Attention! New date: May 7th, 2025. The event will now be available in person or over Zoom.
"I wish this mountain was still an airport," he said. "We could just take off."
—Elvia Wilk, OVAL
Writing Berlin is a creative writing workshop series exploring how the city of Berlin has captured the imagination of writers and artists throughout history. In this special edition, poet and travel writer Demi Anter leads Writing Tempelhofer Feld to raise funds to support Architects for Tempelhofer Feld's aim to save Berlin's beloved community space from building development.
Through mapmaking and storytelling, participants will discover new ways of creating and disseminating their own Tempelhofer Feld stories, while feeling the power of community action.
The workshop is not for profit.
All proceeds will be donated to A4THF's efforts as a part of their upcoming actions of presence on the Feld in the coming months. You can learn more about the network, their efforts, and how you can be involved in saving this important cultural and ecological site from building development here.
This workshop will be conducted in English (Demi can also give feedback in German), but attendees are welcome to create in any language. The workshop is suitable for people of all experience levels. Please join us even if you are not a writer: All are welcome.
...The external landscape, designed for what was supposed to be simply the technical infrastructure of transportation, has blossomed into a playground of the human spirit.
—Randy Malamud, "The New Psychogeography of Tempelhof Airport"
More ways to get involved
In addition to coming away with new skills for writing about our experiences in the city, we hope some participants may be interested in sharing their writing as a part of A4THF's upcoming open call, PROMPT, for a publication in collaboration with the street magazine, Arts of the Working Class.
The call seeks to prompt peripheral topics surrounding Tempelhofer Feld, taking the form of academic and non-academic texts, graphic data, photographic essays, and other creative or provocative works (e.g. image, graphics, collage, video via QR-Code). Pieces of creative writing are welcome.
We will share information and support for how to submit so during the workshop, but taking part is optional. During the workshop, you will never be forced to share anything you have written.
To support further, you can donate to the upcoming publication in collaboration with Arts of the Working Class here.
About the Instructor
Demi Anter is an award-winning writer and performer whose teaching focuses on the power of writing from personal experience. She has conducted workshops at various institutions throughout the world, including London’s Irish Cultural Centre and the Royal National Theatre. Her poems have been published by Magma, Banshee, and The Times (UK), and have been featured at Glastonbury Festival, the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh Fringe, Poetry Ireland, Bristol Old Vic, and more.
In 2023, she and Rory MacLean co-presented "Bowie in Berlin" at the inaugural Sherborne Travel Writing Festival. Her poetry collection Small Machine, which documents her early years in Berlin, was published by Write Bloody UK in 2022. Chanel Miller called it, "Strikingly luminous and soothing." Musa Okwonga called it, "Tender, visceral, beautifully vulnerable."
Demi's father was stationed at the Tempelhof airbase in the '70s. Years later, she got to experience the Feld for herself as part of her life in a new city—one where ghosts roam, histories commingle, and Berliners continue writing their stories.
About Architects for Tempelhofer Feld
Architects4THF is a growing network of architects, landscape architects, and urban planners, founded on November 7, 2024 in response to the 2024 Tempelhofer Feld idea competition which welcomes new construction despite the 2014 citizens' referendum. Our mission is to create a counter-narrative and resist building development on the field. We also recognize Tempelhofer Feld as a focal point to address periphery topics that shape the social and ecological future of our cities. As a volunteer-driven initiative, we rely on donations to remain independent and raise awareness. We are global citizens. We are non-partisan.
Stay up to date with the latest news or get in touch with A4THF
Email: hello@architects4thf.com
Website: architects4thf.com
Instagram: @architects4thf
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Architects4THF
Sign the Open Letter: https://forms.gle/CsKnCtd2vr6KqtwKA
What others have said
“Demi is an incredible teacher and inspiring leader. She holds the space for curiosity, allowing questions as you go, while creating an atmosphere that is welcoming and conducive to learning.”
“Without question, my time with Demi in her workshop pushed me to become a better, more focused and productive writer, and I look forward to working with her again.”
