June 2017 – eMag Uni Augsburg

Summer in the city

Are you still looking for cool things to do in Augsburg to enjoy this wonderful weather?

There are tons of fun things, like sitting on Rathausplatz and having some ice-cream, going strawberry picking, visiting the zoo, lying by the Lech, taking part in the Augsburger Sommernächte, and so on. So here are my top four summer destinations in Augsburg…

Lechflimmern

If you want to watch a movie, but you feel bad staying inside when it’s hot, Lechflimmern is right for you. It’s an open-air cinema at the Familienbad am Plärrer, which shows movies every day in July outside on a big screen. Unfortunately, you can’t take any food or something to drink, so you have to buy it there. Chairs are set up for you, but you can also bring a blanket to sit on. The doors open at 8pm and the movie starts when the sun sets. This summer, there are movies like Die Schöne und das Biest, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 or Baywatch (they’re all in German only). You can look up their complete programme on the website.

Wertach + Kulperhütte

Cycle to the Wertach, which flows through Augsburg. You can relax and have something to eat and drink at the Kulperhütte, a beer garden in Göggingen with deckchairs, cool drinks and delicious food, such as vegetarian cuisine, traditional Bavarianand pastries (I recommend their fries, which are really good!) Or you take your own food and have a picnic at the Wertach. Tip: take some home-made iced tea and impress your friends.

Sonnendeck

This is where I really get into the summer mood, a kind of holidayfeeling, with my feet in the sand and a cocktail in my hand. Every summer the roof terrace at Parkhaus Ludwigstraße is filled with sand. There are deckchairs, music, food and cool drinks for a perfect mix of rooftop- and beach party without having to pay admission.

Kuhsee, Proviantbach, Plärrerbad

If you like swimming and sunbathing, you should definitely check out these three places!

First there is the Kuhsee, a lake in Augsburg-Hochzoll, which has a large lawn, where lots of people, young and old, enjoy sunbathing, having barbecues or playing frisbee, badminton and volleyball.

Then there is Proviantbach, which is a cold-water stream. You get in and don’t even have to swim because the current takes you as far as you like. Every fifty meters you can get out by climbing up a ladder. I recommend only going there when it’s very hot outside because the water is really chilly, which is perfect for hot summer days.

If you prefer heated water, I recommend the Familienbad am Plärrer, which has five different pools for every age.

So go for it! And have a great time!

Author: Julia Messing
Images: Julia Messing and Eva Sitzberger

What coming out taught me about tolerance

I’ve always thought of myself as a very tolerant person. I’m not a racist. I’m not scared of Muslims. One of my best friends is transgender. I could never even begin to understand how anyone could dislike a person just because of their skin colour, religious belief or sexual orientation. I told myself that there just had to be something seriously wrong with those people.

Welcome to the minority group

And then this happened: I came out. Now, here I am, newly out of the closet and getting used to being part of a minority group. I’ve never been different from what our society considers to be the norm. Only now do I realise how easy life is when you tick all the “normal” boxes. White? Tick. German? Tick. Christian? Tick. Heterosexual? No tick here.

What happens if you can’t tick all the boxes? That’s right, all of a sudden you depend on other people’s open-mindedness. But what I’ve learnt is that for my life to work out I’m the one who has to be tolerant. I can’t change the reality that some people are homophobic. For some reason I will probably never grasp, the thought of two girls or two boys loving each other is scary, revolting and wrong for some people. I could just stay away from homophobes, you might say. Why should I waste my time and energy on those people? But what do you do if those intolerant, homophobic people are people you love?

Here comes the life lesson

I came to the conclusion that if I deserve tolerance, so do others and I’m as much a recipient of tolerance as I’m a giver of tolerance. So far so good – now to the tricky part. It’s all quite honourable to decide that everyone deserves tolerance. But I can tell you it’s not as easy as it sounds. I always thought tolerance comes naturally to me because it perfectly fits into my worldview. However, when I came out to one of my closest friends who happens to be very religious it was the end of easy-peasy tolerance for me.

She told me that homosexuality could be healed if only you trust in God. I don’t agree. I believe with all my heart that if homosexuality was a life choice, there wouldn’t be any gay people left on this earth. Being gay sucks. It’s complicated, scary, exhausting. So when I sat there and listened to my friend tell me about her views that go against everything I believe I realised that tolerance is painful. It’s actually not a natural and easy thing. It’s horrible and upsetting and challenges your innermost values.

