Together with art educators from the rampe:aktion collective, students from the Carl-von-Ossietzky-Schule in Kreuzberg explored Thomas Arslan’s cinematic work. Focusing on his experimental short film Am Rand (1990) and its sequel Am Rand Revisited (2023), the class of international German learners developed their own understandings, meanings, and variations of the phrase “Am Rand” (at the edge) from the films’ titles. Drawing from personal references and experiences, they examined the theme through cinematic techniques. The result of this educational project is the film Am Center (At the Center), which employs experimentally generated images to expand on Arslan’s works, offering a third version from a new perspective.

Participants

Lara Dade studied social work at the Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin and has been working as a freelance art educator with children and young people since 2016. She has contributed to various projects for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and other educational formats in Hamburg and Hohenlockstedt. Additionally, she runs artistic metal welding workshops, several bicycle repair workshops, and a bicycle club for girls at an elementary school in Kreuzberg. Her own artistic work spans drawing, collage, photography, and experimental film.

Christian Limber studied social work at the Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin and is currently studying art and media in the narrative film class at the Universität der Künste Berlin. Through his autofictional photo and film works, he explores shifts in his identity and origins, and examines connections between postsocialist socialization, capitalist (re)production, class struggle, masculinities, family ties, and friendships.

rampe:aktion is an association of Berlin-based artists and cultural practitioners founded in 2019 by Christian Diaz Orejarena, Lara Dade, Christian Limber, and Miriam Trostorf. rampe:aktion focuses on a socially-motivated and action-based artistic practice that intersects fine art, social work, film, art education, activism, and curating. In collaboration with various art and cultural spaces, they realize projects that primarily encourage young people to create art, and work to make cultural institutions more accessible to diverse audiences.