Our Projects at Youth Detention Facility Berlin since 2014

Since our foundation in 2013 we are collaborating with the Team of the School at Jugendstrafanstalt Berlin. Out of this collaboration we have had the opportunity to work with the incarcerated youth on the most diverse topics with the most diverse tools. Let it be dance, poetry, music and rhythm, drawing or opera...

 

This is a short overview

Some impressions from Behind Bars



2019 and 2020

Behind Bars: Von No Boundaries e.V. und Musethica e.V.

Sponsored by Berliner Projektfonds Kulturelle Bildung und Sammelfonds für Geldauflagen zu Gunsten gemeinnütziger Einrichtungen ("SamBa").

2017

Der Schimmelreiter

Since September 1st, 2017 we are back at Youth Detention Facility. For 6 months we will work on new texts, new music, new sounds based and inspired by the literary piece by Theodor Storm, The Dykemaster.

 

Teachers in this project:

Johanna Marshall, Birgit Lang, Ute Gastinger, Isabel Ferrin-Aguirre, Daniel Allen, Jörn Hedtke, Dominique Macri, Dalibor Markovic.

 

The result: An audio drama summarizing the outcome of the workshop.

 

We are the first project in Germany who get the chance to assist the school of a Youth Detention Facilty in their teaching program. We hope to make the learning process of the incarcerated easier by applying completely artistic methods. What did the ocean sound like when the Dyke in Husum broke? What can external determination lead us to do? Prejudices from 200 years ago and today, are there any differences? ...

 

Sponsored by Sammelfonds für Geldauflagen zu Gunsten gemeinnütziger Einrichtungen ("SamBa").

 

2016

Part IV)

Moving Wor(l)ds

A poetry/ dance project at the Youth Detention Facility Plötzensee in Berlin


from May 2016 - September 2016


On May 17th the project „Moving Wor(l)ds“, a cooperation between Tanztangente and No Boundaries e.V. started to involve the incarcerated youth from the Detention Facility in a poetry / dance project. Spoken word artists worked closely to dance teachers in order to deal with the 7 deadly sins. How can they be written about? What would the dance about a mortal sin look like? Artists such as Kronstädta, who has been working with incarcerated youths for years and the Femcee Pyranja were the mentors in writing, whereas 4 teachers from Tanztangente were the dance mentors working closely for 5 months with the youths. A public presentation took place on September 23rd, 2016 at the Detention Facility. During a 45 minute performance the participants of this project performed the "Deadly sins" interpreted in text, dance and music in front of an audience of about 120 people.

 

The project is sponsored by Chance Tanz.
 


 

Part III)

Political education inside the walls of the Youth Detention Facility

During a period of three months the mentors from "Dialog macht Schule" have been treating the topic of "equality, female rights and gender" from February - May 2016. As a result the incarcerated participants wrote a theater piece and texts that have been performed inside the Detention Facility for the other incarcerated youths.

A movie by Olad Aden

A cooperation between Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung, Jugendstrafanstalt Berlin and No Boundaries e.V.

 

Workshop by: Dialog Macht Schule

2015

Part II)

"Salome and the Sounds of Power"
September 2015 - January 2016
Language often looses its significance and multiplicity in the day to day prison routine. This can lead to frustration, misunderstandings and conflict. Therefore we consider it crucial to improve the ability of self expression and to offer new methods which will empower participants to deal with a diverse variety of topics that will be addressed during the program. Incarcerated young people had the opportunity to participate in poetry / rap and literature classes within the school curriculum of the detention facility. The projects goal was to improve language skills and to increase the interest in and the ability of self expression through language. The project´s aim, to empower involved young people to find a vehicle for self expression through artistic means. Teaching artists visited the facility twice a week to offer classes: creative writing, rhyming, drawing classes. They discussed  everyday topics and in the process they were able to define ways to express them accordingly. This project was accompanied by the pedagogical instructions of social workers and teachers of the youth detention facility as well as Gangway e.V.
Behind Bars "Salome und der Klang der Macht" is a project by No Boundaries e.V. in cooperation with the youth detention facility Plötzensee, Gangway e.V. and the German Opera Berlin, funded by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. 
Film by Olad Aden
Music by Akira
Salomé recordings, beats and Arrangements by Kronstädta

