In their transition from school to work, many young people ask themselves the question: should I go or stay? And, sometimes this question never even arises: there are no secondary schools nearby, public transport is being reduced, infrastructure dismantled, and leisure facilities are scarce. Many young people are turning their backs on their roots and moving to cities in order to seek education, training and work. The elders stay behind. Our project "Hidden Places" trains awareness in young people living in rural areas, and empowers them to take an imaginative look at art and culture in their everyday lives against the background of demographic change. Using social documentary photography, girls and boys aged 16-17 learn to engage with their own perceptions, and using impressions from their immediate environment via the means of landscape photography, develop a vision for the design of rural areas. The project "Hidden Places" is supported by the art photographer Kathrin Karras from Grüneberg, a town close to the foundation’s headquarters. "Open your eyes!", the project instructs young people in search of places where they can express their problems, longings and fears in the form of photographs. Guided by intuition, curiosity and empathy, they seek out places with which they connect. Places that characterize surrounding landscapes and spaces. They use photography as a means of stocktaking and description, discuss the resulting shots in groups and as individuals, and make image selections. In addition to the theoretical basics such as image composition, image design and dealing with digital cameras, the project also teaches social skills, such as critical ability and self-reflection. Hand in Hand - together with teams of craftsmen at Schloss & Gut Liebenberg, the youngsters transform their most meaningful photos into small works of art. They also get the chance to build their own lightboxes, which are then used to exhibit the best photos in Exin Secondary School in Zehdenick. The world of tomorrow is changeable. We want to put this idea across using artistic methods and techniques. To do this, we combine artistic methods with scientific disciplines. This awakens the curiosity of the young, strengthens their interconnected thinking, encourages their willingness to act, and develops their individual artistic expression.     HIDDEN PLACES WINS MIXED UP COMPETITION! We’re delighted to announce that in MIXED UP 2018 - the national competition for cultural education partnerships - our project Hidden Places won in the ‘Rural Areas’ category. We’re looking forward to the award ceremony in Kiel on 22 November. MIXED UP, the national competition for cultural education partnerships of the Federal Association for Cultural Education for Children and Young People, aims to promote cooperation between youth work, culture and education (schools and day-care centres), to highlight the potential of cooperation and to support children and adolescents using art and culture in their educational training, personality development, and skills acquisition. If you are interested in this project and would like to have it implemented at your school, please contact Ulrike Eichentopf at 033094-700 466, or send an e-mail to ulrike.eichentopf@dkb-Stiftung.de.

Music is a personal experience that is celebrated in the community. We want to provide an open space for music in which everyone feels comfortable. We present concerts that appeal to connoisseurs and newcomers alike. This music is a sensual experience that is exciting, new and intense. For us, sound and landscape go hand in hand and both have inspired us to create this music festival. The concerts take place in a relaxed atmosphere, where everyone can come as they are. Exciting performance concepts make the music come alive to all the senses - up close and memorable. For all who attend discoveries and personal experiences await. Music from the Early Baroque through to the Romantic era and into the modern age will be played, with a variety of instruments from the harpsichord to the piano, from the viola to the violin. Different listening situations make up an important part of the Liebenberg music festival. At the promenade concert you can move freely around and lie down on the lawn of the ‘sound island’. The performances in the music barn and the church are seated concerts which offer their own special atmospheres. An event of the DKB FOUNDATION and PODIUM Esslingen.