District Culture

Current and future development in cities and their neighbourhoods is and will be not only shaped by urban planning, transport and housing strategies and social and economic policies. Districts’ vitality and identity spring from their cultural diversity (cf. Meyer 1998, p. 28). Many Socially Integrated City programme areas greatly reflect their multicultural societies. They are melting pots of cultural, social and religious backgrounds.(1) On the one hand a district’s culture can cement different groups. On the other hand, however, local colour is a blend of precisely this rich variety of subcultures. Creativity is the fine line between restrictions and freedom, deficits and potential. It is sparked when different protagonists meet and form new alliances. Cultural activities can help people discover or reconstruct their district’s cultural topography – that unique, unmistakable landscape which every district acquires throughout the course of its history, shaped by its inhabitants, buildings and public spaces. The main task of local government cultural policy is moderating.

District culture and Socially Integrated City

What role does district culture play in the Socially Integrated City concept? The two Difu surveys and experiences gained during onsite programme support in the 16 pilot areas (2) have provided many tentative answers to this question. When asked what problems they experience, almost 60% of the Socially Integrated City programme districts mentioned the sociocultural infrastructure. However, 54% of the areas identified their sociocultural infrastructure as being a development asset. 45% of them listed improving the sociocultural infrastructure as an objective. In the early days of the programme’s implementation, cultural projects and measures took a back seat. 72% of the 187 programme districts (3) have included district culture in their integrated action plans. 24% assign it a high priority. With regard to the number of implemented measures and projects, district culture ranked sixth in a total of 20 activity areas.

Experiences in many pilot districts reveal differentiated cultural aims for integrated action plan concepts. The main goal of the Berlin pilot district Kottbusser Tor is social and ethnic integration and more equality in living conditions. A “subobjective” is establishment of a district culture which better reflects citizens’ needs. This includes “initiating cultural events to be organized by inhabitants, maintaining existing opportunities, introducing special activities for various sections of the population (e.g. senior citizens, foreign and German young people), energizing public interaction in the district”. District culture is also an important focus in the eastern districts of Leipzig. They are devising measures to improve participation in cultural life. In Flensburg-Neustadt schools and cultural work are being combined in a single area of activity. Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck/Schalke-Nord and Hanover-Vahrenheide are concentrating on “the social and cultural infrastructure”. Hamburg-Lurup’s objective is “to improve social, cultural, educational and leisure infrastructures”.

Cultural projects

Cultural projects in the districts have many different functions and meanings. Developing creative potential and forming and strengthening identity is closely related to image upgrading, participation, adaptation and improved communication. Although culture cannot remedy social deficits, it encounters social problems precisely in those districts which belong to the programme (cf. Meyer 1998, p. 16). Cultural work has an important informal educational function.

Art and cultural projects can help integrate sections of the population which are otherwise hard to activate. Planning and running projects of this kind does not demand special language skills or intellectual ability. Instead it requires imaginative and creative people open to new ideas. They should not take a merely cognitive and linguistic approach, they should be action-oriented and able to express themselves nonverbally. It is easier to motivate people who feel that they are directly addressed and who can identify with the concept in their daily life. Joint voluntary activities such as organizing local festivals, theatre productions or musical performances and designing children’s play areas or schoolyards promote participation, boost self-confidence and help people gain a sense of belonging.

The ship Kathy. Copyright: Kattenturmer District Project, Bremen

District culture in the Socially Integrated City areas is primarily characterized by productive functions. It gains a productive-receptive role when cultural activities inspire new perspectives on the district and herald changes in perception. Following the maxim “do the right thing and tell the world about it”, the myriad of cultural activities is promoted in district newspaper articles, brochures, calendars, photograph albums, exhibitions, readings, lectures, etc. The associated image enhancement is an important component of coordinated public relations work. It usually has an impact beyond the district, improving the area’s reputation throughout the entire city.

