Das fliegende Künstlerzimmer

What makes our school special …

“It’s worth living in our country. You have to stand up for values.” These words of Walter Lübcke, after whom the school is named, feature on the commemorative stone that marks the renaming of our school in 2020 on the initiative of our student body. With North Hessen’s “Open to diversity” scheme, the school community proactively stands up for living out democratic values in everyday school life and beyond. This commitment has led Hessen’s state government to award the school community the “State of Hessen’s Walter Lübcke Democracy Prize” this year. Alongside the work it does championing democratic values, our large comprehensive school with senior cycle is particularly diverse: its extensive offer includes being a school with a music specialism and running numerous ensembles, having a quality seal for vocational guidance and highly talented students, and an extensive all-day profile with numerous sporting and creative opportunities. The “Film Factory”, a former IT room turned studio, offers students extensive opportunities for digital image and sound production. Robotics and 3D printing have been part of our vocational orientation for years. The close links with local institutions and clubs allow our students to have an extensive involvement in numerous projects outside of their lessons. 

Why we wanted to have a flying artist’s room on our playground …

Art, culture and music have always been very important to our school. Our cooperation with the last but one Documenta, our collaboration on the “School meets Gallery meets School” project with the exhibition at the Galeria Kollektiva in Kassel, and several exhibitions by our students in Wolfhagen and Kassel have shown how much students can and also want to be creative outside of their “normal lessons”. After a presentation about the project, the unanimous vote by all school committees in support of our application demonstrates that the school community is well aware of the importance of cultural education and is also willing to back the project for two years.

Our hopes, expectations and wishes …

In the period when the flying artist’s room is at our school, we hope to have two creative years away from the “normal”, and the inclusion of as many different subjects and colleagues with their courses and classes who might otherwise not have worked so much in the area of art and culture. We hope that we’ll get lots of inspiration as well as collaboration and joint projects with artists in the Wolfhagen area and attractive outcomes that make it worth coming to Wolfhagen and Walter Lübcke School.

Why the flying artist had to be a visual artist or performer …

As a school with well over 1,300 students, it was very important for us to have a wide artistic range in order to get as many different projects off the ground as possible. In the process it should be possible to involve the existing potential of all subject areas: the school is well set up digitally and also has very extensive equipment, including digital equipment, in art. The school campus offers various opportunities to be creative with design outdoors too. As a school, over the next two years we are thoroughly delighted to be able to work with the artist Dawid Liftinger who brings together this artistic diversity in his work and introduces innovative ideas. 

Our first impression of the mobile building … 

A group of students from our school had already had the opportunity at documenta fifteen to acquaint themselves with the flying artist’s room and be involved in the programme with their music. Students and school management alike were enthusiastic about the possibilities presented by the flying artist’s room and also expect a range of opportunities for them to express themselves artistically on our school premises, particularly as the flying artist’s room fits in quite brilliantly with existing possibilities to do this.

Joys and challenges …

Two years of having something “extraordinary” on our school campus that clearly goes beyond “catching up on material” in the post-pandemic period. An opportunity to be creative with all subjects and colleagues and see what we can create together. An opportunity to extend beyond the school into the small town with its empty premises, and perhaps be able to stimulate something creative.

How will we probably feel when the flying artist’s room moves on after two years …

We hope to have two creative and inspiring years, and when it flies off to a new location in 2025 we would be delighted if the work undertaken in the flying artist’s room has a lasting impact on the school community.