How to find a new home

What does home means to you? This was the question of two students from Interior Design and Interior Architecture. Jessica Noack and Carina Bartl spoke with three Syrian refugees about the process of arriving and discovering a new country. The students accompanied Monzer Shamia, Shahm Damlakhi and Sameh Tayeb in their first time in Coburg.

The idea behind the project was, that the perception of a city depends on the individual life experience. The students wanted to visualize the daily life of the Syrians. Therefor they gave cameras to Monzer, Shahm and Sameh. They took pictures of places they connect with their first time in Coburg. Jessica Noack and Carina Bartl interviewed the Syrians about being abroad and away from home, about cultural differences and life plans.
The students documented the stories and designed a poster which combines text and picture. Every picture is the starting point of a story. The poster shows the life lines of the three Syrians in Coburg.

Monzer Shamia took a photo of the church named Moriz in Coburg. He studied art and design in Aleppo and was at first especially fascinated by the architecture in Coburg.
Shahm Damlakhis picture shows the theatre of Coburg. He connects this place with his arrival, because he took part in a theatre project with other refugees.

At the beginning they all felt lonely in Germany. Country and culture are very different from their home country. Also they suffered under the lack of social contacts. Now they have friends and a place they belong to. Coburg became a second home to them.
Carina Bartl and Jessica Noack found a way to show the experience of a lost home and the search for a new one to an uninvolved observer. The project was part of the interdisciplinary teaching concept “Coburger Weg”. The students were supervised by Wolfram Richter and Regina Graßmann.