Urban contraction and reduction of services, particularly in eastern German programme districts, also provide opportunities for reallocation and redefinition. For example, in Cottbus – Sachsendorf-Madlow a former day nursery became a sociocultural meeting point for the neighbourhood, and the old slaughterhouse in Kassel’s Nordstadt was refashioned as a civic centre. Project teams, associations and artists can obtain vacant flats and business premises cheaply or free of charge and use them for a wide range of activities. This kind of direct local participation in low-threshold schemes helps inhabitants to get involved in their neighbourhood.

Projects to build and strengthen identity

Districts with special development needs often have rapid reoccupying rates.(4) As a consequence, district identity and community feeling are retarded. In addition, inhabitants often have personal, family or work problems. District culture projects try to develop new forms of expression and empowerment to help these people find themselves and become more self-confident.

In 1998 the “Kunstplatte” (Art Block) project in a highrise residential estate in Stendal established an art and cultural centre on 400m 2 of retail space. The premises were donated by the Stendal housing association. Since then many project participants, particularly the sponsor Kunstplatte e.V., have made art and culture an integral part of daily life in the district. An extensive curriculum (including drama, music, film, photography, cooking, dance, fashion and design), numerous events and exhibitions of course projects have stimulated creative approaches to leisure time and helped impart practical knowledge. “Exchange of ideas with other initiatives within the district and in other districts across the city and throughout the region has promoted openness and integration in the city and helped to improve the image of the housing estate.”(5).

Tracing a district’s past can also contribute to building and strengthening identity. Its history is researched and its heritage made available to the public. Long-term residents and newcomers alike receive an in-depth perspective of the district by going on “discovery tours”. Photographic collections, exhibitions, publications, themed walks and interviews with citizens are the basis of this kind of initiative. Guided tours and neighbourhood treks regularly take place in Bremen-Gröpelingen, the eastern districts of Leipzig and Cottbus – Sachsendorf-Madlow.

Many districts organize history workshops where interested locals can learn more about what happened when, where, how and why. They sniff out the traces of daily life in days gone by and compare them to modern times. The courses have varying emphases. The website of the history workshop in Cologne-Kalk, for example, describes its aims thus: “To highlight the social, economic and cultural aspects of Kalk as a working-class suburb. In both the past and the present. People are our focus. How did the workers who made Kalk a flourishing industrial area live? What was cultural life like here? What potential exists for the future and what does it mean for the population of Kalk?” (www.gw-kalk.de, status: 10 September 2002 ).

Image enhancement projects

One shared characteristic of the Socially Integrated City districts is their relatively poor image. However, a gap often exists between external and internal perspectives. Media reports often heighten negative external images, sometimes even going so far as to stigmatize the areas concerned. But insiders’ opinions are very different. Often they have a bad impression only of specific places or of defects in certain areas of activity. The city’s population and the inhabitants of the district in particular can gain a better impression of individual areas if media projects focus on the urban population or grab public attention through unusual or “disturbing” action (“stumbling blocks”), forcing people to stop, look and listen.

The “Kunstweg durch’s Westend” (Art Path Through Westend) project in Ludwigshafen has been implementing numerous subprojects for several years. Children and young people demonstrated their dancing, musical, acrobatic, rapping, breakdancing, pantomime, theatrical and juggling talents on an open stage. The Flag Project brought children and artists together to make three flags which were then hoisted on a pole in a heavily frequented place (educational advisory office). Special teams have redesigned streets and squares, others are planning street painting schemes, photo exhibitions, graffiti projects and other measures. The local newspaper Im Westend zu Haus (At Home in Westend) covers the projects in detail (cf. the article “Ein wanderfreudiges buntes Haus” [Walls of Colour] in this issue).

Windwörter art site. Copyright. Rupprecht Matthies

An example of an interdistrict strategy is the Consoltheater in Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck. It was founded in 1999 by forum kunstvereint e.V. on the former Consolidation mine. Urban development aid (International Building Exhibition) funded the project. Alongside the main auditorium for concerts and theatre productions are rehearsal rooms, classrooms, a workshop, offices, storerooms and a pub/restaurant with a small stage.

The QuartiersRap Kotti project is attempting to dramatically improve the image of Wassertorplatz in Berlin-Kreuzberg. The neighbourhood management team works with young people to organize events. In 1999 around 20 rap and hip-hop groups from across Germany competed in a lyrics contest. A jury of scene insiders and local inhabitants selected four winners. Housing companies and private owners associations donated the prizes and a sponsor advertised the event nationwide. Associations, residents’ committees and businesses took part. The young people assumed organizational roles and performed numerous tasks.

