Collective mappings

What aspects make up a place? How does my view differ from that of others? How do we come together despite our differences? What is a good place for everyone? What is the role of mapping in shaping the future of our cities? These ere the key questions of our workshops, during which we search for answers by mapping specific public spaces.

These workshops are hands-on exercises for anyone interested in the making of cities. They thematize topics that resonate in the work of our collective Spolka. Our projects focus on engaging the public in the collective making of our cities. We see city-making as a conversation. Thus, the workshops are also designed to be a learning conversation so we invite you to practice it in a group of people. The more diverse the group will be – especially in regards to their cultural and professional backgrounds – the more interesting conversations you will have.

Kasárenské námestie



The workshop followed two interlinked themes – urban space mapping and collective planning. It was part of the Urban Exploration event organized by CIKE as part of the Cultural and Creative Spaces and Cities project and a report is full accessible on their website in form of an article with acoompanying photos from the event.

Florenc

Workshop at Florenc happened as an accompanying program of our exhibition Spaces of Collectivity, in Viper Galery during autumn 2019.
The workshop focused on the collective imagination of the Florence metro station and the surrounding square.
The participants dealt with the uestion of collectivity in public space:
- During the process of mapping, they unified their views on the most important orientation points
- They collectively stimulated a positive approach to the field and its positive description on the map
- They self-observed the limitations for compromising when collecting one common map

Language plays a very important role as a mediator and the tool for the articulation of narrative and the image of the space, in order to be shared in the collective.

Malz Fabrik

With a workshop and round table discussion, Spolka participated in the sympozium sharing/learning: Methods of the Collective in Art, Research and Activism organized by the DFG-Graduiertenkolleg “Das Wissen der Künste” from the Berlin University of the Arts.

During the workshop Spaces of collectivity we mapped existing and potential spaces for collectivity at Malzfabrik in Berlin, while searching for answers to the questions about collectivity:
How can we act collectively when each of us brings their own perspective, values, assumptions and also own language?
How do the many become one?
And what compromises does one need to agree to on their way?

The aim of the workshop was thus twofold: to reflect together on the spatial aspects of collectivity and also on the mechanisms that can activate them.