Sitting on the colorful chairs somewhere on the spacious grounds of the Floating University, surrounded by this beautiful atmosphere that is full of summer, the creative murmur of other groups and the quiet hum of the insects that inhabit the grounds, we became curious: What actually lies beyond the Floating University? What does the neighborhood look like? What is the connection between the two spheres?

In this moment of wonder, we finally began to explore the space and its surroundings, the allotments of the Colony at the Airport, our heads full of thoughts and questions: What does neighborhood mean in the context of community and perhaps also conflict? How is the allotment garden as such woven into the structures of urban ecology, politics, and the social? What is the role of privilege, of community? Has the meaning of property and ownership changed in recent years since the allotment was founded? How are leisure and work interwoven? Countless questions arise when thinking about these particular spaces – what role do we take as temporary observers, as guests? How can we use our perspective as an external student collective to explore these and other questions? With our curatorial background, we wanted to reflect on this very context and try to think of curatorial practice as something detached from a single authorship and academic, elite structures. 

After getting to know the board of the Colony at the Airport over the summer, we got the opportunity to meet different garden owners and get insights into their stories and gardens. As guests we were allowed to take a special role in this process, to listen to the many stories and to get to know the peculiarities of each garden as well as the people behind it and to capture and now share them through analog images, a sound installation as well as an ‘interview station’: We would like to make our common process, our amazement and learning visible and tangible in the context of the exhibition TOMATEN ZÜCHTEN IST SOZIAL on the grounds of the Floating University and carry it further or back to the gardens in the coming year in the context of the anniversary celebration.

For now, however, we are pleased to invite all neighbors and interested parties on the weekend of October 23 and 24 to join us – acoustically and visually – in immersing themselves in the multi-layered neighborhood of the Floating University, to get to know each other over homemade cake and a cup of coffee, perhaps to meet again and, above all, to engage in conversation.

Program

23.10.2021 / 3 pm

Coffee together in the Floating University. Bring along something from your garden or home kitchen!