Be brave!

All the more reason to make an effort for it. My friend and I tried to understand each other. We failed. I don’t understand her and she probably has difficulty understanding me. But that’s OK. Because that’s where tolerance comes in and has helped us save our friendship.

Tolerance doesn’t mean agreeing with things you believe to be right anyway. That’s easy – anyone can do that. Tolerance means accepting people whose values you consider to be wrong and listening to opinions you ‘despise’. It’s only natural that people struggle with that. We just have to be brave enough – or should I say tolerant enough – to try anyway.

Author and Pictures: anonymous

Biennale Arte 2017

Il 13 Maggio scorso si è inauguara la 57° Biennale d’arte di Venezia.

L’esposizione internazionale più antica del mondo – la prima fu inaugurata nel 1895 – deve il nome alla sua scadenza “biennale” (=ogni due anni). Quest’anno la mostra è firmata da una donna: Christine Macel, chief curator del Centre Pompidou di Parigi, che ha intitolato la sua Biennale VIVA ARTE VIVA, per evidenziare la centralità dell’arte e della vita stessa degli artisti come strumento per comprendere il contemporaneo, al di là delle ideologie (molto più centrali nelle edizioni precedenti).

I LUOGHI DELLA MOSTRA

L’esposizione (che terminerà il 26 novembre) si snoda, come da tradizione, in tre diverse aree: I) i Giardini, con i loro 29 padiglioni nazionali e con il grande Padiglione Centrale, II) l’Arsenale (annesso alla Biennale nel 1980), il vecchio complesso rinascimentale di cantieri, officine e depositi da cui usciva un tempo la flotta di Venezia, e III) il centro storico della città che, tra i palazzi delle sue calli, ospita i lavori di ulteriori nazioni. I padiglioni nazionali, 85 in tutto, sono tradizionalmente allestiti dai curatori dei paesi stessi, mentre le due mostre internazionali nelle cosiddette Corderie dell’Arsenale e al Padiglione Centrale dei Giardini, sono dirette dal curatore della Biennale (Christine Macel).

Nonostante per molti addetti ai lavori le partecipazioni nazionali siano un elemento anacronistico (nelle altre “biennali” del mondo queste distinzioni non esistono!), per lo spettatore la visita ai Giardini rimane l’esperienza più bella. I padiglioni storici della Biennale sono infatti immersi in un meraviglioso parco verde (una rarità a Venzia!). Lo spettatore, tra un padiglione e l’altro, può passeggiare lungo i viali di ghiaia, tra il verde della natura o sedersi su una comoda panchina a riflettere sulle opere viste …ed evitare il faticoso tour de force tipico delle grandi mostre!

I PREMI

Quest’anno il “leone d’oro” al miglior padiglione nazionale è andato al Padiglione Tedesco, con la performance Faust di Anne Imhof. Il padiglione, nella sua conformazione attuale, fu eretto durante il regime nazista: un particolare che gli artisti difficilmente possono ignorare.

Anne Imhof (Gießen, 1978) ha voluto richiamare le atmosfere cupe, violente e intimidatorie dei regimi fascisti rinchiudendo fuori dal padiglione, in una grande gabbia, dei cani doberman, il cui abbaiare insistente e minaccioso fa da sottofondo alle performances all’interno. Dentro al padiglione un gruppo di giovani si aggira tra le sale al ritmo di suoni digitali, improvvisando movimenti che evocano violenza, autoerotismo e rapporti sado-maso. L’interno dell’edificio è vuoto e asettico: un espediente che accresce ed esaspera ulteriormente nel visitatore la sensazione d’angoscia. Il pavimento delle sale è ricoperto da una pedana di vetro trasparente, al di sotto della quale si muovono altri performers, dando allo spettatore l’impressione di calpestarli.

Ai giardini si trova anche una delle due sezioni curate da Christine Macel: il Padiglione centrale, con una parte delle opere dei 120 artisti selezionati.

Il biglietto della mostra permette l’accesso anche all’altro grande spazio (17.000 mq!) annesso alla Biennale: l’Arsenale, nelle cui Corderie si snoda la seconda (e principale) sezione dell’esposizione di Christine Macel. Per raggiungere l’Arsenale, dai Giardini si può prendere la navetta Giardini-Arsenale, il vaporetto n. 1, o fare una passeggiata di ca. 10-15 minuti lungo la laguna.

