Memory Cultures
On behalf of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, eight creative professionals from China, Germany, Israel, and other nations designed individual and co-created joint themes for a memory game, addressing various forms of memory cultures – socially approved or acquired manners of a society or a group used to keep parts of the past in their consciousness.
On behalf of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, eight creative professionals from China, Germany, Israel, and other nations designed individual and co-created joint themes for a memory game, addressing various forms of memory cultures – socially approved or acquired manners of a society or a group used to keep parts of the past in their consciousness. As the artists in this game shared their experiences and ideas about cultural affiliation and remembrance in a collaborative process with the other artists, the creation process of this game itself became a contribution to international understanding.
On the other side of Kottbusser Tor, Berlin – I want to show the coexistence of two places I call home, in an inner and outer reality. It is a way of balancing, to treasure home B in your mind while being at home A.
In order to create this theme I visited the oldest street in Cairo, Al Muizz Street. The street has the greatest collection of medieval architecture in the Islamic world. I was looking for an element that for me would represent the spirit of the city. I found it in the captivating pattern across the roof of Al Zahir Barquq mosque.
Where we come from does not matter if we are not able to let it go. And where we go to does not matter if we cannot remember where we came from.
The theme represents a relation between Slovenian national dishes and traditional folklore songs. Furthermore, the audio output generates the final composition.
The free mind – someone reads the thoughts of another person and the two achieve a nonverbal, universal understanding of one another. I like this idea of communication across borders and nationalities.
Letters – memories of letters sent from pen pals you have never met, from countries to which you have never traveled. They seem both alien and strange, yet are utterly fascinating.
How do we see and remember a place that we cannot revisit? My grandparents posed in front of an Austrian supermarket just because it seemed so foreign. What they recollect about the trip, however, is not the world that surrounded them so much as what they felt travelling in this new place – with their heads in the air, wondering.
Mappae Mundi – Europe in the eyes of Christianity. Where is Europe on this 12th-Century Beatus world map? To see Europe through different eyes means glimpsing different global perspectives. How we view the world determines how we act and react. To understand the existence of different “viewpoints” is the start of any global act.
Lina: “The most inspiring and interesting part of the process for me was the international perspectives and ways of communication.”
Bassam: “For me the project was a great opportunity to see diverse art and cultural backgrounds coming together to produce something unique.”
Bassam: “For me the project was a great opportunity to see diverse art and cultural backgrounds coming together to produce something unique.”
Stella: “I really enjoyed the project because it made me get in touch with my own cultural imprint and gave me the opportunity to exchange the experiences and ideas about cultural affiliation with other artists.”
Boaz: “The project was a great opportunity for me to collaboratively go deeper into the theme of what is home […] a topic that has been quite a subject in my life since I moved to Germany two years ago.”
Nadine: “For me it was really interesting to mix up styles with international artists and create a direct visual dialogue of the different cultures and backgrounds.”
Stella: “I really enjoyed the project because it made me get in touch with my own cultural imprint and gave me the opportunity to exchange the experiences and ideas about cultural affiliation with other artists.”
Xiyu: “Creating this work in a collaborative process has made me realize how powerful human collaboration can be and I wish that we could raise this spirit to the highest levels. I think we are in dire need of fostering positive interactions given the current political, economic and societal situation.”
Nadine: “For me it was really interesting to mix up styles with international artists and create a direct visual dialogue of the different cultures and backgrounds.”
Lina: “The most inspiring and interesting part of the process for me was the international perspectives and ways of communication.”
Ulla: “A project that created new memories through existing ones enriched my understanding of different cultures and roots immensely.”
Zhen: “The most interesting was the interaction of creative thoughts and inputs from various artists from different backgrounds.”
Xiyu: “Creating this work in a collaborative process has made me realize how powerful human collaboration can be and I wish that we could raise this spirit to the highest levels. I think we are in dire need of fostering positive interactions given the current political, economic and societal situation.”
Ulla: “A project that created new memories through existing ones enriched my understanding of different cultures and roots immensely.”
Boaz: “The project was a great opportunity for me to collaboratively go deeper into the theme of what is home […] a topic that has been quite a subject in my life since I moved to Germany two years ago.”
Zhen: “The most interesting was the interaction of creative thoughts and inputs from various artists from different backgrounds.”
More Information
The booklet of the memory game provides information on the participating creative professionals, their work, and the funding of the Robert Bosch Stiftung.