Crossroutes 51°
In celebration of the “Jubilee Year 2012 – 500 Years of Gerhard Mercator” in Duisburg, Stiftung Mercator – picking up on an idea of the man who gave the foundation its name – is launching Crossroutes 51°, a project that aims to create a networked world. The project will give school students from Duisburg and five of its twinned cities the chance to gain their first hands-on experience of art by working together with artists from their home towns; during a youth culture camp in the summer of 2012 they will then prepare a theatre performance. The project’s patron is the journalist Asli Sevindim.
Structure and organization
In the first phase of the project, the young people will work together with an artist in their home cities of Portsmouth (Great Britain), Calais (France), Vilnius (Lithuania), Gaziantep (Turkey) and Perm (Russia) to acquire artistic experience, and will jointly prepare a theatre performance on the theme of “when our paths cross”. During this phase, the project participants will have the opportunity to get to know one another via the Facebook project page and to share experiences, ideas and results. Taking part in the project in Duisburg will be pupils between the ages of 16 and 19; as the hosts, they will prepare their performance as well as the youth culture camp. In the second phase, Stiftung Mercator will invite all the young people participating in the project to attend a youth culture camp in Duisburg from 6 July until 22 July 2012. During the summer camp, the students will work together, under the guidance of the artist Lidy Mouw, to create and present to the public an artistic performance based on the idea of “Crossroads – Encounters – Networks”. This will give the young people the opportunity to meet one another and collaborate on a project.
Objectives
The Crossroutes 51° project aims to strengthen relations between Duisburg and its twinned cities and to highlight Duisburg’s role as a hub for international exchange.
By incorporating social media into the project, the public will be given the chance to take an active part in an international exchange with the twinned cities and to get to know another culture. Working independently and creatively with other young people from different countries will enhance the participants’ intercultural and social competencies.