Inside Out Abensberg: “Showing face for democracy – “Never again” is NOW!

The Action

We were inspired to create an Action because we really liked the idea of using beauty and art to raise awareness about an important issue. Democracy seemed to be a system that was unquestioned in our society until recently. We would never have thought that democracy in our country could one day falter. Our idea was to stop being passive. The vision that we developed was to show the face of democracy on the day that Abensberg became the scene of national politics. Our plan was to take a stand for democracy with around 50 people as a silent protest at the venue. The vision became a project of previously unimaginable size and importance. Instead of 50 people, 473 came to our photo shootings. Starting with some problems finding a suitable location for so many portraits, we soon had the support of the city of Abensberg, mayor Dr. Bernhard Resch and museum director Dr. Beatrice Wichmann, to let the action become visible on the walls of historical buildings in the center of the city. 

Three people working on the colllage of the Action

The experience

We were very touched by the support from our fellow citizens. It was such a moving experience to hear from the participants how happy they were to be there and how grateful they were for the action to take place in our city. It allowed them to speak out and show face for what is important to them. And with this energy of togetherness, we also overcame all technical problems we faced: after all, we wanted to cover listed buildings with photos without causing any damage to them.

As our Action had a very political message we were addressing, we had to clear about how we were going to get the message across, and we had to work out the extent to which we, as an action group of 7 people, might be at risk of attack. The process was intense and educational and helped us to grow as a group, but also as individuals. Whenever we seemed to get stuck in too many problems, the spirit of Inside Out, the lightness and laughter helped us to carry on and find solutions that turned out to be even better than the ones we had set out to find in the first place. Not unexpectedly, we had to endure some very hurtful verbal attacks during the assembly of the portraits, during the silent protest and also afterwards. Aggressive, emotionally charged statements and even threats are part of our experiences today. “We have your faces and you are the first to end up in a concentration camp!” (Quote); “The genie is out of the bottle and you can’t get it back!” (Quote). When we are attacked for our commitment with these words because of an art campaign for democracy, the time for “never again is NOW” has come.

People standing proudly and smiling with portraits

The limits of tolerance are defined where laws and basic principles of the rule of law have established them. Anyone who believes it is tolerant to allow these limits to be exceeded supports those who want to undermine or destroy our basic rights, civil liberties and our democracy. Through the project we could experience how a process and an examination of the topic was initiated by all generations. People stopped in front of the installations and started talking. Maybe communication is a means against division and for more togetherness. We hope to see this impact moving forward in our city. All of our beautiful, stressful, exhausting, wet, exhilarating, disturbing, rewarding and surprising experiences show that we have to learn again to commit ourselves to the supposedly self-evident things of our free life. Passivity is a trap that we only recognize when it is sprung. 

A woman posting in front of the camera

The Outcome

The fact that we were ultimately able to see the project implemented in this form is thanks to people who understood the idea and believed in it right from the start. With our idea we triggered something that could only really come about with what others contributed with their resources: With their time, hands, minds, machines, equipment, vehicles, donations, knowledge, photographic eyes, journalistic skills, with their food, their rooms, their physical effort, their endurance, their weather resistance and their benevolence and generosity. 

picture of of one of the installation of the project 

Our greatest thanks go to 473 people who have placed their trust in us by SHOWING FACE: 

It's a good feeling to be able to live in such a community.