The WEBS project was born through exchanges with migrants, refugees and displaced communities in Europe and MENA regions, which shed light on the over-abundance of certain types of training courses, often stemming from a default neo-liberal capitalist lens, which often fail to acknowledge the skills and knowledges already possessed by these communities. Furthermore, while the focus often lies on corporate skills, we looked at the importance of skills that are situated outside of this market logic, but crucial to well-being, and to a feeling of community.
Our exchanges showed that creative, artistic, cultural and well-being practices appear to be largely absent in the diverse training offers, while representing areas of significant interest for displaced communities. It also seems that spaces oriented towards the sharing of creative practices are also spaces where people can let go of social barriers, connect on a deeper level and create sustainable networks. Key to the concept was thus the idea of designing spaces of co-creation and exchange for migrants, refugees, and displaced people to explore and expand their artistic practices and skills, both as a mean of self-expression, as well as a way of relating to the world in creative, innovative and affective ways.
The project was developed as a response to this gap, with the aims to create a rhizome-like artistic network for displaced artists to meet, share skills, stories and knowledges, and connect around creative practices. It aimed to bring its participants practical teaching skills and knowledge (about funding landscape, how to budget, how to pitch a project) to be used and deepened in other contexts after the project. But more than that, the project aimed to challenge hegemonic hierarchies and power structures at the core of education, to become a horizontal network of teachers and learners, a space for co-responsibility, vulnerability, reflection, learning and co-creation.

Conducted in partnership with People Beyond Borders e.V and with a group of 16 migrant and refugee artists, predominantly women, coming from 10 different nationalities and various art practices, the project took place from February to June 2023. 

The project was a mix of online and face-to-face meetings, divided into two stages:
● Stage 1 - Online sessions with a focus on theory to learn from & exchange knowledge and ideas with international artists, trainers, educators, and curators.
● Stage 2 - In person In the second stage each participant leads a workshop sharing their own interests, practices, and knowledge with the group. The participants gather in person in Berlin to attend each other's session twice a week for almost 2 months. This second stage was supported by House of Ressources.

From this practice the group developed the exhibition "Fragments of Impermanence" exhibited simultaneously at Haus der Statistik and Refugio Cafe during Berlin's Refugee Week in the last week of June, in partnership with Mensch Raum Land e.V, Counterpoints Arts and Give Something Back to Berlin.