Dusseldorf Street Display: Photographs serve as the essence of these intellectual street performers
The "Street Academy," an innovative project co-founded by art professor Katharina Mayer, is providing a platform for homeless individuals to express their life stories through art. The project, which emphasizes inclusivity and diversity, has already held two successful exhibitions with some sales.
The current exhibition, titled "Bilder sind meine Seele," is open to the public at the Evangelical Luther Church in Kopernikusstraße 9b, Bilk, until June 25. The exhibition is free and open during church hours from Monday to Thursday, 11 am to 5 pm.
The artwork on display is a testament to the participants' creativity and resilience, showcasing a wide range of techniques, formats, and motifs. From fairy tale-like images to geometric shapes, graffiti-inspired lettering, ornamental methods, informal images, caricatures, figurative images, and fantasy, the works radiate a positive atmosphere despite processing heavy life crises, traumas, losses, and social exclusion.
The "Akademisten," as the participants of the Street Academy are coined, combine the idea of an academic or scholar with a grassroots or street-based context. This term, created by Katharina Mayer, symbolizes the blurring of traditional boundaries between formal education and street-level social realities, affirming that knowledge and creativity exist and flourish in unconventional spaces.
The Street Academy takes place under professional guidance, where participants can engage in drawing, painting, photography, or text, often incorporating experiences of rejection and discrimination. The project's significance lies in its innovative approach to addressing social exclusion by blending art, education, and social care.
The exhibition opening was accompanied by musical performances from Christoph Lahme on the harmonium and Oliver Drechsel on the piano. Katharina Mayer expressed her delight over the Luther Church's Kunstforum hosting the exhibition, while Pastor Ralf Breitkreutz emphasized that the exhibition fits perfectly with the church's commitment to making art accessible, stimulating thought, encouraging imagination, and addressing societal issues.
Mayor Josef Hinkel, Superintendent Heinrich Fucks, and Pastor Ralf Breitkreutz spoke at the opening, emphasizing the importance of community and inclusion. The event was also supported by fiftyfifty and Housing First meets Gastro, whose participants provided a delicious cake buffet.
Numerous guests visited the exhibition at the opening, appreciating the personal and individual pieces created by the Akademisten. If you're in the Bilk area, don't miss this opportunity to witness the powerful expression of art by the Street Academy participants.
Exhibiting at the Evangelical Luther Church in Kopernikusstraße 9b, Bilk, until June 25, the Street Academy's current exhibition, "Bilder sind meine Seele," offers a glimpse into the diverse home-and-garden of creativity that flourishes among its participants, the Akademisten. Within this unique lifestyle, art serves as a therapeutic outlet, showcasing artwork ranging from fairy tale-like images to graffiti-inspired lettering, ornamental methods, informal images, caricatures, figurative images, and fantasy.
