FELLOWS

Ourania Mavriki

2016/17 Athens

Combining her academic path, professional experi- ence and personal passion, Ourania Mavriki investigates how arts and culture can become integrated aspects of everyday life in order to establish social cohesion, community belonging, and collective thinking on the problematics that cities face today. Through this ongo- ing research, she has come to realize the importance of providing spaces, as open platforms within the city, that encourage human interaction and exchange and allow cultural innovation to emerge.

Having finished her undergraduate studies in Business Administration, she has been experimenting with the city of Athens as a creative canvas for innovative approaches to culture and public art: through the engagement of the local community in interactive exhibitions, community projects and festivals. She is currently an undergraduate student in Cultural Management.

Project Title

Dialogues

“Dialogues” is a research-based project in collaboration with my host organization, Waschhaus Potsdam, to investigate the diverse interactions that occur at the local Rechenzentrum cultural center. Whether it is the city, the building, its creative users, or creativity itself: all these elements interact and weave different narratives for the Rechenzentrum project.

Who ‘lives’ at the Rechenzentrum? What are the opportu- nities generated by a place like this, for the creative industry and for the whole city? How can the Rechenzentrum project contribute to the discourse about the artistic and creative scene and thus foster the urban future?

The result of my “Dialogues” research is a booklet reflecting on these questions through verbal and visual means such as interviews, a photography series and a collective story. The booklet was presented in Potsdam at the Rechenzentrum on Thursday November 17th, 2016.

Host Institution

Waschhaus

Within the last twenty-five years, Waschhaus Potsdam gGmbH has developed from an occupied building to the largest socio-culture center in the state of Brandenburg. With a diverse schedule of programming in the areas of dance, contemporary art, club culture as well as concerts and literary events, the culture center attracts more than 120,000 visitors per year. Alongside the former Garnisionswäscherei venue and Waschhaus-Arena, the dance studio Oxymoron Dance Company and Kunstraum Potsdam are also part of the non-profit cultural work taking place on Schiffbauergasse.