Idea
Ideas for a planned performance project collect both the openness and appropriation of public spaces as well as exclusion and belonging.

In the project “Act for Equality – transcultural theater group”, some players from the ANDIWONDER theater group and new interested people with and without migration or refugee experiences developed a public performative action.

Goal
It was about the diverse experiences of refugees and migrants, the feeling of being a stranger, the search for orientation and injustice. But it was also about appropriating public space with ease, courage and cohesion and speaking out, about not being invisible in public space without indulging in illusions. The participants contributed their cultural and personal backgrounds as well as their aesthetics and skills.

Implementation
To this end, interaction Leipzig has cooperated with the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography and the University of Bonn, among others. As one of the foundations of the Performance Group’s work Research results and anonymized interviews from the project “Everyday experiences of young refugees and asylum seekers in public spaces” included. In the process, wiscientific data into an emotionally accessible artistic performance.

The planned project was presented at an open meeting of interaction Leipzig on August 5, 2021. The Rehearsal phase began on 28.8.2021 in the Garage Ost in the east of Leipzig. First, the topic was approached and aspects related to experiences in public spaces, such as shame, dignity, racism and sexism, were dealt with.

The process was very enriching for everyone involved. All participants quickly got to know each other and worked together cooperatively. The players’ engagement with the questions and topics based on the research results using various theater and performance methods brought them closer together and opened up the space for shared experiences and new perspectives.

The premiere of the performance took place on October 2, 2021 in front of the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche Leipzig in Neustadt-Neuschönefeld and reached an audience of around 50 people.