Elderly parents: About caring and the time we have left

In the book ‘Alte Eltern,’ Volker Kitz tells the story of his father, who was a widower and suffered from dementia, and uses it as an example to explore what it means when parents grow old and sick. With tender force, he delves into feelings and questions that affect an entire generation.

In her exhibition ‘Die Ordnung der Dinge’ (The Order of Things), photographer Inga Jürgensen shows objects that her father created from everyday items during his dementia. Her work offers a glimpse into the poetic and imaginative world of people with dementia.

The images are accompanied by passages from the book, which, when read, create an exchange between literature and art – and between the writer and the artist. In conversation, both address the question of how perception depends on perspective, how one can deal with the unfamiliar in new ways and experience compassion anew.

• Friday, 21 November 2025, 7 p.m.
  
• Kieztreff der Interessengemeinschaft Leipziger Straße | Leipziger Straße 58 | 10117 Berlin
  
• Free admission
  

About Inga Jürgensen:

Inga Jürgensen, born in 1969, is a media scientist and photographer. She studied French philology, media studies and film production in Paris, Berlin and Ludwigsburg. Her video works were commissioned by broadcasters ARTE and 3sat, among others. For several years, she cared for her father and documented their everyday life together in photographs. She has received scholarships and awards from the DAAD, the French government and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among others. Inga Jürgensen lives in Berlin and Wedel/Holstein.

About Volker Kitz:

Volker Kitz, born in 1975, is a writer and lawyer. He studied law, theatre studies and German philology in Cologne and New York City and worked as a teacher in Kampala, Uganda, and in a nursing home in Bogotá, Colombia. His books have been translated into ten languages and are regular SPIEGEL bestsellers. Alte Eltern (Old Parents) was shortlisted for the Evangelical Book Prize and featured on the non-fiction bestseller lists of ZDF, DIE ZEIT and Deutschlandfunk Kultur. Volker Kitz lives in Berlin.


(IN GERMAN)