Talking and Painting

Welcome to the studio for the art and practice of collaboration!

How do we foster a sense of togetherness in these times?

We invite you to engage in a dialogue through words, colours, shapes and whatever emerges from this interplay. Together with you, we’ll explore the potential of shared, intuitive creativity as a means of exploring important questions. In short: talking and painting.

We ask ourselves: How do we foster a sense of togetherness in these times? Times of change, uncertainty and an unclear future. Times of loneliness, overwhelm and a longing for hope. Times of rifts in our relationships, a loss of words and a lack of connection. Times when we ask ourselves: How do we maintain a sense of community? How do we keep contact and creativity alive, even when life becomes difficult?

A few colours, brushes, pens, collage materials. A large white sheet of paper on the table. People gathered round it, all pondering the same question. Someone writes the question in the centre of the paper: “What does togetherness mean in these times?” Everyone else watches, deep in thought. One of the hosts says: “If you’d like, just start doing something somewhere on the paper.” One or two brave souls pick up a pen or a brush and make their first stroke. Others follow suit. Someone outlines the question. There is silence for a while. Then someone asks, “What do we actually mean by a sense of belonging?” whilst drawing a thick red line on the paper. At the other end, someone sticks a picture of a house onto the paper. “I’ve actually always wondered where I really belong,” says someone, and begins to tell their story.

It might look something like this. A tentative, joint exploration of a difficult question. As we work together, thoughts, feelings and physical sensations arise. We express what we perceive within ourselves (to presence) – in words, in colour and form, in movement, in stillness. This is how the whole thing continues to develop. We experience how our contribution is visible in the shared picture and remains so. We are challenged when the picture develops differently from how we would like it to, or from what we consider to be right or beautiful. We realise: only together could what we now see have come into being. And what we see offers us insights into ourselves, into our relationships with one another, and into our question.

Anyone who’s curious and can stay for the full four hours. You don’t need any particular artistic or creative experience or knowledge to take part.

• Thursday, 28 January 2027, 4 pm to 8 pm
• SOCIUS, Tempelhofer Ufer 21, 10963 Berlin
• Please note: unfortunately, our premises are not wheelchair accessible. There are no parking spaces nearby; however, the Möckernbrücke underground station is right on our doorstep.

It is important to us that our labs are accessible to everyone, and at the same time, it is important to us that the lab instructors receive appropriate remuneration. SOCIUS does not earn any money from the labs. Your contribution goes directly to the instructors.

We ask for a contribution of your choice between €20.00 and €150.00.

The service is exempt from VAT pursuant to Section 4 No. 22 a).

"How do we keep connection and creativity alive, even when life gets difficult?" This question is one that preoccupies me both as a person and as a process facilitator – because I believe that we need to be in touch with ourselves and with one another in order to be creative – and that we need creativity to cope with life, both individually and collectively. I’m interested in the creativity that emerges when we’re connected. I’m interested in how we shape, together, the things that affect us all – in teams, organisations, neighbourhoods and society. 

My approach is based on dialogue (group discussions, Collective Presencing, Dynamic Facilitation, The Flow Game, The Art of Hosting and Harvesting Conversations that Matter, intuitive painting). My focus is on relationships (systemic, emotion- and mindfulness-based coaching, NVC-based mediation). My concern is with vibrant community life.

More about Jenna: https://jennabuechy.de/  

As a scribe, visual facilitator and process facilitator, I believe that groups possess wisdom, creativity and intelligence which can be brought to the fore when the right conditions are in place. I love helping to create such spaces: vibrant, clear and full of possibilities, particularly during times of transition, crisis or uncertainty.

For more than 15 years, I have been working with teams, individuals and staff within organisations and networks to drive social change. My focus is on participatory leadership, resilience and visualisation as a tool for thinking and dialogue. It helps to secure results and keep track of the invisible threads running through processes, workshops and events. I cherish the moment when the seemingly invisible becomes visible, whether in conversation or on a large sheet of paper.

More about Julia https://socius.de/team/julia-hoffmann/