The Sharing Station had evolved into a meeting place for creative, resource-saving DIY projects, such as screen printing, quilt making, Motanka dolls and upcycling workshop.
Over the course of the year, the Sharing Station had evolved into a meeting place for creative, resource-saving DIY projects. We have used silk-screen printing to give new life to old T-shirts, printed tablecloths for community meals, and colourful flags and banners. Together with the residents of the Alte Jakobstraße accommodation centre, we created screen-printed motifs using symbols from Ukrainian culture and images that are part of family histories and have personal significance as amulets.
As part of a collaborative process, we spent several weeks making a patchwork quilt from old fabrics. Together with Studio Ukraine, adults and children developed the design according to their own ideas. In the end, all the individual pieces of fabric were patchworked together to form a large quilt, which served as a space for relaxation during other workshops and meetings.
The Station became a workshop for making Motanka, dolls made of thread and old scraps of fabric filled with wheat, which are sacred protective figures in Ukrainian culture and part of the ancestor cult. The process of making the Motankas became a meditative and empowering experience for the participants, and the dolls themselves became a talisman, an object of support and a connection to home. At the same time, an upcycling workshop to make juggling objects was held at the Columbiadamm accommodation centre, followed by juggling training for children and young people.
In addition, the station was temporarily used as a bicycle repair workshop and a toy-making workshop for dogs and cats. The emphasis here was on the collaborative building process – an active involvement with hands and tools, a shared creation that provided a sense of purpose and security.
