"A Matter of Perspective" brings together artistic practice, inclusion, and social participation. The exhibition features works by approximately 20 artists who work in supportive studio settings in Berlin and London and who, due to discriminatory structures, rarely have access to studios, exhibition spaces, or professional networks.
The majority of the participating artists are active at the Kunstwerkstatt Kreuzberg, which emerged in 1994 from an initiative of Lebenshilfe Kreuzberg’s assisted living program. These works are complemented by collaborations with Berlin’s Thikwa Workshop for Theater and Art, where 42 artists work full-time on developing their artistic skills, as well as with the organization Outward, which operates in ten London boroughs to support people in leading dignified and meaningful lives.
All of the artists are classified as having “learning disabilities,” yet this umbrella term quickly proves to be entirely unsuitable for describing their personalities. Their abilities, challenges, medical conditions, life paths, and strategies for coping with life are simply too individual. Accordingly, the exhibition views inclusion not as an add-on, but as a fundamental approach. It was developed, curated, and designed in collaboration with the artists.
The participating artists look forward to engaging with the audience. For it is not the “special” inclusive program that allows them to participate in a venue like the nGbK, but rather the idea of working from within an established art institution to reposition themselves as artists with disabilities from a self-determined perspective. In this way, the exhibition not only carries political weight but also holds transformative potential for the institution itself.
Artists: Angelika Bartel, Sarah al Darwich, Rainer von Dziegielewski, Heidi Fassott, Wolfgang Fassott, Hannelore Gerdes-Kopal, Tim Hartung, Harald Krainer, Lutz Marx, Herbert Meyer, Veronika Patzuda, Pooja, Hildegard Wittur
Additional contributors: Nak Nak Kunstlabor (Cologne), GoGo Trash (Berlin), Kirsten Schmidt and The Outward Group (London), Thikwa Werkstatt für Theater und Kunst (Berlin), Sandra Merseburger, Gabor Scenzi, Li Li Dinh Thi, Maren Haupt
nGbK Working Group: Sylvie Lazzarini, David Permantier, Susann Pönisch, Gisa Schraml, and Eva Zulauf
