Projects

Muriel Gonzales Athenas  / Amdrita Jakupi

Many, especially queer, BIPoC individuals in the current urban environment of Cologne have limited or no access to spaces for developing decolonial and anti-racist perspectives. This project is part of an anti-racist neighborhood initiative in the Cologne district Südstadt. We aim to create a physical decolonial space for a network of BIPoC individuals who are active in various anti-racist, social, and political groups. This anti-colonial space in Cologne is intended to serve as a new and urgently needed platform for connection. The well-being of those involved in the alliance is at the forefront, with toxic performance pressure patterns of German activism being “interrupted” or transformed through an active practice that counters them, as well as through exchanges, discussion spaces, and shared analysis.

The project seeks to experiment with, learn from, and disseminate methods of transformative justice within the community. The physical space is intended to facilitate ongoing exchange of experiences among the people who come together there. On the other hand, the space should be a refuge, a place of safety and gathering, allowing activists to recuperate and regenerate. Intergenerational participation is encouraged, regardless of origin, sexual orientation, educational background, and other characteristics.

 

Christopher Nixon
www.christopher-nixon.de

James Baldwin is considered one of the most significant African American writers. The recent translation of his works by dtv is currently receiving widespread acclaim among a broad audience in Germany. This ‘Baldwin Renaissance’ does not only involve Black writers, translators, and communities but also contributes to their individual and collective identity formation in the face of experiences of exclusion and racism that Baldwin’s novels, essays, and poems have long addressed.

Especially for Queers of Color, his works provided a window into a world where their experiences found language and form, offering hope for “Another Country.” His works brought visibility to an intersectional diversity of Black lifestyles, a diversity that was not always recognized by Communities of Color and Baldwin’s contemporaries. While global markets continue to exploit people for the profit of the Global North, we are experiencing a backlash in the post-Trump era and in the politically charged climate dominated by right-wing populism in Germany. This backlash primarily targets Queers of Color, making it once again crucial to listen to Baldwin’s admonishing and hopeful voice.

Therefore, an audio feature is set to be created that will highlight and reevaluate the intersectional ‘Black Queerness’ in Baldwin’s work. It will also emphasize that queer Black individuals like James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and Katharina Oguntoye have shaped both the U.S. and Afro-German anti-racism movements. The audio feature will include interviews with experts and activists, archival material, passages from novels and poems voiced by actors, as well as sounds and musical pieces. These ‘fragments’ will be assembled into a collage piece.

Tú Qùynh Nhu Nguyễn / Sara Djahim

The project aims to map the diversity and resistance practices and strategies of the first generation of migrants and refugees. The central idea is that not only transgenerational trauma, but also resilience, knowledge/wisdom, will to live and joy are passed on. The Mooncake blog will collect this previously invisible knowledge about survival strategies and everyday practices of resistance. Mooncake will include various formats, including written contributions such as essays, interviews, and poetry, as well as videos, photos, and illustrations.

The project will begin as part of re•shape with the launch of the website, but in the long term it will be used as an open platform. This should eventually become a place where knowledge, emotions and experiences can be shared: On the one hand, it should serve communities to make common themes and different practices discussable, and on the other hand, express the appreciation and respect due to these bodies of knowledge and those who came before us.

Xinan Pandan

Individuals affected by racism and/or migration experiences, disabilities, chronic illnesses, queerphobia, trauma, or abusive family backgrounds often have a heightened need for support, which is, however, scarcely accessible to them.

In this project, we are developing a freely downloadable workbook in the form of an illustrated zine on the topic of support systems for marginalized communities in need of them. The workbook is intended to serve as a resource for input and methods to assist in building support systems. It is primarily aimed at individuals who may not wish to or be able to participate in workshops. The workbook will include a combination of input, anecdotes, illustrations, examples, reflection methods, and writing tasks.

The focus lies on empowerment to address individual changes in agency and also on structural discrimination. Broader political solutions are called for to improve living conditions for all.

The aim is to promote empowerment, strengthen agency, deepen community connections, and enable marginalized individuals to lead fulfilling lives.

Antonia Ramos Posto, Yolanda Justina Nina Becerra & Llanquiray Painemal Morales

Antonia Ramos Posto, Yolanda Justina Nina Becerra, and Llanquiray Painemal Morales have been working independently on the issue of visibility for undocumented migrant women in Berlin, focusing on the so-called undocumented/illegalized or irregular migrant women. As part of the project, they now aim to create podcasts that address the situations faced by these groups. This endeavor provides the group with the opportunity to acquire new tools and technical skills that will support their future political work.

During a workshop focused on formulating effective interview questions and handling recording devices and microphones, the participants expand their individual knowledge on this topic. Subsequently, they develop questions and topics for the podcasts. An essential aspect of the project is the acquisition of technical skills. The activists will familiarize themselves with free podcast software and learn how to incorporate royalty-free music and sounds into their productions.

 

The collected interviews, information, and audio files will be compiled by the activists into podcast episodes and released on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or similar channels.

