The Outset Youth Projects at the Pinakothek der Moderne Munich have been running since 2006. Working alongside well-known international contemporary artists and contemporary art collections the projects give young people the opportunity to engage in creative practices within the context of international contemporary art. The workshops are directed towards young people who, either through disability or social deprivation, have had little opportunity to visit public museums or galleries.
Artist and activist Sandra Ortmann and Art Historian Ute Marxreiter, in collaboration with the Palais Pinakothek Team, held a workshop with girls from the underprivileged, part-time vocational school in Bogenhausen. The participants visited the exhibition and held discussions on gender issues and the balance of power between the sexes. Sandra Ortmann gave the participants an introduction to related themes surrounding gender theory and in particular sexual identity, feminism and gender politics. Participants were then divided into small groups and photographed in different poses in the Palais photo studio. Choosing different poses they discussed what connotations their spontaneous poses projected: sexuality, power, confidence?
The older children were given a table with different objects including gloves, bananas, belts, necklaces, make-up brushes, feathers, cowboy hats and even a fake beard. The students then photographed themselves with objects from the table. Afterwards, they discussed the photos and what the photographs projected. This led to a lengthy discussion which examined the work of Cindy Sherman, Pipilotti Rist, Nan Goldin and Daniela Rossel amongst others.