Many schools in the programme districts run cultural projects which are having a positive impact on their own situation and on the district’s image. For example, pupils at the Astrid Lindgren School in Schwerin–Neu Zippendorf wrote and performed the musical “Naomi”, which addresses xenophobia and the problems of local youth. Other schools in Schwerin invited the theatre group to perform. The ensemble plans to tour several towns in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.

A cultural society in Bremen-Gröpelingen has been connecting its work to district development for many years. The society believes that culture should promote open democratic dialogue and creative participation in order to counteract resignation and indifference. It considers “local culture” a concrete link between the physical structure of the town and the social and cultural life of the district. “Art and culture are not merely the icing on the cake of urban living, available only to a select few. Art and culture are a driving public force and an urban Petri dish. They can cross social, ethnic and religious boundaries; they can promote identity, encourage social skills and even stimulate economic growth.” (Kultur Vor Ort e.V. 2001, p. 10)

Communication and empowerment projects

District culture can be regarded as a dynamic, productive process which encourages all social groups to contribute to public discourse. The resulting works of art are not the primary goal – the cooperative process is the crucial feature. Emphasis is placed on nonverbal forms of communication such as dance, music, sport or games.

District culture is the outgrowth of the experiences and daily life of inhabitants. When planning and running events, it is essential to determine the skills and interests of the participants and to consider these when allocating tasks. Projects should not only be initiated by professionals or specialists, they should be the product of residents’ ideas and commitment. Self-determined participation in events, projects and measures promotes identity and fosters independent networks.

Universities and colleges with art and cultural studies departments (if present in the town) sometimes cooperate with players in the programme districts to devise and/or implement projects. One example is the Social Studies Department of the University of Applied Sciences in Lüneburg (which offers programmes in aesthetics and visual communication). It is developing and implementing a project in cooperation with the inhabitants of Lüneburg-Kaltenmoor.

Associations are also important facilitators for local communication and joint action. Their organizational and professional experiences and their communication structures make them ideal partners for initiating new schemes (e.g. amateur dramatics societies, music ensembles, dance troupes, literature clubs and painting classes). Thanks to the willingness of local associations and churches to provide their premises, private residences and open-air locations free of charge, Neukölln-Schillerpromenade in Berlin, a Socially Integrated City district, was able to invite local authors and artists to hold discussions, exhibitions, concerts and readings. One Thursday each month (on “Schillernde Donnerstag”) artists have the opportunity to appear before an audience. The kaleidoscope of cultural events gives residents the opportunity and incentive to get to know people of all ethnic backgrounds and tastes.

To attract as many different population segments as possible, activities must be centrally located. This also applies to the neighbourhood sociocultural centres.(6) The Schlachthof Cultural Centre in Kassel’s Nordstadt is a good example. It particularly targets immigrants. It includes a youth centre and pub and stages small music and art shows. Its International Spring Festival is well known beyond the district limits. The cultural centre is also part of the Nordstadt Round Table Project (Socially Integrated City steering committee). This ensures that it is integrated in the entire district development scheme. Another example is the Kulturhof Lübbenau, a key project in Lübbenau Neustadt. The centre is located in a former railway complex and is funded by Kulturhof e.V., a member of the Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft Soziokultur Brandenburg (Brandenburg Sociocultural Task Force). Kulturhof also offers a broad spectrum of cultural and social activities. They include:

• performing arts, amateur dramatics, dance, cabaret
• fine art, painting, photography, fine art workshops, exhibitions
• small concerts
• events for children, school holiday supervision
• integration of foreigners, collaboration with the regional office for foreign citizens
• informal meetings with refreshments

(source: Brandenburg Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Transport 2001, p. 61).

Since most of the sociocultural work is performed by voluntary workers it also promotes and facilitates various forms of participation and contributes to activation.

