The Werkraum Schöpflin

The Werkraum Schöpflin is the Schöpflin Foundation’s culture and debating venue. Here we organise a programme of events on subjects that are important to us: democracy, diet and factory farming, the financial world, flight and migration, democracy – or even fear and happiness.

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[Translate to Englisch:] Werkraum Schöpflin — [Translate to Englisch:] Foto: Juri Junkov

Culture isn’t the be all and end all – but without it, there is nothing. Through evocative theatre, concerts, readings, debates, exhibitions and thought-provoking films and audio dramas we reach out to people of every age – be they children, teenagers or adults.

We often commission directors, dramatists, actors and musicians to work with us to device productions in the Werkraum. We also strongly encourage children and young people in particular to get involved with our projects. Through our workshops with a range of artists they can travel to far-away galaxies, try out being a sculptor, or even program robots – while at the same time discovering their own talents. Our career guidance courses offer help and advice on preparing a portfolio for art college; visits to artists’ studios; and sessions with professionals and students from the creative industries.

Our lively reading events and our reading club encourage children and young people to develop their reading skills. Through our school projects – which run across several months – we work with young people on literature and debating skills.

The Werkraum Schöpflin is a place for agitation that provides food for thought. Its range of activities allows participants to analyse and get to grips with the new and the unfamiliar. When all said and done, culture is empowering!

Social Policy and Culture: Events

Twice a year the Werkraum Schöpflin hosts an event looking at social policy and culture. These events usually take the form of an in-house production – a piece of puppet theatre or a play reading for example. To make the experience more enriching, the events are accompanied by many other forms of presentation, all linked to the themes under discussion. This might include a piece of theatre, a film, debates or talks. We cover a very broad and diverse range of topics, from democracy, diet and factory farming, through war and displacement, to the financial world - and even the subject of fear.
Cultural Education: Workshops

During the Easter, summer and autumn school holidays we run creative workshops in the Werkraum for children and young people. Artists, for example, run visual arts workshops (painting, drawing, sculpture etc.); we also work with Berlin’s Junior Lab to provide sessions on experimenting with hardware and software (robotics, fashion, gaming etc.). We also run career advice evenings and provide guidance on how to prepare a portfolio for art college. These sessions involve the participation of current students and creative arts professionals.
Encouraging Reading

We run reading clubs in the Werkraum for children and young people. Here they learn how fascinating reading can be – regardless of whether or not they are already bookworms or still learning how to read properly. We read recipes and then cook; go to the awards ceremony of the German Youth Prize for Literature at the Frankfurt Book Fair; go to the theatre; write fairy tales; and generally spark enthusiasm for outstanding literature written for children and young people.
School Projects

We run projects with school children where, working with professionals from the worlds of applied drama and theatre, music, debating and other genre, we devise performances to be staged in the Werkraum and in the children’s own schools. These projects run across several months. By taking part in these projects, young people learn for themselves how to develop creative processes and actively promote their own ideas.