Conferences & Dialogue

Photo: Sabrina Öttl

They want to kill your inner queer - Transnational Insights on Conversion Practices

When the Department for Equal Opportunities of the City of Heidelberg asked me to design and produce a lecture series on conversion efforts, I was more than excited. Coming from an area where these conversion efforts have been common in professional and non-professional settings, I knew how complex this issue was. Conversion practices are usually hidden and unconscious practices that aim to change other people’s sexual orientation in the direction of heterosexuality or a cisgender identity. The practices cause severe and long-lasting health consequences and assume the necessity to “cure” LGBTIQ+ individuals. Although Germany had passed a bill against conversion therapy, there was no research on where or how these practices were occurring.

By pairing international experts with national specialists, my goal was to ensure that global insights were effectively anchored in the German situation and with the respective institutions. That meant, that each lecture was not isolated but accompanied by a German counterpart. Early on in the process, I strongly emphasized involving partner organizations in a meaningful way. To raise awareness regionally and nationally, we worked together with an outstanding young graphic designer, Sabrina Öttl, who created a visual language that captured the lecture’s content at first sight. The outcome of this series was remarkable: It not only raised awareness but also secured federal funding for a much-needed research project.

Department for Equal Opportunities, City of Heidelberg
Scientific Lead: Danijel Cubelic and Dr. Klemens Ketelhut
Production: Tom Pfanner
Graphic Design: Sabrina Öttl

Photo: Matthias Rhomberg

Dialogue for Feldkirch

Feldkirch has a long history marked by the theme of brain drain—once home to many important humanists who all passed away elsewhere. Today, a similar pattern exists, with remarkable scientists and experts growing up in Feldkirch but practicing their professions elsewhere. For the Montforter Zwischentöne festival, we brought these distinguished individuals (including the leader of Europe's Mars mission!) back to Feldkirch for a conference. In addition, we hosted a circle dialogue with a musician, where all participants engaged in an improvised conversation about the future of Feldkirch. This unique format allowed for creative and spontaneous exchange, blending music and dialogue to explore new possibilities for the town's development.

Montforter Zwischentöne - aufbrechen, heimkehren 2018
Artistic lead: Hans-Joachim Gögl, Folkert Uhde
Production: Tom Pfanner