Our Community
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“The Open Music School is a nervous system that connects people in a creative network”
GSBTB Open Music School student Renzo D'Andrea writes about how learning to play music has helped him connect more deeply with others.
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Everything you ever wanted to know about: GSBTB Open Art Shelter & Hania Hakiel
Hania Hakiel uses her experience in applied and transcultural psychology to run the GSBTB Open Art Shelter. Here she answers "Frequently Asked Questions" about her professional experience and the GSBTB Open Art Shelter.
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The Indian-American volunteer unfurling layers of migration, identity and privilege
Open Art Shelter volunteer Mahima Shah Verma examines her parents' migration, her own move to Berlin and the experiences of those she has volunteered with.
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Breaking boundaries in the pursuit of art
Open Music Lab student Rafi Gazani talks about his passion for music, his penchant for discovering wonderful mixtures between different cultures, and how it all culminates into his art and his project 'SIIN'.
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The Algerian-Danish artist and rapper running empowerment workshops for girl*s in Neukölln
Valerie Djurhuus runs workshops on empowerment through performance at the after-school girl*s club Schilleria. Here she speaks about empowerment, gentrification and how she uses her imperfect German skills as a strength.
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The Job Center case worker recommending GSBTB to her clients
With parents who migrated to Germany from Turkey, Özgül Thurley says she understands the importance of feeling welcome.
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Using a common language to connect with refugees
Hailing from Iran, Sanaz Azimi speaks Farsi, making her a vital connection to the Afghan women and children at Tempelhof refugee camp.
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The US social worker putting her GSBTB Open Art Shelter experiences to use in the Trump era
Liz Ricks-Aherne volunteered full-time for GSBTB Open Art Shelter during the year she lived in Berlin. Before she left at the end of the summer, Open Art Shelter intern Madeline McKay sat down with her to talk about how her experiences in Berlin will inform her life and work back in the US.
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“Integration isn’t only a one-way street”
Eli Waël Khleifawi is our very own Project Coordinator at GSBTB who is originally from Damascus, Syria and arrived to Germany in 2015. We talk to Waël about his interests in business, his home city and how it compares to Berlin and what integration means to him.
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The brains behind the Open Music Lab
Ben R. Osborn and Rachel are the pioneers of one of the Open Music School's projects - the weekly Open Music Lab -which takes place every Monday at Refugio Café. United by a passion for music, their goal is to share their musical knowledge with different communities.
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“You never forget where you come from”
Annick Repellin-Holzgreve is a long-serving GSBTB Open Art Shelter volunteer and long-time resident in Germany, originally from France.
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Meet the GSBTB summer intern Madeline, a Gender Studies & Art major from the US
Madeline McKay is GSBTB's summer intern. Coming all the way from Philadelphia, USA, she is currently studying Women, Gender Studies and Art at Bates College.