This is an art! - LUDWIGLUST in the LUDWIGGALERIE - LUDWIGGALERIE Schloss Oberhausen

This is an art! – LUDWIGLUST in the LUDWIGGALERIE

March 10, 2021

LUDWIG LUST inspires children to enjoy culture even in difficult times – A blog article by Sarah Bauer

“Why is it so dark here? There’s no one here!” calls a small voice. Then it gets light.
“What the…? Where does the light come from?” another voice wonders.
“Are we allowed in there now? Dude, then push it into the light!” comes a pragmatic instruction from a third direction.

Thanks to the solid cooperation, the children are allowed to visit the museum, 2020 © LUDWIGGALERIE Museumspädagogik

Culture during Corona is about as tricky and (almost) impossible as school lessons during Corona. And yet the two museum educators at the LUDWIGGALERIE Schloss Oberhausen, Ursula Bendorf-Depenbrock and Sabine Falkenbach, and their team have managed to set up a very special project in these difficult times. With art, culture, school and children. What the...?

LUDWIG LUST – every child should discover culture

The LUDWIGGALERIE Schloss Oberhausen has been offering a variety of successful programs for children and young people for many years. The teachers are particularly interested in students who do not often come into contact with art in their family environment. One of the projects is LUDWIG LUST.
"In the past, we often took children and young people to the various Ludwig houses in North Rhine-Westphalia," explains Ursula Bendorf-Depenbrock. To look beyond Oberhausen's borders. "The kids should discover art, feel it, put their impressions into words and finally present it to an audience."

A new concept and shining children's eyes

That was the plan this time too. But then bus trips, large groups and museum visits became impossible. Lockdown and strict regulations presented the team with a major challenge. But Ursula Bendorf-Depenbrock and Sabine Falkenbach did not give up. Together they worked out a detailed hygiene concept in late summer. Then things got going. In very small groups, without excursions and with very few museum visits.

drypoint, 2021 © LUDWIGGALERIE Museum Education

Instead, there were creative challenges in the spacious Oberhausen art school. "Even though we all had to wear masks, you could see the sparkle in the children's eyes," says Sabine Falkenbach happily. And when a visit to the LUDWIGGALERIE was finally possible, the joy almost bubbled over. Because now the children of the Luisenschule were able to create the long-awaited audiovisual portrait of the gallery. The central question was: What does a museum sound like? What does it smell like and what do I see?

Open your ears and nose! On the way to the LUDWIGGALERIE

"I smell paint!" says one of the children quietly as the group enters the exhibition rooms. From September 13, 2020 to January 10, 2021, the exhibition "Robbers Hotzenplotz, Krabat and the Little Witch - Otfried Preußler - Storyteller and Character Creator" was on display here.
"I hear voices. I see a secret passage. Is the witch's broom real?" asks another child in a whisper. The museum as a treasure chest. Not a dusty room where you can listen to lectures, but a place of discovery. A place full of magic with no limits to thought.
"We want the children to experience the exhibition for themselves," says Ursula Bendorf-Depenbrock. "We want them to enjoy art. To become curious instead of bored. Art and culture should be perceived as something exciting and creative from the very beginning, with the children looking, sniffing and listening - but above all being heard. We want to give them space to try out their own thoughts and senses. Without guided tours and regulations."

“I smell goat poop!” – Experience cultural sites with all your senses

The kids write down their impressions on sensory cards.
“Windows! I see a lot of glass, a staircase made of glass”, “I see really cool things and smell modern things” or “I smell castle air!”

Not only the exhibition space, but also the area around Oberhausen Castle is part of the exploration tour. The zoo in the Kaisergarten is right next door.
So immediately comes the attentive response: “I smell French fries and goat poop. I like the Kaisergarten!”

Another child writes down, "I see streets and cars and trams and lots of houses. I see Börgerking."

At the end of the day, Ursula Bendorf-Depenbrock and her team collect a whole basket full of sensory cards and impressions.
The project ends shortly before the schools close again before Christmas. Unfortunately, the presentations cannot take place in front of a large audience this time either. But what really counts is that some children - despite the complicated situation - have once again found their enthusiasm for art and culture. Far beyond any lockdown.