Which topic turns up again and again in your artistic activities?
Since coming to Germany I have developed an interested in intercultural history between the Orient and Central Germany. Through multi-media cooperation and by using various cultural education methods, I am attempting to illustrate the diversity of Magdeburg and turn the “enemy stereotype of the other” into a stable bridge between long-time residents and new inhabitants. These efforts have already been put into practice in a number of projects. In this respect, the book project “Der Pascha von Magdeburg” (the Magdeburg pasha) is a very good example of such successful intercultural activity.
What do you seek to achieve with your arts education activities?
I would like to create new perspectives for cooperation, engage in an active sharing of information, views on life and targets, integrate new arts education methods in my project activities and pass on the insights which I have acquired, so that they have a lasting impact. I want to more actively strengthen the role of youth clubs in rural areas through regionally based intercultural activities and establish scope for creativity in which young people can develop their own talent in a multilingual and interdisciplinary framework.
What, in your view, is the essence of an artistic intervention in arts education?
To me, strengthening the role of art in the context of arts education appears to be an important aspect because this enables the formation of a creative environment which children and youths need to develop and consolidate their own personality in a special manner. For example, integrating music and drama can encourage the participants to expand their artistic and intercultural abilities and can get them out of what might be a bubble of exclusivity and into the group. With these creative means, they learn how to work together with others and contribute their individual skills to the collective effort.