ARTWORK

All getting-to-know games, rounds of introductions, icebreakers, etc. serve as methodical aids to help the participants get to know each other. Especially in the context of art and adult education, creative methods of getting to know each other seem particularly useful. Here are some examples:^[1]

Exercise1: Inside the bag

The participants put the contents of their bags in order on a large sheet of paper. Secret things may be packed into small packages. Using the contents of the bag, learners introduce themselves to the group, answering the following questions: 

• What thing is typical/characteristic of me? 
  
• Which thing is important to me and why? How can others recognize me? 
  
• What do I always have with me? Do I have many secrets or no secrets? 
  
• Items that participants do not want to show are wrapped in paper. 
  

Exercise 2: Favorite places

Participants are asked what they consider to be a place of strength or a favorite place. They are then given the task of going to their favorite place in their mind and describing what the place looks like and what they appreciate about it. With this description the participants introduce themselves. The following questions are helpful:

• What does this place look like?
  
• Why do you feel comfortable there?
  
• Who or what is there that makes you feel good?
  
• What positive memories do you associate with this place?
  
• When do you go there?
• …

Of course, no limits are imposed on the ingenuity of the leaders and there are all kinds of possible ways to design this phase. The impulses for getting to know each other could then also be extended, for example, the exercise on favorite places could be continued by exploring the urban space and looking for empowering places therein that correspond to one’s own ideas or thinking about how one can transform public spaces into empowering places.