WOKULE FROM THE BEGINNING
Our story begins 16 years ago. In 2003 a small group of friends set out to find a spot for a festival in the surrounding area of Berlin.
They found a piece of land directly at a small lake, a deserted children’s holiday camp with some bungalows, a larger main house and an old population of trees. For years it had been unused and unkempt, with many windows smashed. Everything that could be dismantled or had any value had been removed or torn out. It was quickly agreed with the owners that the area could be used for a few weeks and the festival took place. A colourful crew of Berlin artists and cultural workers created the then named Camp Tipsy, one of the most vibrant festivals in Berlin, a creative space for all kinds of marginal music, for various artistic projects, for alternative forms of collaboration – experimental, self-organised and non-commercial.
The following year there was another festival. This time even more people came together, about 5000 participants. Something else had begun to emerge… a small group of people began to inhabit and enliven the area more permanently, coming back weekend after weekend, freeing all the surrounding areas and lake of rubbish and opened up the bungalows bit by bit.
The place and the people still exist. In order to be able to use the area permanently they became an association, the association Kleiner Wukensee (Wokule e.V.). The majority of the bungalows have been extended and can be used all year round. Three circus cars and a sauna have also been added. A large guest house, an event bungalow, light and wood workshops, a rehearsal room, a garden, a yoga room and a dance hall have been built. There is hardly any property and fences, but there is all the more shared space. This is not only used by the members of the association, but is also open for a larger network, for workshops and seminars, for the development of new projects, for celebrations of friends. Studio recordings, furniture, light objects, aid projects, films and our own beer have been crafted. Birthdays and weddings are celebrated, concerts are performed, and tango and swing dance classes take place regularly. Children have been born there and fruit trees were planted.
Year after year since the first Camp Tipsy in 2003, these people opened their doors to allow a festival celebration, always under a new name, with a new framework. In order to reinvent themselves again and again. But also to keep the rush small, not by fences, but by change. There were several Goldmund festivals, summer festivals, light festivals, a sports festival and workshop camps. Every year in October there is a colourful volleyball tournament to which everyone is invited. The aim is always to create a playground for music of all kinds, for various forms of artistic expression, for light installations, „frickel projects“ and various forms of collaboration. It’s never about money, nobody wants and should earn money from it. Many interfaces have emerged – musicians* and artists*, and collectives from Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Dresden, Riga, Stockholm, Bristol and more – all coming together to bring new ideas and projects to life.
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE ?
A passionate and diverse crew of 36 club members, 30 children and a large network of friends. The members include stage designers*, stand builders*, carpenters*, outfitters*, lawyers*, light artists*, doctors*, educators*, musicians*, tree caretakers*, programmers*, editors*, educators*, chimney builders*, cameramen and students*. Rent and ancillary costs are financed by a solidarity contribution model.
Some of these people have now moved to the small town and become Biesenthaler residents. Their children go to school there, they have built a new, independent school and participate in an „open“ Biesenthal.
What they all have in common is their love for this little corner of the world and their unconditional will to continue playing together for a long time to come. For us, for you, and especially for our children, who are growing up out here close to nature.
SOS – the WOKULE needs yours SUPPORT!
