KunstRaum Goethestrasse xtd is located in an ethnically and socially diverse neighborhood. Together with
Iris Andraschek we focused on that fact and tried to open ourselves up to neighbors and create new connections. Iris Andraschek turned the exhibition space into a temporary photo studio during this project and
invited people from the neighborhood to come and have their picture taken in front of a unique background.
pro mente OÖ was supported during this project by local migrant associations. The neighborhood, the users
of the bus stop Humboldtstraße, and friends of KunstRaum Goethestrasse xtd were invited to sign up for
photography appointments in front of their own “back story” in June or September. On four three-day photo
shoots people came in traditional dress, brought objects and pets; sports teams came, departments from
local businesses, old families, young families, children and elders. For the pictures themselves they could
choose their backgrounds from a variety of cloths, and images; yet what was important for the process was
the interaction, the emotion, and the pose in order to transport the individual self-perception. The approach
and the experience of the artist were defining for the impressive results. The artist chose the images based
on her subjective view, which in some cases went against the self-perception some of the participants had
intended, but that in itself greatly added to a process of self-reflection. Many of the participants hung up the
striking portraits at home.
Based on the aesthetics of a photo studio, at the end of the project over 300 portraits were hung in the
windows and on the walls of KunstRaum Goethestrasse xtd. The experience changed the perception of
public space and acted as a unifying force for the local community. Passers-by stopped and found pictures
of friends and relatives in the windows, and in this way a fundamental part of the project was made visible:
people were shown that they are part of a community, and what that means.