Growing Up in Kreuzberg

The presence of migrant children in the streets of Kreuzberg was shaping artists’ perspectives on the district in the 1970s. Works with titles such as Sanierungsspielplatz (Construction Site Playground, 1974), Analphabeten in zwei Sprachen (Illiterate in Two Languages, 1975) and Kinderwünsche (Children’s Wishes, 1979) addressed the difficult starting conditions faced by children who had not been considered within the system of the so-called guest work. The participants reflect on how childhood and youth in Kreuzberg have been portrayed through artistic practice, and discuss youth initiatives that played a formative role in the development of new artistic expressions.

Neco Çelik is a Berlin filmmaker, screenwriter and theatre director. His artistic practice spans cinema, television, theatre, opera and dance. Çelik has directed numerous films, including Urban Guerillas (2003) and Alltag (2002). Shaped by the youth and hip-hop culture of Kreuzberg, he has been actively involved in cultural youth work and social initiatives for many years.

Abuzer Güler moved from Turkey to West Berlin in the 1970s and studied painting at the arts academy Hochschule der Künste. In his works from the 1980s, personal memories of his Alevi-Kurdish family in Turkey often overlap with everyday observations in Kreuzberg. Alongside his artistic practice, he has been actively involved with the youth centre Schlesische 27 since 1983.

Claudia Hummel works at the intersection of artistic practice and education and researches the history of artistic-educational practices in West Berlin since the 1970s. From 2009 to 2024, she taught at the Berlin University of the Arts. She currently heads the Major programme Critical Social Practice in Art Education at Zurich University of the Arts.

Mehrangis Montazami-Dabui came from Iran to West Berlin and began studying at the film academy Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (dffb) in 1972. In her documentary films, including Analphabeten in zwei Sprachen (Illiterate in Two Languages, 1975), Wir wollen auch leben (We Want to Live, Too, 1976/78) and Kindertränen (Children’s Tears, 1985), she systematically examined the living conditions of the children of labour migrants in Kreuzberg and West Berlin.