In many areas sociocultural activities particularly focus on art and cultural projects for the younger generation. Cultural youth work, which adopts social interaction methods, takes children and young people seriously. It encourages them to participate and integrate, increases their self-esteem, gives their life meaning and helps them deal with everyday situations. Walk-in art, crafts, music and play sessions for children are well attended. Projects of this kind often have the happy side effect of involving adults, too.

Since autumn 1999 programme districts in North Rhine-Westphalia have been running the “mus-e – Schools’ Multicultural Social Project for Europe”. Funding is shared by public bodies and the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation. muse-e is:

• “a social project which helps disadvantaged children overcome social barriers, violence and racism;
• a cultural project which brings music, dance, fine arts, etc. to disadvantaged areas. Around 70 artists have regularly worked in the district during the last three years;
• an educational project, which provides new stimuli for local schools and strengthens them as neighbourhood institutions” (North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Urban Development, Culture and Sport 2000, p. 4).

The children discover art and their creative streak and thus develop their personalities, self-confidence and social skills. The project promotes inner harmony and acceptance of others. Sir Yehudi Menuhin, the project’s patron, explained the philosophy thus: “Children should first of all learn to sing and dance. Mathematics and languages can come later.”

A pilot project launched in the second half of 2002, Please Turn Over! Art Projects on the Reverse Side of the City, involved youngsters in local district development. The Bundesverband der Jugendkunstschulen und kulturpädogogischen Einrichtungen e.V. (Federal Association of Youth Arts Education Institutes, or bjke) initiated the project as part of the “Perspectives for Young People in Social Conflict Areas”. Eight youth art schools run mobile cultural-educational schemes for children and young people in “districts with special development needs”. “Working with artists and cultural and social educators from June to September 2002, the young inhabitants elaborated a model for their ideal living environment. The goal of the bjke model project in 2002 is to promote the strengths of children and young people from socially disadvantaged areas by encouraging them to participate in art projects and to imbed cultural education in urban renewal strategies” (Federal Ministry for the Family, the Elderly, Women and Young People and the Federal Association of Youth Arts Education Institutes, 2002).

Marxloh Mosaic art project. Copyright: Duisburg Development Society (EG DU)

Outlook

Although district culture was neglected in comparison to urban planning, social and economic aspects in the early years of the programme, it has now gained almost equal footing due to its importance for communication and integration in disadvantaged urban districts. The recent boom in cultural diversity, activities and projects is the achievement of committed citizens. People are getting involved and taking active roles. They are helping to enhance the image and potential of their districts.

Notes

References

  Federal Ministry for the Family, the Elderly, Women and Young People and the Federal Association of Youth Arts Education Institutes (eds.) (2002), leaflet Bitte wenden! Kunstaktionen auf der Rückseite der Stadt.Kulturpädagogische Projekte mit Kindern und Jugendlichen in Stadtteilen mit besonderem Entwicklungsbedarf.

  Dokumentation des Wettbewerbs Preis Soziale Stadt 2000. Preisträger, Anerkennungen, Projekte der engeren Wahl, Teilnehmer, Berlin 2001.

  Jacob, Andreas, Sabine Herz, Sonja Mazak und Martina Pauly, Endbericht der Programmbegleitung vor Ort im Modellgebiet "Innenstadt Neunkirchen", Kaiserslautern 2002.

  Kultur Vor Ort e.V. (ed.) (2001), Kultur Vor Ort, Dokumentation 1998-2001, Bremen.

  Meyer, Bernd, Kultur in der Stadt - Empfehlungen, Hinweise und Arbeitshilfen des Deutschen Städtetages 1987-1998 Stuttgart (Neue Schriften des Deutschen Städtetages, Vol. 75).

  North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Urban Development, Culture and Sport (ed.) (2000), mus-e (zeit). MULTIKULTURELLES SOZIALES SCHULPROJEKT FÜR EUROPA, Vol. 1 (2000), p. 4.

  Brandenburg Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Transport (ed.) (2001), Soziokulturelle Einrichtungen in Stadtteilen mit besonderem Entwicklungsbedarf, Potsdam.

Quelle: Soziale Stadt - info 10, German Institute of Urbans Affairs (Difu), december 2002, p. 2-7