paar Dinge mit, die so hochschulpolitisch geschehen. Siehst du einen Weg, wie du das Bild da beeinflussen kannst, was diese Einseitigkeit in der Musikszene angeht, ob klassisch oder Jazz, siehst du da einen Weg, wie du das Bild vielleicht ein bisschen aufrütteln kannst, verändern kannst?
JP: Ich glaube, wir setzen uns schon viel dafür ein, mehr Diversität zu schaffen. Das passiert zum Beispiel mit derFörderung der Initiative „musica inaudita“, die Konzertreihen veranstaltet, wo nur Personen, die in der Musikwelt im Kanon nicht repräsentativ dargestellt sind, auftreten können und deren Musik gespielt wird. Du hast da ja auch mal gespielt als Komponistin, Emilie, ich habe bin da auch schon mal mit meiner Musik aufgetreten. Und dann haben wirleider so wahnsinnig viel zu tun, um die Fakultät gendergerecht zu gestalten, was uns gar nicht dann die Kapazitäten lässt, da mehr Repräsentation zu schaffen für eben die Dinge, die du gesagt hast. Also ich sitze in Berufungskommissionen und schaue, wer sich bewirbt und ob das Bewerbungsprozedere und die Berufung auch gendergerecht geschieht, damit eben Hierarchiestrukturen aufgebrochen werden. Dann schaue ich natürlich auch intersektional auf das Ganze und versuche auch im Sinne von der Diversitätsbeauftragten da reingucken, wie Strukturen hier sind und was man da den Kommissionen, den Professor*innen, die quasi die Macht haben etwas zu entscheiden, was wir da noch entgegensetzen können bzw. müssen. Also ich versuche sozusagen eher strukturellen Ebene zu bewegen. Ich will, dass man durch die Gebäude geht und feststellt, hier sind diese und jene Personen, die mich repräsentieren, wo ich mich wohlfühle, wo ich mich gesehen fühle. Einfach weil sie da sind. Genau das ist ein Ziel, dass im Endeffekt das Wohlfühlmoment für alle da ist, egal welcher Gruppe du angehörst, vom Erstsemester-Studierende bis zur Dekan*in.
JP: Wir haben an der Fakultät Musik so wenig Personen, die studieren und Mütter oder Eltern sind zum Beispiel. Nochweniger, die alleinerziehend sind. Und da habe ich schon einfach festgestellt, als ich mit dir zu tun hatte, wir müssen so viel mehr Wickelräume schaffen, zum Beispiel. Oder die Möglichkeit, ein Kind zu stillen. Du hast dein Kind und du hast vorher angefangen zu studieren und die Uni muss irgendwie schauen, dass sie dir das ermöglicht. Und das jetzt in einem Studium, das hauptsächlich abends stattfindet, ist für dich auch eine Herausforderung. Ja, wir müssen bessere Bedingungen schaffen für Personen, die nicht aus einem weiß akademisierten, gegebenenfalls reichen Elternhaus kommen.
EI: Nice, das klingt doch schon mal nach viel. Vielen Dank für deine Arbeit, Phine. Ich habe mich ja für die Dingswahl aufstellen lassen.
JP: Welche Wahl? Die Präsident*innenwahl?
EI: Jetzt wo du es sagst. Das könnte es gebrauchen. Eine Schwarze. Das wäre lustig. Eine Schwarze Mutter in Deutschland als Präsidentin an der UdK Berlin. Nein, ich habe mich für die Stupa-Wahl aufstellen lassen. Und ich möchte mich unter anderem für studierende Mütter einsetzen.
JP: Finde ich auch richtig.
EI: Die Uni macht schon viel. Die unterstützen mich mit zehn Stunden im Monat, wo ich mein Kind bei Kidsmobil abgeben kann. Und das hilft mir schon sehr. Also wenn das nicht wäre, könnte ich bei gar keiner Abendveranstaltungmitmachen. Das ist schon gut.
JP: Und das ist schon auf jeden Fall das, was du brauchst, um dein Studium zu machen. Und wenn du was anderesstudieren würdest, dann könnte alles vormittags stattfinden. Aber du musst auf die Bühne. Und das ist immer dann, wenn andere Freizeit haben. Kannst du bitte mehr Musik machen?
EI: Oh, ich probiere es. Vielen Dank. Und ich bin ja auch schon froh, dass du dich für mein Ensemble bereitstellstals Bratschistin. Also diesen Wunsch kann ich nur zurückwerfen an dich, liebe Phine, du bist ja auch eine grandiose Musikerin.
Artist Training presents: Alliances – Students, Scholars and Artists at Risk is the continuation of the Artist Training Lab for Radical Transformation (2020/21) and How to Create a Safer Space (2022) event series. Together with the representatives and members various Universities and artists, this workshop series was developed to address and discuss structural discrimination and obstacles within German universities, with UdK Berlin being no exception. In collaboration with the Commission for Equal Opportunities and the International Office at UdK Berlin, the workshop series focuses on networking, inventory analysis, and coordination of programs for students, scholars, and artists at risk in the coming years. The reflections on the three workshops are being documented through interviews with participants and invited professionals by a podcast.
The third episode of Alliances with Activists is set in the context of Human Rights Day 2023 and follows the panel discussion titled Activist Art, featuring Anton Kats, Khaled Barakeh, Michael(a) Daoud and Natalija Yefimkina, moderated by Humza Abid. Based on an exploration of the artists’ works, the following questions will be discussed: How can socially engaged artists create effective collaborations to overcome structural barriers? Where should spaces for knowledge production position themselves? What role do activists and universities play in shaping a safer, more inclusive environment for free expression? Our guest speaker İpek Çınar, former AStA member for diversity and social justice and former employee of Artist Training, shares her insights in conversation with Johanna Madden.
Speaker: İpek Çınar Production: Johanna Madden (Moderation) & Sel Coordination: Melanie Waldheim (Artist Training Team)
Artist Training presents: Alliances – Students, Scholars and Artists at Risk is the continuation of the Artist Training Lab for Radical Transformation (2020/21) and How to Create a Safer Space (2022) event series. Together with the representatives and members various Universities and artists, this workshop series was developed to address and discuss structural discrimination and obstacles within German universities, with UdK Berlin being no exception. In collaboration with the Commission for Equal Opportunities and the International Office at UdK Berlin, the workshop series focuses on networking, inventory analysis, and coordination of programs for students, scholars, and artists at risk in the coming years. The reflections on the three workshops are being documented through interviews with participants and invited professionals by a podcast.
The second podcast Alliances with art universities focuses within the exchange meeting: On the way to the postmigrant society: in collaboration with Unlearning University and with representatives of art universities. The guest is Alejandra Nieves Camacho, Diversity Manager at UdK Berlin. Together with moderator Johanna Madden, they will reflect on the expiring programs and ideas for further development.
Coming Soon.
Speaker: Alejandra Nieves Camacho (Diversity Manager at UdK Berlin) Production: Johanna Madden (Moderation) & Sel Coordination: Melanie Waldheim (Artist Training Team)
Artist Training presents: Alliances – Students, Scholars and Artists at Risk is the continuation of the Artist Training Lab for Radical Transformation (2020/21) and How to Create a Safer Space (2022) event series. Together with the representatives and members of various universities and artists, this workshop series was developed to address and discuss structural discrimination and obstacles within German universities, with UdK Berlin being no exception. In collaboration with the Commission for Equal Opportunities and the International Office at UdK Berlin, the workshop series focuses on networking, inventory analysis, and coordination of programs for students, scholars, and artists at risk in the coming years. The reflections on the three workshops are being documented through interviews with participants and invited professionals by a podcast.
The first podcast of the series “Alliances with representatives of Berlin’s Universities” with eight universities focuses on exchanging ideas, analyzing and building stronger alliances. The meeting takes place against the backdrop of the discontinuation of DAAD funding for refugees at universities in Germany. The first guest is author and activist Sanaz Azimipour. Together with moderator Johanna Madden, they will reflect on the expiring programs and ideas for further development.
Speaker: Sanaz Azimipour (Author and Activist) Moderation/Production: Johanna Madden (UdK Alumni) Coordination: İpek Çınar & Melanie Waldheim (Artist Training Team)
Following the workshop on “Non-violent communication in sensitive discussions” as part of the event series “Let’s talk! Israel / Palestine”, the anti-siscrimination & diversity officer, Alejandra Nieves Camacho, presents the communication guidelines for sensitive political discussions.
These guidelines were developed by students of the UdK Berlin as part of the above-mentioned workshop to ensure that political discussions at the UdK Berlin are characterized by respect, empathy and constructive dialogue. The guidelines are non-binding. They are intended as a tool to promote dialog and can be adapted to the needs of the groups wishing to hold such discussions.
Am 05. Dezember 2022 fand der Aktionstag Recognizing barriers an der Universität der Künste statt. Die in diesem Artikel aufgearbeitete, kritische Reflexion des Programms erfolgte durch den Künstler und Kunstvermittler Dirk Sorge, Gründungsmitglied von Berlinklusion, mit dem Schwerpunkt auf Barriereabbau und inklusiver Praxis im Kulturbereich, und der Schwarzen, intersektional verwobenen Künstlerin Lahya (Stefanie-Lahya Aukongo), deren künstlerische Inhalte sich um die Themen Privilegien, Dekolonisierung, Heilung, individuelle sowie kollektive Liebe und Verletzlichkeit spannen.