 

Download
Salomé - full version
Poems, statements, Lyrics by incarcerated youths of Jugendstrafanstalt Berlin have been prepared during a three months workshop in cooperation with Junge Deutsche Oper Berlin.
salomé collage hörstation-1.mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 40.7 MB

Part I)

February 2015 - August 2015

 

Behind Bars is a project in collaboration with the Youth Detention Facility Berlin. Incarcerated young people will have the opportunity to participate in classes of poetry / Rap and literature within the school curriculum of the Detention Facility. The projects goal is to improve language skills and to increase the interest in and the ability of self expression through language. Ideally project involved young people will find a vehicle for self expression through artistic means. 

 

Language often looses its significance and multiplicity in the day to day prison routine. This can lead to frustration , misunderstandings and conflict. Therefore we consider it crucial to improve the ability of self expression and to offer new methods which will empower participants to deal with a diverse variety of topics that will be addressed during the program.

 

Teaching artists will visit the facility twice a week to offer classes: creative writing, rhyming, drawing classes. They will discuss of everyday topics and in the process they will define ways how to express them accordingly. This project will be accompanied by the pedagogical instructions of social workers and teachers of the facility.

 

 

Poems, Lyrics and Statements by the participants of Behind Bars:

Download
hoffnungslos unschuldig
hoffnungslos unschuldig.mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 1.5 MB
Download
ich habe angst
ich habe angst....mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 521.3 KB
Download
meine meinung - Rap
meine-meinungs-RAP.mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 2.5 MB
Download
statements meinungsfreiheit
meinungsfreiheit statements.mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 2.1 MB
Download
meinungsgekritzel
meinungsgekritzel.mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 347.9 KB
Download
salome collage
salomé collage.mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 905.0 KB
Download
seelenschmerz
seelenschmerz....mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 943.8 KB
Download
suche nach frieden
suche nach frieden.mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 3.2 MB
Download
was denkt ihr...
was denkt ihr da draussen bloß!.mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 1.0 MB
Download
was machst du, wenn
was machst du, wenn jemand unrecht begeh
MP3 Audio Datei 710.1 KB
Download
wer bist du
wer bist du.mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 1'012.2 KB
Download
wie ein vogel
wie ein vogel, der weint.mp3
MP3 Audio Datei 358.1 KB

The project has been sponsored by Bezirksamt Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

The beginnings:

On Febuary 24, 2015 the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung funded a writing workshop that included a very animated discussion between the incarcerated youth and the Cambodian artist Kosal Khiev, himself a former prisoner who had been incarcerated for 14 years in diverse US prisons where he discovered poetry as a valuable tool for his very survival. The Berlin based detainees were introduced to poetry and all of its assets!

 

The pilot phase of the project has been made possible by a generous private donation.

 

 

 Ulla Lenze, as teacher 2015

Abbas Khider ran the first Workshop period which kicked of the projects pilot phase on May 4th, 2015. This project period dealt with the topics "itineraries / meanders / ways and halfways". 

 

The incarcerated youth narrated their own stories describing their own, personal ways: itineraries of a refugee, ways into the future, meanders and ways of the past.

 

The basic idea: leave nightmares behind by going through them in words and narration in order to find alternatives and follow dreams.

 

The next section of the Workshops during the pilot phase was held by Berlin MC Amewu. Here, some of the involved detainees had the opportunity to write Rap-Lyrics, some of them were able to try out the art form of rhyming while others continued working on their short stories.

 

Ulla Lenze, Kaveh, Joe "Madog" Bliese and international guests such as Natalia Molebatsi and L-Ness as well as youth from the BronxBerlin Connection accommodated  the workshops with special feature appearances which inspired the youth day by day!

 

 

The writing workshop was honoured by the presence of South African poet Natalia Molebatsi and Kenyan MC L-Ness who listened to the stories of the incarcerated. They initiated a poem which will be continued by the group. Upon its conclusion it will be send to the two "teachers" soon!