On the last week of the Interflugs’ summer academy 2009, there was such a nostalgic atmosphere. Even thou they still have one more week left, everybody, specially the international young artist, have this felling that the ‘dream’ was getting to the end. Yeah, the ‘dream’, because having a chance for been in such an inspiring city as Berlin, been camping in a communal quarter and been surrounded by people that had that much energy to make plans, projects, art pieces, run parties and make whatever thing happen is not something that you can do in a regular day-by-day basis.
They are a non-institutional organization formed by students and no students from UDK, Universität der Künste Berlin. Besides the people organizing it, nobody really knew what meant and exactly what was the ‘Interflugs’ themselves, but it didn’t really matter. Every day that was lectures, screenings, debates and some workshops on the most various different subjects involving art and the city. Somebody heard that this is their 20th anniversary birthday and somehow they got founds to rent this elementary school building and arrange a bunch of workshops there, for free.
On the very first day, that was just few people actuating based on the building itself, but everyday that was people getting there with theirs backpacks and looking for a place to park theirs tents, mattresses, suitcases and just guarantee a place to hang for the next weeks in Berlin. Seems like everybody spread that out to their friends, so there was this big community formed by friends of friends of friends that somehow got there with this mix of interests in arts, in Berlin and in a sort of adventure. They were mostly Europeans, but that was people from all the continents making part of the academy.
The academy itself was exactly just 22 days (from July 23 to August 13), but for those who were involved intensively, it seemed that it lasted for the entire summer, no wonder why. The day would start with a collective breakfast, some people contributed with couple euros, some brought some of their food, some would go together to this specific market to get free leftover food, anyways, that was always food around for the whole day. All the meals were cooked collective and would be serving on the pauses between activities.
The workshops ran in a self-learn based police. There were the instructors, the ones that proposed the idea and thought previously before on that topic, but that was no aim to be a ‘teacher’, telling others what and how to do it. Everything was very open, suitable to the people that were making part of it and what they would like to build together. Seems that this is one of the most visible characteristic on this non-institutional group; to be self-guided, no-academic, experimental and in the borderline of been anarchist.
Besides the previous scheduled workshops, there was also a skill-share possibility, where anyone could propose something to teach, a special ability to be divided with the others. For an artist this was a very unique kind of possibility; to be in a place where you can learn, you can ‘teach’, you can live, you can discourse and, in fact, produce something artistic with all the equipments and facilities the academy provided and could offer to help you to get your ideas done.
The academy attracted a very particular kind of artists, the kind of “kamikaze” ones; that are real artist on their life attitude; that take risk and adrenaline as a combustive, as a stimulus for doing things; the ones that are down for a low-budget, no-budget project and have it done anyways, with their passion and believe in what they are doing. Spontaneity and unpredictability where two ingredients for the interflugs’ public actions, intervention and performance on the urban spaces.
There were so many interesting things going on at the same time, which was kind hard to concentrate in just one of them. A lot of the people were going around and checking each one of them, just to make sure they would spend their time on the most necessary topic for their goals. There was this kind of interdisciplinary disposition from everyone and from the workshops itself. There was too much going on, too many things to be done, too many projects to get involved in such a little time. No, this is not a complain, this is just a comment to emphasize how exciting and motivating were all the activities proposed by the academy.
Interflugs’ academy 2009 was a materialization of Contant’s New Babylon city project. Where people were free of limitations, pleasing their creative souls. Everyday was a different day, full with possibilities and encounters with the unknown. How great it would be if all the creative crowd have a chance to know each other and share their day-by-day. For sure, each city have it owns ‘interflugs’ kind of people, but they still need to glue together and expand their thoughts. Life would be so much better. Long life to Interflugs and it’s believes.
PS 1: Just for the records, the name ‘interflugs’ was picked from an old airline company from the German Democratic Republic.
PS 2: Complete list of the summer schedule:
http://www.interflugs-academy.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=3&Itemid=5&lang=de
