David Krippendorff and the feeling of home
Today we come to the Ephra floor a little sad, because it's our last day here for the time being. Today's theme fits like a glove: “Heimat”, the place where you feel at home. The artist visiting us today is called David Krippendorff and makes video art. His video works often deal with the themes of loss, identity and home, as in the video work "There is no place like home", which he shows us first.
Drawing into the air with Stella Geppert
Eagerly we sit in the Ephra Floor, because today the artist Stella Geppert is visiting us. When she arrives, we immediately sense the great calm and openness that Stella radiates. To get to know her and us even better, we start with a welcome game. Standing in a large circle, we all say our names one after the other and think of a special movement to go with it. Then Stella takes her place in the centre of the stage and is ready for our questions.
Who am I? And where can I participate? With Lerato Shadi
Today, on a cold June day, the performance artist Lerato Shadi comes to us in the Ephra floor. She is wearing a blue and black patterned top. But her favourite colour for work seems to be red! Red is simply the best colour for her artworks, she tells us. Because we associate it with the human body – but also with love or violence.
The necessity of art with Konstantino Dregos
We sit excitedly in the morning circle and watch out of the corner of our eyes as adhesive foil with a blackboard-like surface is attached to the glass walls of the Ephra floor. Are we having lessons today? Like at school? No, not quite. It’s a sunny, almost hot Wednesday and today the artist Konstantino Dregos is visiting us.
Creating living soil with Asad Raza
Today, the artist Asad Raza is visiting us in the Ephra floor. Asad is from New York and therefore speaks mainly English, which is a new experience for us. But some of us already feel quite confident in English and Rebecca is on hand to help us with difficult translations. We want to start the conversation with Asad with an ice-breaker question to lighten the mood. One of us asks: "If you were an animal, which one would you be?" Asad replies that he would like to be a dolphin because he would enjoy swimming in the water. It's a hot May day and we can all well imagine what a nice way to cool down it would be to swim in the big ocean as a dolphin.
Ambra Durante and the Black Box Blues
“When people say 'Ooh' at the sight of the colourful evening sky”, replies Ambra Durante when asked what makes her really happy. But now it's only 10 o'clock in the morning and she’s particularly happy to be spending time with us today. Ambra is 23 years old and paints, writes and draws pictures and books. She tries to put everything she feels and thinks into tiny little figures. She wanted to be an artist as a child – or join NASA, but physics wasn’t her thing. Painting and drawing as a child also helped her to come to terms with the world.
In search of colour with Ikram Labouini
The artist Ikram Labouini is coming to our floor today. We’re excited to meet her and discuss beforehand how we want to talk to Ikram because she comes from Italy and only speaks and understands a little German. We agree to speak mainly English with her. Luckily, many of us already know some English and otherwise Rebecca is by our side to help us with the translation.
Giang Quang Vinh’s tangle of beings
We welcome Giang Quang Vinh with clapping as he arrives hurriedly and fully loaded on the Ephra floor. We should call him Vinh, he says, and quickly adds that it is pronounced "Ving", as in the English word "moving". This not only seems to fit his name well, but also his nature.
Irene Fernández Arcas’ Art of Diversity
To find out artist Irene Fernández Arcas’ favourite colour, we don't even have to enter her studio: When she greets us in the hallway of a huge former factory building in Tempelhof, she is almost as radiant as the azure blue she is dressed in from head to toe.
Drawing different lines with Christian Diaz Orejarena
Today we visit Christian Diaz Orejarena in his studio in Britz. For a moment we are not sure where the right entrance is, but a friendly man's voice guides us to our destination - and there, on the landing, is Christian, greeting us warmly. He shows us his studio and explains that other artists are working in the other rooms. Today, however, we have the former flat and the sunny terrace to ourselves!
Paula Anke and her shadow amazons
It is a freezing cold day when we visit Paula Anke in her studio at Camaro Haus on Potsdamer Straße. Although the street is very busy, you hardly notice the hustle and bustle in the hidden backyard with its small park and fountain. In the courtyard we discover a large painting directly on the wall of the building.
Reaching one million with Uli Aigner
Uli Aigner welcomes us warmly to her bright, homely and spacious flat in Wilmersdorf, where her studio is located. (Children apparently live here too, because we discover a trampoline and knee pads from inline skating lying on the radiator).
Dafna Maimon’s body-feeling worlds
When we arrive at Dafna Maimon’s spacious studio, she makes room for us with a big smile and nimble movements among the peculiar creatures that populate the room.
Always on the move with Ilya Barrett
Today we are back in the Ephra Studio and have a visitor. Which exciting person do you think we'll meet today? In walks the animator, illustrator and videographer Ilya Barrett. His mum is – just like most of us – from Ukraine.
Sarah Illenberger and the new perspective on ordinary things
Before we even meet Sarah Illenberger, she has a small request for us: collect different leaves and bring them to my studio. Of course we are happy to do that and, despite the trees already being sparse, we find whole bunches of leaves. I wonder what we’ll need them for?
Looking for traces, problems and solutions with Nadia Kaabi-Linke
It is raining cats and dogs when we visit Nadia Kaabi-Linke in her studio, and on the third floor of the Kreuzberg rear building we first have to dry off. Nadia, who was born in Tunis, surprises us by speaking fluent Russian. For us, a class of children who have fled Ukraine, this is a blessing. Finally we can ask all our questions!
Stella Meris paints the body in the head
Today we expect again a great visitor in the Ephra Studio – Stella Meris. The painter and multimedia artist will show us what they do. And Stella has brought a lot with them.
Learning from mushrooms and nature with The Mycological Twist
Today we are warmly welcomed by Eloïse Bonneviot and Anne de Boer in their studio in Tempelhof. They are both artists and together they call themselves The Mycological Twist!
How Karin Kerkmann paints with water
"Where we are standing right now, camels often used to stand." That's what artist Karin Kerkmann says when she warmly welcomes us to the courtyard of the Atelierhaus in Alt-Treptow, which includes her studio. When a circus was in town, it was allowed to camp here (where once there was a meadow) and let the camels graze.
Caring, repairing and healing together
A 5th grade class from Glasbrenner Elementary School takes part in an Ephra workshop at the Gropius Bau. The students experience the concepts of care, healing and repair with all their senses.