Unter dem Titel Recognizing barriers versammelten das studentische Kuratorium, bestehend aus Vivian Chan, Luïza Luz und Chris McWayne, sowie der Vizepräsidentin Ariane Jeßulat und dem ehemaligen Diversitäts- und Antidiskriminierungsbeauftragter Mutlu Ergün-Hamaz kritische Stimmen und ermächtigende Strategien zur Bekämpfung systemischer intersektionaler Diskriminierung in einem Aktionstag für Studierende, Lehrende und Interessierte.
Die Aufschrift des Veranstaltungsplakats „Barrieren, die wir sehen, sind Barrieren, die wir bekämpfen können“ unterstreicht die Relevanz der Benennung von Hürden, um ihnen entgegenwirken zu können, und impliziert sogleich die Schwierigkeit, die dem titelgebenden Anliegen anhaftet: Was für manche Körper als Schranke spürbar wird, bleibt anderen verborgen.
Doch was bedeutet es, wenn Barrieren Ausschlüsse produzieren, wenn ihre Widerständigkeit erhöhte Krafteinwirkung erforderlich macht und folglich diese Perspektiven zu großen Teilen am Rande verbleiben? Im Zuge des Aktionstages sollte der Thematik Barriere(-freiheit) – ausgehend von der Erkenntnis, dass die UdK Berlin nicht frei von intersektionaler Diskriminierung ist –, durch den Einblick in unterschiedliche Lebensrealitäten und durch Kritik an bestehenden Barrieren begegnet werden.
Den Programmauftakt am Hochschulübergreifenden Zentrum Tanz Berlin (HZT) in den Ufer Studios gab die Künstlerin Gugulethu A. Duma mit ihrem Begrüßungsworkshop Awakening Senses, in dem sich die Teilnehmenden einander u. a. über eine von ihnen selbstgewählte Geste vorstellten, die als Begrüßung durch die übrigen Anwesenden imitiert wurde. Das anschließende Panel mit Nanna Lüth (AG Critical Diversity), Sandrine Micossé-Aikins (Diversity Arts Culture), Sophia Neises, Ahmed Shah (Theater X) und Christian Schmidts (UdK Berlin) diskutierte unter dem Titel Recognizing What?! Was (an-)erkannt wird, kann auch verändert werden?
Im Hauptgebäude an der Hardenbergstraße wurde das Programm durch künstlerische Interventionen und Workshops fortgeführt. Die Gruppe Eine Krise bekommen, bestehend aus Studierenden der Fakultät Gestaltung, versammelte in ihrer interaktiven Installation We are sorry to inform you … kollektiv Ablehnungsgründe für die Aufnahme eines künstlerischen Studiums. Sie reagierte damit auf die jährlich verschickten Ablehnungsbescheide, die tausenden Bewerber*innen den Zugang zu Kunsthochschulen verwehren und eine unsichtbare Mauer an Ausschlussmeachnismen und Diskrimierungen bilden. Der Workshop Embodying Vision mit Dr. Aki Krishnamurthy für BIPoC FLINTA* lud dazu ein sich über Übungen aus der Körperarbeit mit der eigenen Kraft, mit Wünschen und Visionen zu verbinden.
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Ich möchte schreien
Liebe für die Ungesehenen
Lahyas Gedicht, das im Zuge des Begrüßungsworkshops entstanden ist, hallt nach. Ihre Worte markieren den Anfang eines eindringlichen Gesprächs über Barrierefreiheit an der UdK Berlin, das neben Wertschätzung für die Bemühungen um die Gestaltung eines Aktionstages, die liebevolle Atmosphäre, wie Lahya sie beschreibt, und die Menschen, die dem Tag mit Offenheit und Interesse begegnet sind, auch deutliche Kritik verlauten lässt. Ihr Gedicht erinnert uns eindrücklich daran, dass Barrieren direkten Einfluss auf das menschliche Erleben nehmen und ist erneut Appell, die Bedürfnisse und Erfahrungen derjenigen anzuerkennen und anzugehen, die auf sie stoßen.
Der Beginn des Aktionstages mit der Künstlerin Gugulethu A. Duma wirft für Lahya bereits zentrale Fragen auf: „Es fehlten ganz viele Sachen, wo ich auf einmal merkte, so, oh mein Gott, welche Körper werden mitgedacht? Wie werden nicht-sehende oder blinde Menschen mitgedacht, wie werden Menschen mitgedacht, die vielleicht der englischen Sprache nicht mächtig sind, obwohl es natürlich eine Übersetzung und eine Flüsterübersetzung gibt?“ Dirk Sorge macht deutlich, dass es einen Unterschied gibt zwischen der Auseinandersetzung mit und dem tatsächlichen Erleben von Barrieren, wenn er teilt, dass auch für ihn im Zuge des Programmauftakts bereits „eine oder mehr Barrieren“ entstanden sind.
Für Dirk Sorge ergab sich daraus die Frage nach dem beabsichtigten Publikum der Veranstaltung, die für ihn bis zum Ende unbeantwortet blieb: „,Der Tag wird größtenteils auf Englisch stattfinden’, ja, welche Teile denn? Wann macht es Sinn für mich, zu kommen? Das ist eine Information, die mehr Fragen aufwirft als Planungssicherheit gibt. Das ist halt das Grundding, ihr müsst transparent sein, damit Menschen mit Behinderung oder auch andere Personen überhaupt im Vorfeld genug Informationen haben, um entscheiden zu können, ob sie mitmachen wollen und dann müsst ihr die Informationen in die Kanäle streuen, die auch genutzt werden.“
Es geht dabei um die Intransparenz wichtiger Informationen, die in Unklarheiten über die sprachliche und physische Zugänglichkeit der einzelnen Programmteile, der Verfügbarkeit von Gebärdensprachdolmetscher*innen und nicht zuletzt im (Nicht-)Wissen um die Veranstaltung selbst als Barriere für Menschen mit unterschiedlichen Behinderungen und Sprachkenntnissen wirksam wird. So wurden relevante Communities nicht angesprochen, die möglicherweise bei ausreichender Informationslage in den Aktionstag mit eingebunden hätten werden können, erklärt Lahya. Dirk Sorge bestätigt, dass er als bereits in der Kunst- und Diversitätsszene aktive Person ohne seine eigene Initiative möglicherweise gar nicht von dem Aktionstag erfahren hätte und wirft damit Fragen zur Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der Hochschule auf.
Sein konkreter Vorschlag: „Egal ob Menschen mit Behinderung kommen oder nicht – wir veröffentlichen einfach über jeden Veranstaltungsort die Barrierefreiheitsbedingungen. In welchem Stockwerk findet das Event statt, in welchen Räumen, Wegbeschreibungen. Die UdK gibt’s jetzt ja auch schon ein paar Jährchen, das hätte man bereits für die jeweiligen Standorte entwickeln können. Das sollte es einfach geben und immer, wenn man eine Veranstaltung plant, wird das eben mitgeschickt, ohne dass man weiß, welche Person welche Bedarfe hat. Genauso wie ich keine Veranstaltung veröffentlichen würde, ohne dass da ein Datum dabei steht.“ Lahya unterstreicht im Zuge der Kritik noch einmal die Relevanz von Multiperspektive durch „critical friends“ innerhalb der Planung und Organisation einer Veranstaltung, um Ausschlüsse zu verhindern.
In puncto Öffentlichkeitsarbeit fordern beide insgesamt weitaus mehr Offensive, um „die Blase der elitären Academia“ zum Platzen zu bringen, sodass zudem keine unnötigen Barrieren für Menschen entstehen, die nicht zum Dunstkreis der UdK Berlin gehören, sich aber potentiell für ein Studium an der Hochschule interessieren. „Dass es nicht einfach möglich ist zu sagen, bewerbt euch doch alle, ihr könnt euch doch alle bewerben, wir sind doch eine freie Uni, wir sind doch sichtbar für alle, sondern, ja, da sind so viele Barrieren, die erstmal abgebaut werden müssen und die müssen angeschaut werden“, ergänzt Lahya.
Leerstellen und Abwesenheiten
Auch das Vormittagspanel legte problematische Aspekte offen. „Das Panel und der Tag waren für mich wie eine Zeitmaschine. Ich fühle mich wie im Jahr 2012 und nicht 2022. Alle diese Themen hätten wir vor zehn Jahren genauso besprechen können und haben wir teilweise auch, aber offenbar hat die UdK die letzten 10 Jahre gepennt, ich kann mir das nicht anders erklären“, kritisiert Dirk Sorge die Trägheit des Wandels innerhalb der Hochschule. Lahya fehlte die Radikalität: „Wie können wir Dinge von der Wurzel her verändern? Wie können wir da noch kraftvoller werden?“
Insgesamt unterstreicht sie die Relevanz, auch die teils unsichtbaren Hindernisse sowie Abwesenheiten und Leerstellen in den Bemühungen um Diversität und Inklusion an Hochschulen zu identifizieren, wenn sie fragt: „Wer fehlte da eigentlich auf der Bühne heute, wer fehlte in der Diskussion? Natürlich können wir nicht bis ins Hundertstel alle Leute aufmachen, aber wir können sie zumindest erwähnen oder sichtbar machen, wie den Platz hier unserer Ahninnen [verweist auf den leeren Stuhl neben Mutlu Ergün-Hamaz].“ Es geht darum, ein erweitertes Verständnis von Barrieren zu entwickeln, sie zu benennen und transparent zu machen, um eine umfassende und inklusive Bildungslandschaft zu schaffen. Trans Personen oder Personen mit Fluchterfahrung in der Universität nicht ausreichend zu berücksichtigen, kann als eine Form der Barriereunfreiheit betrachtet werden. Hierbei wird erneut deutlich, dass Barrieren nicht nur physischer Natur sein können, sondern auch soziale, kulturelle und institutionelle Aspekte umfassen.
