beZug
Weiblicher Widerstand
und Utopien in Friedrichshain
Female resistance
and utopias in Friedrichshain
Audio walks about women* in Friedrichshain
A project by Anna Krenz and Mareike Wenzel
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/mareike_menzel/sets/bezug
Friedrichshain is a district of change. Over the last hundred years, it has developed from a former working-class district with its tenement blocks into today's trendy neighborhood and tourist magnet. After reunification, Friedrichshain offered open spaces and was a refuge for a wide variety of people. In recent years, it has increasingly become a playground for real estate speculators, tourists and hipsters, where gentrification is progressing at a worrying pace and displacing many of the people who originally shaped this district. Local shops, everyday infrastructure and small alternative meeting places are disappearing, and instead shopping centers, expensive lofts and office buildings of large corporations are being built.
What impact do these changes have on the lives of women* and girls* and what does a feminist Friedrichshain look like?
Women* in Friedrichshain have always been socially and politically active, but receive little attention in the district's public space and their achievements and biographies often remain invisible. In audio walks, we were inspired by historical women* biographies that are related to Friedrichshain. We brought the topics that shaped their biographies to girls* and women* in today's Friedrichshain in order to look for connections to today in conversations. We talked about everyday life, experiences with racism, discrimination and social injustice, but also about solidarity, wishes and hopes and asked ourselves: Who are our female role models in the neighborhood? Which women* and girls* make up the neighborhood? Which topics continue to connect us and which struggles do we continue together? From these conversations, small audio walks emerged that invite you to stroll through Friedrichshain and rediscover the district with the voices of the women* and girls* in your ears.
The portraits of the historical women* were painted by the artist Anna Krenz
(acryl on canvas, 30x40cm).
The interviews were recorded by the actress Mareike Wenzel and condensed into small audio walks.
Helen Ernst
(1909-1948)
Hilde Radusch
(1903-1988)
Pauline Staegemann
(1838-1909)
Helene Stöcker
(1869-1943)
Gabriele Tergit
(1894-1982)
Grete Weiskopf
(1905-1966)
Emilie Winkelmann
(1875-1951)
Project by Ambasada Polek e.V.
In cooperation with:
Dziewuchy Berlin | www.dziewuchyberlin.org
Weberwiese – Milieu sind wir! | www.weberwiese-initiative.com
Project financed by Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend im Rahmen des Bundesprogramms (Demokratie leben! (www.demokratie-leben.de)