aufBruch KUNST GEFÄNGNIS STADT

aufBruch was founded in 1997 and produces public arts and theatre projects in prisons and other public spaces in the city of Berlin. aufBruch now is working in all prisons in Berlin. One productions a year take place at Tegel prison, also in the youth prison, the Plötzensee- Prison and in Heidering, one of the most modern prisons in Europe. A public audience is able to visit the performances in these prisons.

Performances, which are thematically connected to the "Inside" productions, are created once a year in spaces outside prison not normally used for theatre. For this projects we mix a team with actors and ex-inmates. In all other prisons in Berlin aufBruch creates workshops with inmates (theatre, music, writing, dance, film and video) with the focus of cultural education. aufBruch also has initiated the very first interactive prisoners´ website. We are connecting artistic, political, social and biographic components in our art projects. This can be theatre, exhibitions and installations, internet projects, festivals. An important point in our work is the organisation of Events of cultural exchange and discussion. When organising the KNASTFESTIVAL 2000 we wanted to connect accomplices in the prison theatre movement from all over Europe in Berlin in order to presents their work to a broader public.

The “International Symposium to Prison Theatre 2010/11 Berlin/Santiago de Chile” very impressively showed a new political dimension of theatre and art. Theatre in prison always needs to deduce the background of the projects and the context of the locations. It calls for an opening of the prisons to make the penal 'institution' noticeable in public life. This festival was the starting point for a lot of other projects and connections in the following years. aufBruch is a partner in various European projects and was involved in the development process of developing accredited training programmes for delivering arts in prisons. Abroad productions we realised in prisons in Russia and in Chile.

aufBruch is in this project as an expert for concrete theatre works in prisons. aufBruch takes part in all transnational meetings and workshops and is hosting the second workshop in Berlin. We will be involved in the Research on projects and similar experiences and in the development of a European Framework of the skills developed through arts and theatre for prisoners. Within the framework of defined skills we will develop an experimental training path involving prisoners and ex-prisoners and a theatre laboratory in a local prison and take part in Collection and selection of the good practices. aufBruch will involve stakeholders in this project and is participating in the evaluation process.