Von unten und von oben
„Wo sind eigentlich die ganzen Dekan*innen und Menschen, die doch eigentlich heute auch hier sein können, sollen, müssen?“ Die Frage nach Abwesenheiten wird auch beim Blick durch den Raum noch einmal auf andere Weise laut – der Konzertsaal an der Hardenbergstraße ist spärlich gefüllt, neben dem Präsidenten der UdK Berlin Norbert Palz und Vize-Präsidentin Ariane Jeßulat sind nicht viele Leitungspersonen gekommen. Dirk Sorge betont die Notwendigkeit einer klaren institutionellen Verpflichtung zur Barrierefreiheit und führt an, dass Weiterbildung und Sensibilisierung nicht optional sein sollten, sondern als Pflichtveranstaltungen etabliert werden müssen. Er hebt hervor, wie grundlegend es ist, in Stellenausschreibungen die Bedeutung von Barrierefreiheit und Diversität zu betonen. Darüber hinaus wirft er einen Blick auf Auswahlgremien sowie die Besetzung von Professuren und argumentiert für mehr Diversität in diesen Bereichen, fordert Schulungen, um Stereotype und Vorurteile in Auswahlverfahren zu erkennen und zu überwinden.
„Im Bereich Gestaltung wäre es wichtig zu sagen, okay, wir nehmen jetzt ins Curriculum Barrierefreiheit als Pflichtmodul auf, alle Gestalter*innen, Architekt*innen müssen das quasi einmal im Studium thematisiert haben“, schlägt er weiter vor. Dabei ist beiden jedoch bewusst, dass diese Transformationsbemühungen nicht lediglich „von unten“ kommen können: „Man kann an so vielen Stellen ansetzen, aber dabei ist immer die Frage, ist die Leitung an Bord? Sind die Personen an Bord, die das entscheiden können?“, verdeutlicht Dirk Sorge die Verzahnung einer Umsetzung von Maßnahmen und tiefgreifender, struktureller Transformation mit einem Bewusstseinswandel auch oder vor allem in den Reihen von Leitungspersonen.
Lahyas Überlegungen zeichnen ein ähnliches Bild: „Ich habe die Hoffnung, dass solche Institutionen verstehen, dass sie wirklich ihre Plätze frei machen müssen, dass sie wirklich neu denken müssen, dass sie ihren Lehrplan verändern müssen und dass Leute an die Plätze kommen, die vielleicht die letzten fünfhunderttausendmillionen Jahre nicht an den Plätzen waren. Dinge mal wirklich zu verändern und wirklich mal zu gucken: Warum sitze ich hier eigentlich? Was ist mein Privileg, dass ich hier sitzen darf? Und wessen Platz besetze ich hier gerade?“
Sara Ahmeds „brick wall“
Inmitten der Reflexion der Respondenzen zu den Herausforderungen und Fortschritten in den Transformationsbemühungen drängt sich eine philosophische Reflexion auf, die sich auf die Worte von Sara Ahmed stützt. Ahmed, eine bekannte Theoretikerin im Bereich der Queer Studies, beschreibt die Anstrengungen um mehr Diversität als ein Kopf-gegen-die-Wand-Erlebnis und veranschaulicht auf eindrückliche Weise, wie es sich anfühlen kann, Welten für jene zugänglich zu machen, die historisch von ihnen ausgeschlossen wurden. Die Wand, die Ahmed als „brick wall“ beschreibt, repräsentiert dabei die Hindernisse und Widerstände, die in der Diversitätsarbeit als eine physische und emotionale Erfahrung der Beharrlichkeit wirksam werden und zugleich Normen und Hierarchien aufrechterhalten, die sich in realen Strukturen und Praktiken manifestieren.
Wenn wir ihre Perspektive einbeziehen, wird deutlich, dass diejenigen, die in der Diversitätsarbeit engagiert sind, nicht nur gegen institutionelle Barrieren kämpfen, sondern auch gegen ein tief verwurzeltes System, das Veränderungen oft hartnäckig widersteht.
Der Weg zur Veränderung ist zweifellos mühsam, aber von entscheidender Bedeutung. Die UdK Berlin wie auch andere Hochschulen müssen ihre Strategien überdenken und aktiv daran arbeiten, Barrieren abzubauen und vielfältige Perspektiven zu repräsentieren.
¹ Dieses und folgende Zitate sind der internen Videoaufzeichnung des Panels entnommen.
You can also find this text in Arabic (Translation: Michaela Daoud), Farsi (Translation: Forough Absalan) and Ukrainian language (Translation: Yevheniia Perutska).
The student initiative Common Ground originated in the Support Refugees (SURE) project founded by a few students from Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftskommunikation (Communication in Social and Economic Context) at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin) in 2015. The project was a direct response to the war in Syria and the significant number of people seeking refuge in Berlin. Two former UdK Berlin students, Benjamin Glatte and Elisabeth Hoschek, renamed and reshaped it that year into the current format, as part of their Bachelor’s thesis project, envisioning a long-term initiative that would open up institutional walls to offer more welcoming spaces. From its beginnings, the goal of the initiative was to support people who have experienced forced migration, offering advice and opportunities to engage with local creatives and organizations. Over the years, it has further developed to provide assistance and a sense of community to disadvantaged newcomers, before and during their study application process. It continues to be a place for creative encounters between UdK Berlin students and diverse communities in Berlin, as well as for raising awareness about issues relating to migration and exile.
Common Ground’s members act as mediators between prospective students and other university initiatives, such as AStA (Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss), the International Office, the Studium Generale, Berlin Career College and the Artist Training. Each year, the group organizes and funds social art projects by, with, and for people who have experienced migration. Over the past eight years, these included exhibitions, performances, film screenings, music jam sessions, workshops, and reading groups, among others. The support comes through establishing helpful contacts with students, artists, and other professionals, as well as financing the realization of artistic projects. The student initiative received funding from the DAAD and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the efforts of International Office.
Since 2020, Common Ground has also been running the Common Ground Studio, a study preparation program providing access to UdK Berlin’s Institute of Fine Arts for disadvantaged individuals. For one academic year, from October to July, it invites selected participants to join one of the specialist artistic classes, granting them guest auditor status. This allows them to actively participate in class meetings, engage in studio projects, and receive guidance from professors. The program offers a valuable opportunity for prospective students to prepare their portfolios for formal study applications, gain insights into the Fine Arts program at UdK Berlin, and further develop their own artistic practice. As a result, the university gains a wealth of diverse perspectives from talented individuals who otherwise may not have had the opportunity to study at UdK Berlin due to structural inequalities.
In this publication, we take a retrospective look at the inception and trajectory of Common Ground: the work accomplished, the challenges faced, and the achievements celebrated. We delve into the low and high points, exploring which strategies have been fruitful and what potential lies ahead. To gain further insights, we had the privilege of speaking with six former and current Common Ground members: Benjamin Glatte, Elisabeth Hoschek, Lima Vafadar, Narges Derakhshan, Forough Absalan, and Vincent Hulme. Their perspectives highlight the continued critical importance of Common Ground at the university, emphasizing its value in supporting disadvantaged individuals and fostering a diverse and inclusive artistic community.
Interview Benjamin Glatte & Elisabeth Hoschek
(c) İpek Çınar
Benjamin Glatte and Elisabeth Hoschek crossed paths during their studies in the Communication in Social and Economic Contexts (GWK) department at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin). It was in 2015 when they initially conceived the idea for Common Ground. Together, they worked on establishing and maintaining a platform that connected artists in exile and newcomers in Berlin with students and professionals in the art community. Over the course of eight years, what initially began as a communications project for their Bachelor’s thesis has evolved into an enduring initiative that has embraced various forms of community building. Currently, Elisabeth is pursuing her studies in film production at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin. She also works as a freelance producer and takes on various roles on film sets for television, cinema, and series. Since graduating, Benjamin has established multiple ventures: an NGO that focuses on diasporic communities and artists in exile, a film set rental company, and a web development company. He is also a communications consultant and a communications coach for young adults.
Adela Lovrić:
How did Common Ground initially develop?
Elisabeth Hoschek:
During our final project at GWK, called the Kommunikationsprojekt, our group of five students aimed to develop a communication campaign for a company. Instead, we decided to work with the AStA of UdK Berlin and further develop their campaign that started out as SURE (Support Refugees). Our goal was to create safe spaces and raise awareness within the academy for artists who had recently fled their countries. We acted as an interface, connecting students, teachers, and artists in exile who wanted to contribute their expertise through workshops and seminars. Our main focus was to match demands and offers, and to build a dense network of communication. Natalia Ali, who was a Fine Arts student at the time, organized a discussion at UdK Berlin about the role of women in Syria and how their life changed through the war and thereby introduced us to the community we wanted to reach out to. This event led to further demands for integration into academic and artistic life in Berlin. We restructured and renamed the initiative, putting a lot of work into creating a lasting structure that could address similar situations in the future.
Adela Lovrić:
What kind of work did you engage in within Common Ground and what were some of its goals and guiding principles?