Quest’anno anche il “leone d’oro” di questa parte dell’esposizione, quello al migliore artista, è andato ad un tedesco: Franz Erhard Walther (Fulda, 1939) con le sue bellissime installazioni geometriche di stoffa colorata esposte all’Arsenale …. Insomma: quella del 2017 possiamo proprio definirla la “Biennale della Germania”!

Author: Francesca Talpo

Pictures: Il Padiglione Centrale ai Giardini (©la Biennale di Venezia)

Le opere di Franz Erhard Walther alle Corderie dell’Arsenale (©la Biennale di Venezia)

L’Arsenale (©Photo Andrea Avezzù – Courtesy la Biennale di Venezia)

Do whatever you want – Mach halt was du willst

Summer is coming and it’s the festival season again! And everyone loves festivals, right? Of course, there’s the music, but that’s not all there is to it. It’s the feeling of being out with your friends, drinking beer in the sun with music all around you, escaping reality, almost like being on a holiday. So isn’t it great having a festival right on your doorstep? The Modular Festival has been taking place since 2009 and it’s been at the congress centre since 2012. Its aim is not only to bring international, national and especially local artists onto the stage, but also to offer workshops for the whole family and support local sports groups.

Music

The music is probably the main (but not the only) reason to go. This year, over 50 artists and bands are going to show what they can do on four stages: two outside in the park and two inside the centre. There’s Kakkmaddafakka, Moop Mama, RY X, Hundreds, Maeckes & die Katastrophen, Megaloh, Faber, Sxn, Die Höchste Eisenbahn, Fotos and MC Bomber, just to name a few. You might not know them yet, but there’s a little info about them on the festival’s website and you can listen to the Modular Spotify playlist. And maybe after the festival you’ll have a new favourite band.

Workshops and other things to do
Modular is not only music: it offers art exhibitions by different painters, designers and sculptors and performance acts such as a rap battle, a poetry slam and a magician. There’s the Pop Convention, where you can make and discuss music with professionals and a ‘creative market’, where you can make art yourself. It’s also not only a festival for adults: there’s a kids’ programme with a whole ‘Modular Kids Village’.
Apart from the different kinds of art, there are two sports events you can watch: the ‘BMX EX&HOP (international contest series)’ and the ‘Bavarian Miniramp Mastership’, an open skateboard contest. No matter if you’re into those sports or not – it’s amazing to watch!

For the physical well-being
Even though you can’t bring your own food, believe me, you won’t starve! The festival supports local providers of food and drinks. You can get the local beer or free drinking water and to eat there’s everything as pizza, burgers, sandwiches, tacos, ice cream, crêpes and so on… No matter if you’re a vegan, a vegetarian or a meat lover – there’s something for you.

Want to learn more?
Visit the festival’s homepage! www.modular-festival.de
Author: Sophia Brandt

Pictures: Stephan Brandt (roofop), Lukas Holzfurtner (night)

What do you know about Mozart?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – a name you should be familiar with. Everybody knows Mozart and has heard at least one of his amazing pieces or seen one of his famous operas. But what if I tell you that most of what you think you know about Amadeus was actually made up after his death and is probably not true? What if even the name you’re so familiar with isn’t his actual name?

Before you start panicking, there’s still something that has remained almost unadulterated and that is his music. Although Mozart lived in the eighteenth century, which is quite a while ago, we still listen to his music today and even if you don’t listen to it in your free time, you’ll at least have heard some at school.

Mozartfest Augsburg 19^th May – 28^th May 2017

As Mozart spent a lot of time in Augsburg – where his famliy came from – the city has decided to honor his genius every year with the so-called “Mozartfest”. Not only does the “Mozartfest” concern itself with Mozart’s first-class music, which still inspires and provokes people all over the world; it also gives you insight into the person Mozart was as well as the people that surrounded him such as his father, Leopold. At the festival, contemporary composers present their works for the first time and the “MEHR MUSIK!” workshops give children and teenagers the opportunity to learn about improvisation or the invention of instruments.

