This latest “Heraus mit den Sprachen” book publication is the result of an inclusive art and literary project carried out between 2019 and 2021. The project involves around 700 people between the ages of 8 and 99 with a wide range of speaking and writing abilities, from people who cannot speak or write to professional writers. The basis for the writing workshops were pictures by artists who themselves cannot write and have only limited speech.
In order to select the drawings and paintings that would serve as an inspiration for the various writers, an art competition was first carried out. An expert jury selected ten artists from the large number of submissions to be included in the book.
People with cognitive impairments, the elderly, renowned writers, people from migrant backgrounds, as well as people of all ages who enjoy creative writing, have all participated in the project. The result was a diverse mix of thoughts, poems and stories created in inclusive writing workshops, which were then compiled in the book “Heraus mit den Sprachen”. Black and white photos of the artists taken by photographer Veit Mette complement the images and texts. An introduction by the project coordinator Sabine Feldwieser, the actress Christine Urspruch and the literary critic Volker Weidermann as well as numerous reflections on art, language and writing interspersed throughout round off the book.
To mark the completion of the book, a presentation was held at the Bielefeld Public Library. At the event, texts from the book that were written to complement the selected pictures were read to the audience and the authors were honoured. The book publication concludes a project spanning 3 years that was financially supported by Hörmann.