Benjamin Glatte:
We wanted to create a meaningful project that had an impact beyond our end-of-studies presentation. During this time, the conflict in Syria was happening and we wanted to address the issue at UdK Berlin. Things got quite complex because there were a lot of parties involved: UdK Berlin, AStA, professors, and friends. First, we got the confirmation from AStA that we could further promote the Support Refugees project under its umbrella, and then we also received support from various other parties, including Studium Generale, Berlin Career College, the International Office, and many others. Our next step was to connect all of this together and make the project accessible. We then focused on understanding the needs of the people we wanted to support—young artists who were refugees. We wanted to encourage and empower them. We thought it would be great to invite both students and future artists who are here in exile to come together at UdK Berlin and communicate, make projects, and offer or get support for studying at the university. Our aim was to be the interface and direct contact point bridging the gap between the two groups. We wanted to connect, support, inform, document, and mobilize, making it a collective effort rather than just a nice art project. We wanted artists in exile and newcomers in Berlin to engage in projects, to teach and contribute, while also benefiting from UdK students’ expertise. We also started applying for funding, creating a website, using all the communication channels we had, and establishing new things, and then it all took off. I think 90 percent of the work we did was actually not what we intended to do for our studies, which was a communications project.
Elisabeth Hoschek:
We focused on creating a social network that organically grew to meet the needs of the project. We organized jam sessions, workshops, and portfolio consultations, and maintained a newsletter and blog. We looked for cracks within the university that we could break open and create a more welcoming environment. What we all had in common was having to overcome bureaucratic hurdles. We managed to find some space at the Rundgang to showcase our platforms and the artists we were working with and create a connection between artists and students, which is where the collaboration with UdK’s Berlin Career College became stronger. We saw ourselves as a student initiative, but we had a lot of artists coming to us who had studied before and already worked as professionals. Berlin Career College was working mostly with professionals, but students were always showing up at their door trying to figure out how to study. We tried to bring all those forces together and create spaces of encounter that would allow people to find their way through this network. We also went out and engaged with people directly at different events in Berlin. There was a lot going on but in small circles that sometimes overlapped. We tried to increase the overlap between different scenes and foster word-of-mouth communication. This helped us to create contacts and make the project known.
Adela Lovrić:
What kind of responses to Common Ground did you receive from your target audience?
Elisabeth Hoschek:
There was a lot of interest from all sides, including newcomers, students, the university, and others. Some requests involved urgent matters like finding housing for people, but we were aware that we couldn’t become a flat-searching entity. Instead, we focused on spreading the word and connecting students privately. Sometimes we did manage to engage more in side tasks, but we quickly figured out our limitations and the importance of following our platform’s purpose and communicating it clearly. Some people may have been upset by this, as they expected support in all aspects.
Adela Lovrić:
How did you approach this sensitive task of helping people in need?
Elisabeth Hoschek:
We were aware that as a very white group of people initiating this, it could be seen as the savior complex of rich German kids supporting the “poor refugees.” We invited UdK Berlin students who were related to this context already, to create initiatives and give their opinions on how we should go about things. We really wanted to have eye-level encounters and not something that came from above or was demeaning in any way.
Benjamin Glatte:
The idea was not to approach people as refugees in the first place but as human beings with talents. We wanted to come together at UdK Berlin and create something together, to see if there could be good outcomes for all sides, and to see who could contribute what. This was always the most essential belief when it came to what we wanted to do with Common Ground and what we did not want to do.
Adela Lovrić:
How would you say that Common Ground, being a multi-directional project where both newcomers and the university benefited, has the potential to transform and impact everyone involved, spreading knowledge and ethics beyond its initial scope?
Benjamin Glatte:
This question is pointing towards the core of what it means if people support each other and how you can actually do this, especially if someone is obviously in the more disadvantaged position. In psychology, there’s a concept called a systemic approach, where the specific problem becomes less relevant if you have a solution that works for you. If you put this ideology on our approach, then I’d say we were not focusing on people being in need and being refugees, but on something positive, which is that we are all human beings and we have something to contribute to and share with each other. This is beyond support; it’s how I imagine inclusion to work. It’s about valuing you as a human being, seeing you at eye level, and trying to enrich each other through activity or conversation. This ideology has, through the course of the Common Ground project, definitely stuck with me when it came to how I wanted to engage with people, no matter their background. And, of course, their background is still something to keep in mind.
Elisabeth Hoschek:
We don’t mean to diminish the act of helping others in times of crisis. I genuinely appreciate people who lend a hand when it’s needed. However, the perception of how to really make an impact that goes beyond just giving a hand has shifted, not only for me, but for a lot of people. That comes, for example, through political discussions and developing friendships. For me, the most valuable thing was to get to know so many different people and perspectives that were engaging with us in many different ways. In the end, I’m still very much anchored in the community that resulted from the work we did. I’m in touch with many people we met through the initiative. The nicest thing about the aftermath of Common Ground was the strengthening of a community of art students and artists.
Benjamin Glatte:
During the so-called “refugee crisis”, most problems arose from the lack of direct contact with those who had fled their home countries. There was no direct contact, so they remained a picture on TV. Through Common Ground and getting in contact with people from different nations and contexts, I often had the feeling that this bubble was broken, which had a lasting positive impact on the people that were involved. If I were to explain why Common Ground is so valuable, especially for students, it’s about getting out of their bubble, actually connecting with others, and ultimately becoming more tolerant through this. I think that Common Ground is not necessarily just dependent on the next crisis, which is definitely going to come. It’s another connection point that opens up UdK Berlin, this environment, and this way of living, thinking, and being to the outside world. And it can be adapted to a lot of causes, not just crises.
Interview Lima Vafadar
(c) İpek Çınar
Lima Vafadar came to Germany from Iran in early 2011 to continue her Master’s degree in Cultural Media at the University of Paderborn. Prior to moving, she graduated with joint degrees in Iranian Folklore Painting and Print Design from the University of Applied Science of Tehran. Wanting to further pursue her artistic and creative practice, Lima relocated to Berlin and enrolled at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin) to study Fine Art. During her studies, she also worked as a student assistant at Studium Generale, where she contributed to creative projects for newcomers. Among them was Common Ground, an initiative she joined in 2015 upon meeting its co-founders Benjamin Glatte and Elisabeth Hoschek and stayed with until the summer of 2018. As someone who could personally identify with the struggles of people escaping war and other difficult circumstances, Lima engaged wholeheartedly in creating welcoming spaces and a sense of community for newcomers in and outside of the university. Today, she works as a psychosomatic therapist and continues to develop her artistic practice.
Adela Lovrić:
How did you get involved in Common Ground and why did you feel compelled to join?
Lima Vafadar:
I went through a very long path to find my place in Germany as a creative and an artist. I moved to Berlin in 2011 with the wish to continue my creative and artistic career. To achieve this, I started learning German and applied to UdK Berlin. In early 2015, I began working as a student assistant at the Studium Generale department at UdK, where I developed creative projects for newcomers. They provided a platform for collaborating with fellow students and colleagues on making a safe space for newcomers to find their voice in the art scene of Berlin. While working there, I met the founders of Common Ground. I really appreciated their idea of establishing a bigger container that would connect various creative projects throughout Germany. They wanted to build a space for students and newcomers to meet at the university and share their ideas, as well as to make this digital. I found this wonderful and joined the Farsi translation group to contribute to the beautiful mission of Common Ground.
Adela Lovrić:
What were Common Ground’s main objectives at the time when you were active there?
Lima Vafadar:
We came together from different fields of creative study at UdK Berlin. Our meeting space was AStA, where we discussed how to present our platform to the university president and different institutes within UdK. We wanted to establish communication that would help us open spaces and allocate resources for newcomers in Germany who were eager to engage in creative projects. We sought to address the heartfelt aspirations of these newcomers by providing them a platform where they could be seen and heard, and by opening doors in different institutes of UdK as well as many other creative institutions in Germany. Our intention was to secure funding for individuals who had significant reasons to realize their creative ambitions; to help these talents shine by listening to them and building a supportive community.
We organized open calls for artists and extended our efforts to reach newcomers who had just arrived in Germany. We also talked about our project at conferences and established connections with larger institutions throughout Germany, with the aim of uniting similar initiatives in different cities. At UdK Berlin, we had meetings in the garden with students, professors, and newcomers, where we discussed who we were, what our vision was, who we needed to connect to, and which resources we needed. Through sharing our vision, we could also connect to smaller groups of people and realize the next steps.
Adela Lovrić:
How did you personally connect to Common Ground’s mission?
Lima Vafadar:
For me, Common Ground was the most important community for students and newcomers at UdK Berlin. It gave a sense of community where you could always find people with the same interests and the same kind of empathy, who wanted to do creative projects but not all alone. At that time, a very big collective trauma was happening. As an Iranian born during the war between Iran and Iraq, I couldn’t stay silent. When the Syrian war happened, all of my artistic and creative work was involved with what was happening socially and politically. I remember that the only thing that could keep us alive in Iran during the war was the sense of community. Knowing that many others were sharing the same experiences gave us a sense of safety. Being part of Common Ground was very valuable because it offered an opportunity to meet with individuals with the same passion, share our resources, and be present for each other in therapeutic, creative, and fun ways.
Why is it important for Common Ground to continue to exist at UdK Berlin?
Lima Vafadar:
The world needs people who listen and are brave enough to take action. People who are experiencing war trauma go through many brutal experiences. They often have to leave their loved ones behind. For people who have lost their voices and feel alone, having someone to connect with and express what they’re experiencing is very important. Even if they lack the words to articulate their emotions, they can do it through creativity.
I remember how hard it was to communicate when we started. In Common Ground, we had so many people who could translate, who were familiar with the system, and who knew how to be present for people and connect them to their vision and to therapeutic support. I think it’s so important to provide creative spaces for those who have a big heart and an ability to listen, allowing them to share their ideas and stay connected with those who went through a lot and help them express themselves in any way they can. By doing so, we can foster a stronger, more centered, and more supportive society for the next generation.