Mozart – “as touchy as gunpowder”

Now you might be wondering what makes Mozart and his personality so interesting? He was born Joannes Crysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. Later, he would call himself Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, which is close to what you’re used to. However, he was actually never called Amadeus but Amadé or usually “Wolferl”. So, this is one of the things you probably didn’t know about him.

Also, he had very high self-esteem, as he received a lot of positive feedback from his father and many other people he met throughout the years. He was quite lively and somewhat jittery but not so handsome and was always well dressed. He was very religious and trusting, which sometimes led him into trouble. He was also very sensitive when it came to negative criticism or his artistic existence being restricted. Many people also think that Mozart was poor towards the end of his life. He did suffer financial problems but was never really poor.

Not what you expect

All in all, he was definitely not just an inconspicuous, hard-working and successful musician as you might have imagined. There were quite a few people during his lifetime that actually disliked Mozart’s music because it was too complex with too many notes.

So, if you want to be surprised by the world of a person you don’t know enough about yet, then go ahead and take a look at next year’s “Mozartfest”. You won’t be disappointed.

Text and Image: Ana Stanković

Gegen einfache Wahrheiten

How would you define home? Can you have more than just one? Have you ever read a text written by a refugee? Are there ways of helping refugees escape the madness of German bureaucracy – at least for an hour a day? What’s it like teaching your own language and culture? And what do you learn about yourself while doing so? Do you believe everything you hear, read and see in the news? What about fake news? Are social media a more reliable way to get informed? How politically correct do you have to be and should we accept a lack of it?

All these questions were discussed on May 31^st at the “Aktionstag: Gegen einfache Wahrheiten” held at the University of Augsburg and organized by the Faculty of Philology and History (http://www.presse.uni-augsburg.de/de/unipressedienst/2017/apr-juni/2017_090/).

Asking

Twenty different seminars between 10:00 and 11:30 a.m. provided new input and an opportunity to discuss the different topics with other students and lecturers.

The seminar “Ich habe manchmal Heimweh. Ich weiß nur nicht wonach“, organized by the Fachschaft Komparatistik, was all about questions such as What is Heimat? Does everyone have one? Can we have more than one? How do we define the term and how does it feel to leave? Can we somehow relate to refugees who have had to leave the place they call Heimat? Are there maybe even more similarities than we would’ve thought?

While – of course – there were no concrete answers to all these questions, the discussion, including interviews with people who had moved, both within and across borders, was characterized by different views, funny anecdotes and many personal experiences.

Listening

The cultural event between 12:00 and 14:00 in HS I, moderated by Prof. Dr. Martin Middeke, was a colourful mix of musical contributions, presentations and readings.

Sadly, the band Jammu Afrika couldn’t perform, since their refugee-lead singer had to leave the country and go back to Senegal. Still, the band’s founder Markus Fleckenstein presented the project and played some recordings.

Anita Heckel read from her ‘parallel biography’ “Gratwanderung durch Gestern” and Prof. Dr. Miriam Zadoff gave an insight into living in Bloomington, Indiana, and teaching at the university after Trump’s election. Although we all recognize the worries of those Americans that didn’t vote for Trump, this personal report was touching and shocking at the same time.

“Milch ist der Zwilling von Teer / in weiß oder schwarz kann man lügen / Mutter schiebt ein Bonbon im Mund hin und her / Vater telefoniert mit den Fliegen“

Christina Rossi and her students presented their collage on this poem by Nobel prize winner Herta Müller.

Opera singer Cornelia Lanz presented her project “Zuflucht Kultur”. Together with Mazen Mohsen and three other Syrian refugees, she performed Arabic folk songs with the German translations and the audience fell in love with this music. One of these refugees, a Syrian girl, talked about how she experienced their dictatorial culture even in small groups of refugees in Germany and how lucky she is – and we should be – to live in a free and democratic country like this.

Acting

Between 15:00 and 17:00 pm, there were various readings and workshops in the city centre and, for example, a walk around the city highlighting important places related to migration.

Watching

At 6:00 pm, the movie “Willkommen bei den Hartmanns” was shown in HS I, followed by a panel discussion about how the movie reflects reality. Does it reflect Einfache Wahrheiten? Since the movie is a comedy, it deals with the topic in a slightly exaggerated fashion; maybe this is the right way to talk about a topic that’s not funny, because at least it’s a way to start raising awareness.

Authors and Picture: Sophia Brandt, Eva Sitzberger