It wasn’t a club in the beginning. It was an experience on the street. Coming from dreams of Hollywood and a voice in the head saying: “Do you really want success? Then talk to that homeless man over there… see what happens.” A cascade of experiences followed; a journey of the soul going from crisis (that classic, pressure-filled, straining, trying to fit in to capitalistic category lifestyles) to a crash. We gave the man five dollars. He gave us a homemade ring. We were surprised. We left LA. Back in Berlin, we were poor ourselves, poor artists on Hartz IV unemployment benefit. Can help come more directly? We watched a film – Menschen von Sheffield – about a workers’ club in England; the motto of which was Entertainment and Social Support. When one worker was sick, the whole club pitched in to support them. The training began in our living room. We invented a funny didactic game. We performed. We had different conversations with different people. Not over iPhones, but face to face. It was magical. We trained to give and receive. We felt rich. We opened it up to 100 people. We became richer. It became an alternative lifestyle. One based on generosity. It is the gift that keeps on giving…
Initiated 2012
Jill Emerson, Till Rothmund, Rahel Savoldelli, Nir de Volff, Carola Lehmann, Margerete Barck, Claudia Basrawi, Claus Erbskorn, Knut Berger, Ronald Berger, Diane Busuttil, Agathe Chion, Anna de Carlo, Hiltrud Ellert, Cristel Friedrich, Steve Heather, Stefan Oppenländer, Juli Reinartz, Liz Rosenfeld, Judith Strößenreuter, Jeremy Wade, Rainer von Dziegielewski, Siegmar Zacharias