IMD _Institute of Media and Design

copyright _IMD

MEDIA DESIGN | Photography workshop with Wolfgang Zurborn | Neighborhoods Wolfsburg Westhagen

The high density urban living in the district of Wolfsburg, Westhagen district, designed in the early 70's as a revival of urbanism, has developed rather the opposite; In an anonymization of everyday life and in the creation of social focal points. The time of large-scale urban utopia seems to be over. Neighborhoods as a model for a socially activated space are gaining importance and allow a way out of the anonymization.

In this workshop we want to go in search of the different forms of neighborly coexistence between individual isolation and integration in a community. Does the social network preferably take place on the Internet, primarily communicating with friends via Facebook or does the Wolfsburg Westhagen neighborhood offer its residents opportunities for encounters in real life? In a globalized world, the desire rises for a local embeddedness of social networks.. This can be very diverse forms of activities in clubs, the celebration of festivals right up to collective advocacy of political interests.

When choosing the photographic practices, there are no restrictions in this workshop. The challenge in the implementation of the topic is for the students to develop an idea, and by which means to formulate a personal interpretation of "neighborhoods" intensively and coherently.

Directed by:
Wolfgang Zurborn _Lichtblick School, Köln

Visit the diashow of the workshop's results here

https://www.emd.tu-bs.de/files/gimgs/th-111_111_wolfsburg.jpg