Discover the expressive possibilities of art

Sometimes, school lessons just seem to drag on forever. For the more new information we absorb, the slower time seems to crawl by. Yet, in light of the mental and physical development spurred by the onset of puberty, time also seems to accelerate at a breakneck pace – such are the conflicting emotions felt by many students. The tipping point toward adulthood is drawing near – phew, a difficult situation. Should one let go of learned ideas? Cling to adopted perspectives? Is it possible to do both? Who am I? What do I want? And why? How does one gain a firm, meaningful footing in the world? Amidst these often overwhelming demands of school life, the annual “Future Day” – in which the University of the Arts (HfK) Bremen regularly participates – aims to offer students some practical inspiration regarding where their own interests might lead them. Within the Faculty of Art and Design, students have the opportunity to explore how creativity can be channeled into artistic and design-oriented work.

Thirty-seven students – aged 9 to 15, spanning grades 5 through 10 – registered with HfK Bremen and arrived on April 23, 2026, for a lively check-in at Speicher XI in the Überseestadt neighborhood. For most, the primary motivation was to catch a glimpse of the future – to see where their curious enthusiasm for art classes at their schools might eventually take them. First names were quickly jotted down on bright orange adhesive dots and affixed to sweaters. Each participant had been assigned to a specific working group in advance. Among those introducing themselves as team leaders were Markus Walthert, Head of the Interaction Lab Workshop, and Felix Pankraz Fisgus, Head of the Electronic Experiments Workshop. They welcomed students into the “Open Lab,” offering insights into the interplay between technology, design, and programming code. Jukka Böhm, Head of the Audio Lab Workshop, along with student Nastasja Steinhauer, opened the doors of the Audio Lab to music-loving teenagers, inviting them to explore the realm of spatial sound design.

Anja Engelke, Head of the Photography Workshop, guided her group in exploring one of the oldest photographic processes: cyanotypy. The students arranged plants they had collected together onto a light-sensitive surface; when exposed to UV light, this surface generates the water-insoluble pigment Prussian Blue, thereby capturing the contours of the botanical specimens. Rendered in the timeless elegance of nuanced blue tones, these contact prints beautifully accentuate the intricate forms of the plant life. It is something that stimulates the aesthetic sense and offers a first glimpse into the struggle to appropriate nature through the medium of art. Perhaps – after experiencing one of the fundamental principles of the photographic arts: exposure – a passion for photography is also awakened.

We accompany Ute Alexandra Fischer, head of the ceramics studio, into her workspace. The atmosphere there is exuberant. Everyone is encouraged to vent their anger – and other emotions – by smashing various pieces of coloured ceramics with a hammer: tiles, plates, and cups. Using a hot-glue gun, each participant then collages the shards into a mosaic on a flowerpot or picture frame, guided by their own personal sense of aesthetics. The piece is finished off with mint-pigmented grout applied using a piping bag. Sam (from Schwachhausen Secondary School) has created a riotous, colourful collage of fragments varying in shape, surface texture, and colour; meanwhile, a boy from the Hermann Böse Gymnasium has arranged fragments of a single colour tightly side-by-side – an approach that holds deeper thematic significance for him: “Everyone is equal, and everyone is coming together.”

Daniel Neubacher and Michael Weis – two refreshingly contrasting personalities – invite us into the magical realm of moving images: Neubacher, the head of the video workshop, who conveys his passion for film with bubbling enthusiasm and radiant energy; and Weis, a master’s student under Professor of Painting Heike Kati Barath, who calmly and patiently imparts the practical skills of stop-motion animation. Weis is currently working on his final thesis project: a love story between a bar of soap and a cotton swab, brought to life using stop-motion techniques. He is already able to screen a three-minute animated short – his diploma project. “That represents six months of work,” says Weis.

First, the students are introduced to the high-tech studio for film editing, special effects, and titling, as well as the sound studio used for recording audio and voice-overs. Now, the task is to create their own short video clips. To this end, a glass pane beneath the camera in the animation studio has been cleared to serve as a stage for two-dimensional storytelling, featuring painted, inked, and cut-out figures. Neubacher explains that the perception of fluid motion in film relies on the fact that it is broken down into 24 frames per second. For manual stop-motion animation, however, footage is often shot at just twelve frames per second, resulting in slightly jerky movements. Thus, the aim is not to create an illusion of reality in the first place, but rather – in the spirit of what Bertold Brecht termed the alienation effect – to emphasise the artificiality of the staging. What fascinates everyone is that animated characters function in exactly the same way as the puppets in Heinrich von Kleist’s essayistic tale, “On the Marionette Theatre”: they are unaware of their own actions – and, indeed, this very lack of self-awareness is posited as the prerequisite for their beauty and grace.

Hera (Kippenberg-Gymnasium Bremen) already has experience producing videos, for which she draws the individual frames directly onto a tablet. For the Future Day, she is now bringing to life a somber bird, allowing it to reveal the secrets hidden within its plumage. Nieke (Gymnasium Syke) is already familiar with filmmaking from her art classes and is now animating the daring somersault of a skateboard. Sofia (Gymnasium Horn) is setting a colourful head of a girl in motion, Amelie (Oberschule Borhshöhe) captures a shy spirit with suddenly blushing cheeks. Eslina (Gesamtschule Bremen-Ost) is a talented illustrator – and for her film, using only pen, paper, and camera, she brings to life a flower energetically sprouting from the earth. Their passion for filmmaking has been ignited.

Nicola Essig and Brigitte Stadler – department heads of the Fashion Workshop – along with student Ngoc Han Hoang, are sewing small shoulder bags with a group consisting of one “girl” and seven “boys.” Like Henning (Osterholz-Scharmbeck Gymnasium), most of the participants are here because they “wanted to give sewing a try.“ Vincent (Oberschule am Leibnizplatz) does not have a sewing machine available at home and has not had any prior experience working with fabric, yet he has a clear objective: he intends to give the finished product of his Future Day workshop to his mother as a birthday gift. He selects natural linen for the project, noting that it possesses a charming vintage aesthetic.

Vincent lays the pattern piece onto the fabric, traces the outline with chalk, cuts out the shape, and irons the material. In no time at all, he passes both the theoretical and practical components of the “Sewing License“ test and begins working with the professional-grade machines with intense concentration. He guides the needle back and forth until the strap, flap, and main body of the bag are firmly joined. A quick pass with the serger to protect the fabric edges from fraying – and voilà* – a unique, handmade gift is complete. He made it himself, learned a great deal in the process, and – inspired by the fashion creations simultaneously being produced by the university students – has become genuinely curious about the endless possibilities that just a needle, thread, and fabric can reveal.