Abstract
Given the current state of the world, our democracy is under enormous pressure: economic interests and a systematic scarcity of common goods are literally “pulling the rug out from under” the scope for democratic action. We urgently need spaces where sustainable forms of coexistence can be tested and social participation is possible. The Open Embassy for Democracy in the former American Club in Bonn on the Rhine creates a place where democratic participation can be tested in practice. The historically significant club from Bonn’s time as the capital of Germany once stood for the democratic development of the young Federal Republic of Germany and is now to be developed into a space for experimenting with democratic processes through civil society engagement. The transformation process from a dilapidated monument to a lively place of negotiation and co-creation will be made visible and tangible in the coming years in an open process with various artistic approaches under the title “Open Construction Site.” The first actions focused on the creative anticipation of the planned centerpiece of the future Open Embassy: the community kitchen. In a collaborative design process, recycled materials were used to create a mobile kitchen that brings people together in the Open Embassy, but also in other places in the city, and makes the message of collaborative design processes tangible. This type of open experiment creates a model for “Do it together” in a collaborative process of appropriation, activation, and reinterpretation!
Presenters
Miriam HamelPhD candidate / Junior Professor, Faculty of Art and Design, PHD Program Art and Design / Department of Architecture, Bauhaus-University Weimar / Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Process design, Co-creation, Spatial transformation, Artistic research