Adela Lovrić:
What have you learned through working at Common Ground?
Lima Vafadar:
Through my experiences with newcomers at UdK Berlin, I recognized the significance of our work and also how important it is to learn how to interact with big collective traumas. We gradually learned how to enhance our projects by adding resources to ensure that we could hold space for more people and age groups. For example, we needed an art therapist by our side. Many times we also needed a psychotherapist to be present, especially during expressive theater projects or when working with children. We always needed more people, especially those who were fluent in the participants’ native languages, to hold the space for people partaking in creative projects.
Adela Lovrić:
Has your work at Common Ground in any way continued to inspire you outside of UdK Berlin?
Lima Vafadar:
These experiences inspired me to pursue further studies in psychosomatic therapy, in which I learned how to connect to the emotional and physical parts of people in a very creative way, and to heal trauma in one-on-one and group settings. I’m also still doing my political art these days.
I liked the sense of working in a group because, as an artist, sometimes you feel so alone with your ideas. Through Common Ground, I felt how important it is to share and to resort to other professionals who can help you to create. After finishing my art studies at UdK Berlin, I continued to dedicate myself to this work. I felt how important it was for my own artistic growth to be more connected to people this way. I really hope that we can keep this spirit and let it shine as a beacon for those who have experienced or are currently living through war. It is crucial to be able to come together and hold space for others, not through a rigid systemic way but through heart-to-heart and creative communication.
Interview Vincent Hulme & Forough Absalan
(c) İpek Çınar
Vincent Hulme moved to Berlin from Canada in 2011. Before enrolling in the Fine Arts program at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) in 2017, he worked as an art teacher, gallery assistant, and printmaker in a silkscreen studio. He joined Common Ground in 2019 and, since 2020, he has been managing the Common Ground Studio (CGS), a year-long preparation program for disadvantaged artists aiming to study at UdK. Aside from working and studying at UdK, Vincent continues to develop his expanded media art practice that engages with the topic of normative repercussions.
Forough Absalan is an interdisciplinary textile artist from Iran. Prior to moving to Berlin in 2018, she studied textile and surface design at the Tehran Art University. In 2021, she joined UdK as a student in the MA program Art in Context. The following year, she became a member of Common Ground and currently co-manages the Common Ground Studio alongside Vicent. She is also active in the wider social and cultural field, especially in working with people in the queer BIPOC community. Her most recent educational and cultural art project was a series of collective workshops with FLINTA* migrant youth and children, in cooperation with various NGOs and accommodations in Berlin.
Adela Lovrić:
How did the Common Ground Studio (CGS) start?
Vincent Hulme:
I learned about the *foundationClass at Weissensee when one of its founders visited UdK to showcase their work in 2019, four years after the so-called “refugee crisis”. At the time, the *foundationClass had already been around for some years. I thought it was something really interesting that I would like to get involved with, but at the time they didn’t need more help. The concept resonated with me because, even though I didn’t have to flee my country to come to Germany, I still arrived as a foreigner and had to jump through all the hoops and confusion, mostly by myself. I thought, why wasn’t there something like this at UdK?
When I joined Common Ground, I had the idea to do the same. I met up with Nadira Husain, Marina Naprushkina, and Ulf Aminde from the *foundationClass and asked for their blessing to try something similar at UdK. Then the pandemic happened. I was on the fence about whether this was going to work. I had been looking for a room and it seemed that it was either never going to be a permanent space, or it would have been some weird office and it just wasn’t going to work. I thought of the guest student program, came up with a structure, and asked all the Fine Arts professors if they were willing to try it out. And then we did it and it worked quite well.
Adela Lovrić:
What was the first edition like?
Vincent Hulme:
In the first year we were figuring it all out. It was 2020, five years since a big number of people had arrived in Germany. We debated a lot about whom Common Ground was for, because there weren’t as many new people coming as in 2015 from Syria, and now from Ukraine. We targeted artists in exile who had arrived in Germany in recent years and now wished to study art. Our focus was on individuals who weren’t German or Western European.
To begin, I reached out to professors at UdK, including Mathilde ter Heijne, David Schutter, Hito Steyerl, and Jimmy Robert, who agreed to support the test run by allowing one or two students to join the class for a year. This ensured the students had a studio spot and a connection with professors and students. The idea was to create pathways of access and personal connections, which are so important in the art world. I remember one of the first participants in the CGS went into the studio at UdK for the first time and waited for the professor to tell her what to do, and then nothing happened. She was very surprised because in Syria, the situation was quite the opposite.
In the summer, we launched an open call and screened applicants based on their portfolios, motivation letters, and readiness to study fine arts at a university level. It all happened during the pandemic, so we had to do all of the meetings online, but some people got access to the studios despite it being nearly impossible. In the end, it worked out quite well. Some people didn’t get in, but most did or did something really valuable with their time.
Adela Lovrić:
How did the CGS develop later? Did you implement some changes in the following years?
Vincent Hulme:
The second year was more on autopilot in terms of structure. In the third year, I wanted to encourage a stronger sense of community through simple initiatives like showing work together at school and meeting for drinks. Next year, I hope to get a bit more effort on the participants’ side in terms of building a community and getting involved beyond just coming for info meetings. I also want to make sure that they commit to the program from start to finish. It’s a valuable opportunity, and we do have to turn down some applicants. It’s disheartening when someone disappears after three months, leaving the professors with an empty studio spot. I really want to push them to make the best use of this one-year free pass and the professors who are willing to help.
Forough Absalan:
This year, we also managed a two-week art residency at the university with people from the CGS and UdK students. Every day, we had various activities like performances, screenings, and an exhibition. We are planning to do the residency again with workshops and projects involving the BIPOC art community.
Right now, Vincent and I are also planning for the next semester of the CGS. I would like the participants to also have access to the Master’s program Art in Context. Most of the people I know from the BIPOC community are artists in exile who already have a career and a Master of Arts program is more suitable for them. With this kind of access, we can also accommodate more participants.
Adela Lovrić:
Are there also ways in which the university can help you improve this program?
Forough Absalan:
Every year we have this issue of being told that we can only continue this work until December. It’s disappointing to not know how it’s going to be next year because we cannot plan ahead. It would be great if the university could support this as an ongoing program. It would also be beneficial if the International Office at UdK would involve us more in their decision-making process, since we are more familiar with the students’ and the CGS’s needs and concerns.
Vincent Hulme:
I think it works well right now with putting people into different classes, but the issue with this is that it gets hard to maintain a group dynamic. It would also be good to be independent of the administration as we wouldn’t have to be beholden to its slow pace. It would allow us to be more flexible and attuned to the reality of studying. With more resources and staff, we could definitely have a bigger impact. We are dealing with topics of inequity and discrimination, but I personally don’t feel like the CGS has the capacity and the resources at the moment to address the entirety of these issues.
Adela Lovrić:
How do you see the CGS being beneficial for the communities it targets and the university?
Forough Absalan:
I find it interesting and useful, but there are some things that could be changed. What I and a lot of other people wanted to do when we were new in Germany was to apply to university. At first, I applied to participate in the CGS and then Common Ground advised me to apply for the Art in Context program due to my work and study background. At the time I didn’t know anything about it but I applied and got in. I actually find it much more relevant to my direction than other departments.
I was also involved in the ‘How to Study at UdK’ and the Artist Training programs. This has helped me because, being new in this country and everything feeling overwhelming, I felt a bit lost. I was reassured that everything was manageable and that I didn’t need to worry. These experiences were very positive, and I hope we can expand the CGS to also include people who already have a career and don’t need to start from the first year.
Vincent Hulme:
Because of exclusionary practices at UdK, there are people who approach it with much more privilege and resources, and who then obviously have better chances of succeeding. CGS can work around those walls to assist people who are just as deserving and skilled artists, but may not have the understanding of the system required to get in. A lot of people who come here come from a completely different art background. There’s a critique of the school that asks what it really means to be an art student, whether it is to make Western European-centric art or to also challenge this way of thinking. I think that putting students and professors in contact with diverse perspectives and backgrounds increases awareness within the school. If the student body becomes more diverse, I believe the policies will have to change as well. We are very fortunate to be here and we should extend access to people who have faced incredibly difficult circumstances or continue to do so. Regardless of the crises, there will always be a need for Common Ground. Perhaps in two years, if it continues to exist, it will have a different focus.
Interview Narges Derakhshan
(c) İpek Çınar
Narges Derakhshan relocated to Berlin in 2016 with the aim of pursuing her second Bachelor’s degree in Communication in Social and Economic Contexts at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin). Prior to her arrival in Germany, she studied theater and gained experience as a copywriter for advertising agencies in Tehran. Presently, she is an MA student of screenwriting at Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf and works as a screenwriter and editor. Narges became acquainted with Common Ground during her initial introduction day at UdK Berlin and was immediately captivated by its mission. Shortly thereafter, she made the decision to join the group and remained an active participant until the end of 2019.
Adela Lovrić:
What kind of projects did you realize with your colleagues at Common Ground?
Narges Derakhshan:
At first, we were figuring out how to work as a group of people from really different backgrounds. Personally, I had the challenge of figuring out my place and role and how I could be helpful. Our objective was to come up with new projects and explore ways to improve support for artists who were newcomers to Germany and had no networks here. The idea was to give them a stage to present their art at UdK Berlin. At some point, we started another project which was really dear to me, called “How to Study at UdK Berlin.” We decided to put our minds together and share our own experiences of applying to UdK Berlin, with people who were not German. I think that was also one of our most successful events. Besides that, we were also organizing music jam sessions in the beautiful backyard of the university.
