How far can climate protest go? Society is arguing about this in talk shows, in feature articles and on the streets. What form of protest shakes us up, even if it is annoying? Where does protest lead to annoyance? Anica Jacobsen and Taisiya Starostina want to enable visitors to their exhibition "On the streets" to engage intensively with the climate protests.
"On the Street" is the final project of the two Master's students on the Scenography study program at the Faculty of Design. In mid-January 2024, they won 15,000 euros for its realization in the "rethink.sustainability" competition organized by Dortmunder Volksbank. First place. The bank's foundation wants to support sustainable ideas from students and create something for local people in Dortmund and the surrounding area. The exhibition will be on display from March 7, 2024 as part of Dortmund Kreativ's "Green Culture Week" in the "Hans A" creative space in Dortmund's city center. The website for the exhibition(Opens in a new tab) is currently under construction, the Instagram channel @klimaaktivismus(Opens in a new tab) is already active.
"We want to promote an informed and empathetic dialogue with the exhibition," emphasizes Anica Jacobsen. "There is no more important topic for society as a whole than tackling the climate crisis." The 25-year-old sees the development and design of "On the road" as her contribution to initiating social change. And so Anica Jacobsen and Taisiya Starostina also want to consciously take a stand with their exhibition. "With our work, we are not trying to convince climate change deniers with nicely presented facts," says Anica Jacobsen. Instead, the target group is often the quiet middle of society. People who want to learn more about the motives for protest and the thoughts of the protesters.
The Fachhochschule Dortmund students enlisted the support of Charlotte Groß-Hohnacker, a journalism student at TU Dortmund University, and freelance journalist Alina Andraczek to focus on the content of the texts and videos. Among other things, they conducted interviews with climate activists from "Fridays for Future", "Ende Gelände" and the "last generation", which will be shown in the exhibition. The graphics were created by Kira Vogel, also a student at the Faculty of Design at Fachhochschule Dortmund. Interactive stations complement the exhibition - such as a small workshop where visitors can design their own posters on their climate topic. Visitors will be able to try out certain forms of protest on site and experience others first-hand through film and sound recordings. "On the Street" will be complemented by lectures and discussions in collaboration with "Dortmund Kreativ" and the Museum of Art and Cultural History.
The immersive engagement with the climate protests in the creative space "Hans A" will be possible until March 24, 2024. Afterwards, the two Fachhochschule Dortmund students hope that the "On the Street" exhibition will also be on display at other locations - for example during Fachhochschule Dortmund's next Sustainability Week, which is scheduled for summer 2024 in collaboration with the Technical University. "Of course, we also want to reach students with the exhibition," explains Anica Jacobsen. Everyone's contribution is important in the climate crisis. This applies to the generation that now holds responsibility in leading positions, as well as to the generation that will have to shape the transformation towards greater sustainability in the future.