Mino

Ethnography has been gaining renewed attention in the field of philosophy, and in academia more generally, as a way to engage directly with actors in marginalized communities. It is seen as an attractive alternative to making abstract theories based on problematic assumptions about them or relying solely on outdated literature. However, ethnography’s history and legacy as a method that has developed out of European colonialism used to construct and reinforce hierarchical notions of race and culture is often not addressed. The project aims to publish sections of a master thesis that calls for a critical examination of ethnography as a research methodology. The goal is to develop ethical practices for academics engaging with marginalized groups. The project emphasizes the need to scrutinize the discipline of philosophy for its role in shaping concepts like race, which has been historically constructed for colonialist and racist justifications.

The funding will support the transformation of complex academic language into more accessible terms, making the content understandable to a broader audience. While the primary focus is on academic researchers and their interactions with marginalized groups, the project’s insights can be beneficial to journalists, artists, filmmakers, and others who aim to engage with marginalized groups in a critical and respectful manner. This entails being wary of power imbalances and the possibility of exploitation.

KARAKAYA TALKS

KARAKAYA TALKS (www.instagram.com/karakayatalks) is a media company that produces news and talk shows for German-speaking millennials and Gen Z individuals of color. The goal is to make marginalized perspectives in Germany visible, as these are often neglected in the media. Despite 27% of the German population being BIPoC, these communities are scarcely represented in the media, and if they are, it’s often in stereotypical contexts. The KARAKAYA TALKS team is composed of 100% multiply marginalized BIPoCs and primarily utilizes social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to disseminate content.

By participating in re•shape, they aim to both strengthen their presence on social media and continue producing content that is often overlooked in the mainstream media landscape. Additionally, they seek to understand the creation of Wikipedia articles, potentially documenting their journalistically acquired knowledge and describing their work autonomously on Wikipedia. The program is designed to document missing knowledge about “media justice” and to correct distorted representations online about individuals from marginalized communities, for example, on Wikipedia. The entire initiative aims to enhance the presence and representation of BIPoC communities in the media and independently document and disseminate their knowledge.

 

Lee Modupeh Anansi Freeman / Farah Abdullahi Abdi  

The TRAP$ Academy project is dedicated to formalizing and sharing knowledge within the Black Trans/GNC (Gender Non-Conforming) community. Established in 2021, TRAP$ is a grassroots organization created by and for Black/Afro-diasporic Trans and gender variant individuals. This community often faces marginalization within broader Black movements and invisibility within (white) queer movements. The Academy’s primary goal is to offer intersectional, critical train the tainer-training to empower Black Trans individuals, addressing aspects of gender, race, class, power, and privilege.

The curriculum is crafted by Farah Abdullahi Abdi and Lee Modupeh Anansi Freeman, who are both diversity and inclusion consultants. The curriculum covers crucial topics such as asylum/migration, (trans)misogynoir, transphobia, colorism, and ableism. The program involves immersive workshops delving deeply into specific subjects and assignments that participants complete individually or in groups. The aim is to provide “formalized” knowledge in a safer, accessible environment. Participants are equipped with tools to connect formal knowledge with their own lived experiences, creating meaningful content that can be used for personal workshops.

The overarching objective is to validate participants’ lived experiences as valuable sources of knowledge. In the long term, the Academy aims to equip participants with skills that can offer them an additional source of income. Given that Black Trans individuals often face discrimination and difficulties accessing knowledge and traditional workspaces, the project emphasizes the direct link between knowledge equity and financial empowerment.

Lea Sherin Kübler / Lorena Richter / Rahul Rahman

The project aims to promote situated knowledge within BIPoC communities by facilitating intergenerational conversations about self-organization, resistance, political practices, dreams,and traumas. The focus is on translating past experiences into the present and learning from the struggles of older generations. The initiative addresses challenges in transmitting experiences and practices within personal contexts by creating spaces for exchange that are often few and far between.

The project seeks to critically question hegemonic power structures of knowledge production through alternative narratives of (post-)migrant life in Germany. It aims to make a practical contribution to knowledge sharing within BIPoC communities. The exchange of knowledge, both individually and collectively, is intended to create moments of empowerment and strengthen awareness of knowledge within the communities.

The conversations will be recorded in small groups together with the project coordinators and, after consultation and consent from the participants, archived in an open database to make the knowledge accessible to all. Publication of the conversations is being considered, possibly in the form of an event serving as a platform for interaction and direct exchange. The goal is to bring to light collectively shared experiences and diverse perspectives within BIPoC communities, creating a space for solidarity-based learning and exchange on knowledge constructions.

Mandy Lan / Kim Gerlach

Wūpó is an existing library for the visibility for BIPoC healers in Berlin. With over 50 well-being practitioners (from acupuncture to Reiki and more) already registered, the project’s goal is to expand the library and collaboratively provide empowering tools from the community for the community. The focus is on particularly valuing body wisdom alongside cognitive intelligence. The project intends to work closely with various QBIPoC well-being practitioners from their directory to share insights that reconnect individuals with their bodies. Rather than offering short-term retreats or events, the project aims to share integration tools that have lasting impact.

The project’s activities include:

1. Developing a free repository of knowledge, referred to as the “Wiki of Body Knowledge for QBIPoC.” This repository will contain brief 2-minute exercises presented in video format.
2. Sharing “behind the scenes” videos that introduce each healer’s intentions and practices, providing a deeper understanding of their methods.
3. Establishing feedback loops to enable practitioners to adapt and grow in response to community needs, utilizing AI pattern recognition.