Adela Lovrić:
Can you tell me more about the “How to Study at UdK Berlin” events? What was particularly valuable about this work?
Narges Derakhshan:
At the time, we used Facebook to push the event and that helped a lot to reach out beyond our friend networks. A lot of people that we didn’t know showed up to the event, which was great—people who were interested in studying at UdK Berlin but had no idea how to create a portfolio of their work or how to present themselves. At the event, we had a presentation and we invited UdK Berlin students to show their entry portfolios. Afterward, we had a Q&A session. To me, getting into UdK Berlin was very hard and so my biggest purpose at Common Ground was to help make it easier for someone else. I thought, if just one person can do it in an easier way, then I will be happy. I think one of the successes of these events was also to present study courses that people might not know about. We became friends with some of the people who came to our events and two of them are actually studying at UdK Berlin right now, in courses for which UdK Berlin is not typically known.
Adela Lovrić:
What else was especially important for people reaching out to Common Ground during the time you worked there and how were you able to meet their needs?
Narges Derakhshan:
I think every European has an idea of what a portfolio is. But non-Europeans who are good artists might not know how to present themselves or what to expect. Every now and then, we had people with great ideas reach out to us, but they didn’t know how to translate them into a form that was understandable to a broader audience. I think it was really helpful to share our own experiences and portfolios with newcomers, as it gave them a good example and an idea of how they could also achieve it.
From the outside, UdK Berlin can be scary. Talented artists who need this community and network were scared away because they didn’t know how to get in. For that reason, initiatives like Common Ground are really important. When I got in, I remember Common Ground had a flyer in Farsi and in Arabic. Seeing something I could understand immediately made me feel welcomed and drawn to Common Ground. I also remember a jam session we organized and how cool it was for me to hear an Iranian song inside the university. I think it’s crucial to make UdK Berlin more open to non-Europeans, to people who are a bit afraid of entering this kind of educational atmosphere.
Adela Lovrić:
Can you recall some challenges that you encountered through working in Common Ground?
Narges Derakhshan:
There were many, to be honest. Initially, the biggest challenge was to reach our target group. In the beginning, we also went to refugee camps to present ourselves and hand out flyers. Every time we had an event, there were lots of men showing up and, at some point, I would think: this is about diversity, so how can I reach women? So, at the time, one of our biggest challenges was reaching people who we wanted to actually reach. Another was organizing. I don’t want to repeat the clichés of artists who cannot organize themselves, but when it comes to this kind of work, you have a good will, but on the other side, you need accessibility, programming, and organization.
Adela Lovrić:
Do you still engage in this kind of work or apply some of the lessons learned through Common Ground in your current endeavors?
Narges Derakhshan:
In my work as a screenwriter, I use these experiences a lot. Being a newcomer myself, I was not just an observer but an active participant. I don’t only draw from the people I encountered but also reflect on my own experience. These memories greatly influence my writing and my characters—how they perceive the world and how they feel totally strange but have to pretend they know what’s up.
Adela Lovrić:
Why is it, in your opinion, important to have an initiative like Common Ground at UdK Berlin?
Narges Derakhshan:
Education shouldn’t be a luxury, especially in art. People should trust themselves and give it a shot. But, from the outside, UdK Berlin is seen as a fancy university. Because of that, people don’t have the confidence to apply. The existence of Common Ground is important as a reminder that there are people who share your experiences and to provide this perspective that it’s not only for fancy, rich, privileged people. Everyone is welcome here.
We thank all Common Ground members:
2016 Assali, Mouna Glatte, Benjamin Hoffmann, Leander Hoschek, Elisabeth Laufkötter, Astrid Vafadar, Lima Vent, Johannes
2017 Abo Assali, Mouna Derakhshan, Nagres Faulhaber, Leo Glatte, Benjamin Haddad, Dana Hoffmann, Leander Hoschek, Elisabeth Khalifeh, Farah Vafadar, Lima Vent, Johannes
2018 Derakhshan, Narges Guiness, Joshua Haddad, Dana Khalifeh, Farah Stegmann, Sophia Vafadar, Lima White, Dylan
UdK, Common Ground in collaboration with International Office and Artist Training, UdK Berlin Career College International Office: Regina Werner Artist Training: Dr. Melanie Waldheim Department Fine Arts: Prof. Dr. Jörg Heiser
Common Ground: Benjamin Glatte, Elisabeth Hoschek, Lima Vafadar, Vincent Hulme, Forough Absalan, Narges Derakshan
Graphic Design: Caroline Lei & Quang Nguyen Typefaces: Impact Nieuw by Jungmyung Lee, Junicode by Peter S. Baker
Edition: 100
Universität der Künste Berlin Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts gesetzlich vertreten durch den Präsidenten Prof. Dr. Norbert Palz Einsteinufer 43 D-10587 Berlin
The project Common Ground is offered by the Berlin University of the Arts and is funded by the DAAD and Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in collaboration with the International Office, Student Office and Artist Training, UdK Berlin Career College.
Artist Training presents: The workshop series How to Create a Safer Space I-III aims to discuss structural discrimination and inequalities within the UdK Berlin and to develop strategies for equality with experts from the fields of anti-discrimination and organizational development. Each workshop is accompanied by a podcast.
The third podcast episode How to Create a Safer Space III: Experiences from the Recognizing Barriers Day“ features anonymous guests from the Recognizing Barriers Day event held on December 5, 2022. For this workshop, we created an experimental space that encourages members of the University, including students, professors, and academic staff, to speak freely about their experiences with discrimination and observations within the University. During the podcast, we ensured complete anonymity for the individuals sharing their experiences by altering their voices through Artificial Intelligence. Our moderator, Johanna Madden, will reflect on these cases.
In collaboration with the Critical Diversity Blog
Production: Johanna Madden & Sel Workshop development: İpek Çınar (Artist Training Team) Coordination: İpek Çınar & Melanie Waldheim (Artist Training Team)
Artist Training presents: The workshop series How to Create a Safer Space I-III aims to discuss structural discrimination and inequalities within the UdK Berlin and to develop strategies for equality with experts from the fields of anti-discrimination and organisational development. Each workshop will be accompanied by a podcast.
The second podcast episode, How to Create a Safer Space II: Anti-Discrimination Clause, features two guests: Sonja Baltruschat and Mutlu Ergün-Hamaz. Together with podcast series host Johanna Madden, they reflect on the second workshop and discuss the needs of the UdK Berlin and what kind of document might best to meet those needs.
Speakers: Sonja Baltruschat & Mutlu Ergün-Hamaz Production: Johanna Madden & Sel Coordination: İpek Çınar & Melanie Waldheim (Artist Training team)
Artist Training presents: The How to Create a Safer Space I-III workshop series aims to discuss structural discrimination and inequalities within UdK Berlin and develop strategies for equality with experts from the fields of anti-discrimination and organizational development. There will also be podcasts accompanying each workshop.
In the first podcast episode, How to Create a Safer Space I: Code of Conduct, there are two guests: Armeghan Taheri (writer, artist and founder of the art and literature magazine Afghan Punk Rock) and Elena Buscaino (student at UdK Berlin, member of the Critical Diversity Blog, and activist). Together with the moderator of the podcast series Johanna Madden, they reflected on the first workshop and discussed further the needs of UdK Berlin, as well as the possible implementation of a Code of Conduct.
Speakers: Armeghan Taheri & Elena Buscaino Production: Johanna Madden & Sel Coordination: İpek Çınar & Melanie Waldheim (Artist Training team)
Fatima El-Tayeb is an author and Professor of Ethnicity, Race & Migration, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Yale University in Connecticut, USA. Her work deconstructs structural racism and centers strategies of resistance among racialized communities, especially those that politicize culture through an intersectional, queer practice. Her current research projects explore the intersecting legacies of colonialism, fascism, and socialism in Europe and the potential of alliances of (queer) people of color in decolonizing Europe. She is active in black feminist, migrant, and queer of color organizations in Europe and the US.
In this episode, El-Tayeb speaks about the construction of Otherness and discrimination of migrants, refugees, and racialized people in Europe, the (im)possibility of a post-migrant society and university, and other questions relating to migration within the academic context and beyond.
Katharina Oguntoye ist eine afrodeutsche Schriftstellerin, Historikerin, Aktivistin und Dichterin. Sie gründete den gemeinnützigen interkulturellen Verein Joliba in Deutschland und spielte eine wichtige Rolle in den Anfängen der afrodeutschen Bewegung. Prof. Mathilde ter Heijne hat sich mit ihr getroffen um über das Buch Farbe bekennen zu sprechen, welches 1986 von Katharina Oguntoye mit May Ayim und Dagmar Schultz im Orlanda Verlag herausgegeben wurde. Die Sammlung ist eine Zusammenstellung von Texten, Zeugnissen und anderen Sekundärquellen und lässt die Geschichten Schwarzer deutscher Frauen, die in Deutschland inmitten von Rassismus, Sexismus und anderen institutionellen Zwängen leben, lebendig werden. Das Buch greift Themen und Motive auf, die in Deutschland von den frühesten kolonialen Interaktionen zwischen Deutschland und der Schwarzen „Andersartigkeit“ bis hin zu den gelebten Erfahrungen Schwarzer deutscher Frauen in den 1980er Jahren vorherrschen.
Der Ausgangspunkt des Gesprächs war Looking Back 1930 I 2020: Building on Fragmented Legacies, ein Performance- und Diskussionsabend mit Karina Griffith, Sandrine Micossé-Aikins, Katharina Oguntoye, Abenaa Adomako und Saraya Gomis am 24.09.2020 im HAU Berlin. Die Veranstaltung fand im Rahmen des Programms Radical Mutation – On the Ruins of Rising Suns statt, kuratiert von Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro, Saskia Köbschall und Tmnit Zere. Das Programm verband historische Kämpfe für Gleichberechtigung, Antirassismus und Repräsentation in der Kultur und aktuelle Bemühungen um radikale Veränderungen mit Berlin als Startpunkt. Der Titel bezog sich auf eines der ersten überlieferten schwarzen Theaterstücke (Sonnenaufgang im Morgenland, 1930), welches die Repräsentation von Schwarzen Menschen in kulturellen Produktionen der Weimarer Republik in Frage stellte.
Ableism
Adultism
General Equal Treatment Act
Antisemitism
Accessibility
Harassment
Gender Binary
Sex
Cisgender
Dominance Culture
Prison-Industrial Complex
Gender-Expansive
Gender
Gender Transition
Gender Expression
Gender Dysphoria
Gender Identity
Heteronormativity
Hormone Therapy
Institutional Discrimination
Inter*
Intergenerational Trauma
Intersectionality
Islamophobia
Classism
Colonialism
Culturally Argued Racism
Cultural Appropriation
Marginalization
Microaggression
Misogyny
Neurodiversity
Nonbinary
Patriarchy
Pronouns
Racism
Sex-Gender-Difference
Sexism
Sexual Orientation
Social Origin
Social Norm
Socioeconomic Status
Structural Discrimination
Tokenism
White Supremacy
Whiteness
Xenophobia
Abolition
Accountability
Ageism
Agender
BIPoC
Colorism
Critical Diversity Policy (UdK)
Deadnaming
Doing Gender
Misogynoir
Queer
Safer Space
Social Justice
Trans*
Ende
Ableism
Ableism is the discrimination of and social prejudice against people with differing physical and mental abilities and needs. It typically involves a negative assessment of a person’s body and mind due to skills and abilities, based on a supposed biological (physical and/or mental) norm of what an able-bodied, neurotypical person should be. Ableism can intersect with other forms of oppression such as racism and sexism.
Adultism
Adultism is the discrimination found in everyday life and law based on unequal power relationships between adults, on the one hand, and children, adolescents, and young people on the other.
General Equal Treatment Act
The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), enforced since 2006, is the uniform central body of regulations in Germany for the implementation of four European anti-discrimination directives. For the first time, a law was created in Germany that comprehensively regulates protection against discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, gender identification, religion or belief, ability, age, or sexual orientation.
Antisemitism
Antisemitism is a belief system based on hatred/hostility towards or discrimination against Jewish people as a religious or racial group, Jewish institutions or anyone/anything that is perceived Jewish. Antisemitism varies over time and between cultures, with antisemitism intensifying in different historical moments.
Accessibility
Accessibility names the extent to which a product, service, or environment can be used and accessed by as many people as possible. Inclusive accessibility therefore assesses the needs and desires of all possible people—including those who are neurodivergent or who have varying abilities—and incorporates these into its design and function. Changes to enable those with different abilities to have equal opportunity and participation are often referred to as accommodations.
Harassment
Harassment is undesired and non-consensual conduct that violates the dignity of another person. Harassment can often create intimidating, hostile, humiliating, or offensive environments, and can be based on someone’s sexual orientation, religion, national origin, disability, age, race, gender, and more. Harassment can take a variety of forms, including verbal, physical, and/or sexual.
Gender Binary
The gender binary is the classification of gender into two distinct and opposite categories of man/masculine and woman/feminine. This belief system assumes that one’s sex or gender assigned at birth will align with traditional social constructions of masculine and feminine identity, expression, and sexuality. Assignment beyond the gender binary is typically viewed as a deviation of the norm.
Sex
Sex refers to a person’s biological status and is typically assigned at birth, usually based on external anatomy. Sex is typically categorized as male, female, or intersex.
Cisgender
Cisgender, or simply cis, refers to people who identify with the gender assigned to them at birth. Cis comes from the Latin prefix which means “on this side of.”
Dominance Culture
This concept, according to Birgit Rommelspacher, assumes that there is a system of hierarchies, rule and power in which the various racist, sexist, classist, and other forms of governance intertwine. In this interconnectedness, a dominant group maintains power, which is socially negotiated again and again. In a given society, the dominant group achieves their role by being perceived as pertaining to a majority of the population and having a significant presence in societal institutions.
Prison-Industrial Complex
The prison-industrial complex (PIC) is a term that describes the complex and interrelated dependencies between a government and the various businesses and institutions that benefit from practices of incarceration (such as prisons, jails, detention facilities, and psychiatric hospitals). Based on the term “military-industrial complex,” PIC urges a more comprehensive analysis of how imprisonment is used in a society, noting all the interest groups that prioritize financial gain over keeping people out of prisons.
Gender-Expansive
Gender-expansive is an adjective that can describe someone with a more flexible and fluid gender identity than might be associated with the typical gender binary.
Gender
Gender is often defined as a social construct of norms, behaviors, and roles that vary between societies and over time. Gender is often categorized as male, female, or nonbinary.
Gender Transition
Gender transition is a process a person might take to bring themselves and/or their bodies into alignment with their gender identity. This process is not a singular step nor does it have a definite end. Rather, it can include any, none, or all of the following: telling one’s family and social circles; changing one’s name and pronouns; updating legal documents; medical interventions such as hormone therapy; or surgical intervention, often called gender confirmation surgery.
Gender Expression
Gender expression is how a person presents gender outwardly, most typically signalled through clothing, voice, behavior, and other perceived characteristics. Society identifies these cues and performances as masculine or feminine, although what is considered masculine or feminine varies over time and between cultures.
Gender Dysphoria
Gender dysphoria refers to psychological distress that results from the incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity. People of all genders may experience dysphoria at varying levels of intensity, or not at all.
Gender Identity
Gender identity is one’s own internal sense of self and their gender. Unlike gender expression, gender identity is not externally visible to others.
Heteronormativity
Heteronormativity is the concept that heterosexuality—romantic and/or sexual attraction between people of the “opposite” gender—is the normative or acceptable sexual orientation in a society. Heteronormativity assumes the gender binary, and therefore involves a belief in the alignment between sexuality, gender identity, gender roles, and biological sex. As a dominant social norm, heteronormativity results in discrimination and oppression against those who do not identify as heterosexual.
Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy, sometimes called gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) or hormone replacement therapy (HRT), is the process by which sex hormones or other hormonal medications are administered. These hormone changes can trigger physical changes, called secondary sex characteristics, that can help better align the body with a person’s gender identity.
Institutional Discrimination
Institutional discrimination refers to prejudiced organizational policies and practices within institutions – such as universities, workplaces, and more – such that an individual or groups of individuals who are marginalized are unequally considered and have unequal rights.
Inter*
Inter*, or intersex, is an umbrella term that can describe people who have differences in reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, or hormones that do not fit typical definitions of male and female. The asterisks (*) emphasizes the plurality of intersex realities and physicalities.
Intergenerational Trauma
Intergenerational trauma refers to the trauma that is passed from a trauma survivor to their descendent. Due to violent and terrifying events—such as war, ethnic cleansing, political conflict, environmental catastrophe, and more—experienced by previous generations, descendants may experience adverse emotional, physical, and psychological effects. As the original sources of trauma are structured by forms of discrimination such as race and gender, intergenerational trauma also occurs along intersectional axes of oppression. For example, Black communities have brought to light the intergenerational trauma of enslavement. Intergenerational trauma is sometimes called historical trauma, multi- or transgenerational trauma, or secondary traumatization.
Intersectionality
Intersectionality names the interconnected nature of systems of oppression and social categorizations such as race, gender, sexuality, migratory background, and class. Intersectionality emphasizes how individual forms of discrimination do not exist independently of each other, nor can they be considered and addressed independently. Rather, addressing oppression should take into account the cumulative and interconnected axes of multiple forms of discrimination.
Islamophobia
Islamophobia is a belief system based on hatred/hostility towards or discrimination against Muslim people as a religious or racial group, muslim institutions or anyone/anything that is perceived Muslim. Islamophobia varies over time and between cultures, with Islamophobia intensifying in different historical moments.
Classism
Classism is a term that describes discrimination based on the belief that a person’s social or economic status determines their value in society. Classism, as a form of discrimination and stigmatization, is based on actual or assumed financial means, educational status, and social inclusion. “Inferior” classes in the hierarchy are problematised and stereotyped, and often receive unequal access and rights within society.
Colonialism
Colonialism is the control and dominance of one power over a dependent area or people. In subjugating another people and land, colonialism entails violently conquering the population, often including mass displacement of people and the systematic exploitation of resources. Beyond material consequences, colonialism also includes processes of forcing the dominant power’s language and cultural values upon the subjugated people, thereby effecting cultural, psychological, and intergenerational trauma.
Culturally Argued Racism
Culturally argued racism is directed against people based on their presumed cultural or religious background. This form of discrimination can occur regardless of whether they actually practice one culture or religion and how religious they are (e.g. anti-Muslim racism and anti-Semitism).
Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the act of taking on aspects of a marginalized culture by a person or an institution who is outside of that culture, without comprehensive understanding of the context and often lacking respect for the significance of the original. Cultural appropriation, when promoting negative cultural or racial stereotypes, reproduces harm. Acts of cultural appropriation can often reveal power dynamics within a society: for example, a white person who wears a marginalized culture’s traditional dress is praised as fashionable, while a racialized person could be isolated from the dominant group and marked as foreign.
Marginalization
Marginalization describes any process of displacing minorities to the social fringe. As a rule, marginalised groups are presumed to not correspond to the norm-oriented majority of society and are severely restricted in their ability to behave freely, have equal material access, enjoy public safety, and more.
Microaggression
Microaggression names individual comments or actions that unconsciously or consciously demonstrate prejudice and enact discrimination against members of marginalized groups. As small, common, and cumulative occurrences, microaggressions can comprise of insults, stereotypes, devaluation, and/or exclusion. Microaggressions often negatively affect the person on the receiving end, affecting their psychological and physical health and wellbeing.
Misogyny
Misogyny is a term for sexist oppression and contempt for women that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thereby maintaining patriarchal social roles. Misogyny can indicate an attitude held by individuals and a widespread cultural system that often devalues anything perceived as feminine. Misogyny can overlap with other instances of oppression and hate—such as homophobia, trans*-misogyny, and racism.
Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity is a term that describes the unique ways each person’s brain structures function. The basic assumption of what kind of brain functioning is healthy and acceptable within a norm-oriented majority society is called neurotypical.
Nonbinary
Nonbinary is a term that can be used by persons who do not describe themselves or their genders as fitting into the binary categories of man or woman. A range of terms are used for these experiences, with nonbinary and genderqueer often used.
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system whereby cis men dominantly hold positions of privilege both in public and private spheres. In feminist theory, patriarchy can be used to describe the power relationship between genders that favors male dominance, as well as the ideology of male superiority that justifies and enacts oppression against women and all non-normative genders.
Pronouns
Pronouns, or personal gender pronouns (PGPs), are the set of pronouns that an individual uses to refer to themselves and desires for others to use when referring to them. The list of pronouns is continuously evolving. An individual may have several sets of preferred pronouns, or none. The intention of both asking and using a person’s pronouns correctly is to reduce the negative societal effects for those whose personal pronouns don’t match with the gender identity that’s assumed by a cisnormative society. Using gender-neutral wording and terms to refer to groups of people (such as “folks,” instead of “guys”) are also inclusive steps that resist the gender binary and cis-normativity.
Racism
Racism is the process by which systems, policies, actions, and attitudes create unequal opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. More than individual or institutional prejudice, racism occurs when this discrimination is accompanied by the power to limit or oppress the rights of people and/or groups. Racism varies over time and between cultures, with racism towards different groups intensifying in different historical moments.
Sex-Gender-Difference
Sex-gender difference names the distinction between the concept of “sex” as a biological fact and the concept of “gender” as a product of cultural and social processes, such as socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and gendered identities.
Sexism
Sexism is the process by which systems, policies, actions, and attitudes create unequal opportunities and outcomes for people based on their attributed or supposed sex and the ideology underlying these phenomena. It is mostly used to name the power relations between dominant and marginalised genders within cisheteronormative patriarchal societies.
Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation is the term that describes which sex or gender a person feels emotionally, physically, romantically and/or sexually attracted to.
Social Origin
Social origin describes the socio-cultural values and norms into which one is born, including factors such as environment, class, caste, education biography, and more. The values that accompany one’s social origin are constructed, but often have material impact that privileges or under-privileges certain groups and people. For example, someone whose social origin includes living in a Western country, inheriting intergenerational wealth, and having a consistently good education will increase their chances for a high-paying job as an adult. Their social origin must therefore be taken into account, rather than their inherent worthiness for such a job.
Social Norm
A social norm is a shared belief in the standard of acceptable behaviour by groups, both informal as well as institutionalized into policy or law. Social norms differ over time and between cultures and societies.
Socioeconomic Status
Socioeconomic status, usually described as low, medium, or high, is a way of describing people based on their education, income, and type of job. The values and norms assigned to each socioeconomic class are socially constructed but have material impact.
Structural Discrimination
Structural discrimination refers to patterns of behaviour, policies, and attitudes found at the macro-level conditions of society. This discrimination of social groups is based on the nature of the structure of society as a whole. Structural discrimination is distinct from individual forms of discrimination (such as a single racist remark, which is a microaggression), though it often provides the contextual framework to understand why these individual instances occur.
Tokenism
Tokenism is a superficial or symbolic gesture that includes minority members without significantly changing or addressing the structural discrimination of marginalization. Tokenism is a strategy intended to create the appearance of inclusion and to divert allegations of discrimination by requiring a single person to be representative of a minority.
White Supremacy
White supremacy names the beliefs and practices that privilege white people as an inherently superior race, built on the exclusion and detriment of other racial and ethnic groups. It can refer to the interconnected social, economic, and political systems that enable white people to enjoy structural advantages over other racial groups both on a collective and individual level. It can also refer to the underlying political ideology that imposes and maintains multiple forms of domination by white people and non-white supporters, from justifying European colonialism to present-day neo-fascisms.
Whiteness
Whiteness is a socially and politically constructed behaviour that perpetuates an ideology, culture, history, and economy that results in the unequal distribution of power and privilege favoring those socially deemed white. The material benefits of whiteness are gained at the expense of Black, Indigenous, and people of color, who are systematically denied equal access to those material benefits. On our blog, white is often written in small italics to mark it as a political category and emphasize the privileges of whiteness which are often not named as such, but rather taken for granted as the invisible norm.
Xenophobia
Xenophobia names the hostility towards groups or individuals perceived as “outsiders” based on their culture. Xenophobic attitudes are often associated with hostile reception of immigrants or refugees who arrive in societies and communities that are not their homelands. Xenophobic discrimination can result in barriers to equally access socioeconomic opportunities, as well as ethnic, racial, or religious prejudice.
Abolition
Abolition is a term that names officially ending a system, practice, or institution. Rooted in 19th century movements to abolish slavery, present day abolitionism is often invoked to end the practice of policing and military and/or the interconnected carceral systems of prisons, refugee camps, detention centers, and more. For more, see the definition of prison-industrial complex).
Accountability
Accountability is the obligation and willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions. In the context of social justice, accountability refers to the ways in which individuals and communities hold themselves to their principles and goals, as well as acknowledging the groups to which they are responsible. Accountability often requires a transparent process and continuous self- and collective awareness.
Ageism
Ageism is discrimination or prejudice based on a person’s age, such as when skills and abilities are questioned and assessed based on one’s older or younger age.
Agender
Agender is an adjective that can be used by persons who do not identify as any gender.
BIPoC
BIPoC stands for Black, Indigenous and people of color. A term that originated in the U.S., it is a self-designation intended to center the specific experiences of Black, Indigenous, and other racialized groups, who are severely impacted by systemic racial injustice rooted in histories of enslavement and colonialism, and to unite people and groups affected by racism.
Colorism
Colorism is a term that describes the prejudice or discrimination favoring people with lighter skin tones over those with darker skin tones. This is especially used to describe the nuanced discrimination faced within a racial or ethnic group.
Critical Diversity Policy (UdK)
The Critical Diversity Policy at UdK is a document whose intention is to emphasize and enforce the idea that differences in values, attitudes, cultural perspective, beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation, gender identity, abilities, knowledge and life experiences of each individual in each group of people should be considered and overcome within the university.
Deadnaming
Deadnaming is the act of calling a trans*, nonbinary, or gender-expansive person by their birth name, or an incorrect name, when they have changed their name as part of their gender expression. It is never okay or necessary to use a person’s deadname when they have changed their name, including when describing past events. If you deadname someone, take accountability by apologizing and commit to not doing so in the future. Take steps to know someone’s current name and commit to using it.
Doing Gender
This sociological term focuses on how people observe, (re-)produce, and make gender relevant in everyday life. Rather than taking gender as an innate quality, the acts of “doing gender” emphasize how gender is a social construct that is prevalent in daily human interaction.
Misogynoir
Misogynoir is a term, coined by Black feminist Moya Bailey in 2010, that describes the gendered and racial oppression faced by Black cis and transgender women (the latter sometimes referred to as trans*-misogynoir). Taking an intersectional lens, misogynoir examines how anti-Black racism and misogyny combine into a particular form of oppression and discrimination.
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. It Is used for a broad spectrum of non-normative sexual and/or gender identities and politics.
Safer Space
Safer spaces are intended to be places where marginalized communities can gather and communicate shared experiences, free of bias, conflict, or harm perpetrated by members of a dominant group. Recognizing that there is no such thing as a perfectly safe space for marginalized people under the current systems of our society, the term “safer” indicates the goal of temporary relief, as well as acknowledging the fact that harm can be reproduced even within marginalized communities. Examples of safer spaces created in organizations and institutions are queer-only spaces and/or spaces only for Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
Social Justice
Social justice is a form of activism and political movement that promotes the process of transforming society from an injust and unequal state to one that is just and equitable. Social justice is rooted in the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities, and the fundamental right to feel psychologically and physically secure. Social justice therefore aims to change governing laws and societal norms that have historically and presently oppressed some groups over others. Social justice is not just the absence of discrimination, but also the presence of deliberate systems and supports that achieve and sustain equity along lines of race, gender, class, ability, religion, and more.
Trans*
Transgender, or simply trans*, is an adjective that refers to people whose gender identity is different than the sex assigned at birth. Trans comes from the Latin prefix which means “across” or “beyond.” The self-designation is not an identity feature that automatically indicates whether this person identifies with a different gender, no gender or multiple genders. Thus, there are several trans* identities. The asterisks (*) emphasizes the plurality and fluidity of trans identities.
