December – 2023 – Stephanie Kiwitt

S. ANDERS LEBEN. EINE HANDLUNG IN GESPRÄCHEN

S. Anders leben. Eine Handlung in Gesprächen ( Living Differently. An Act in Conversations), 2023, text animation, 24 min<br />
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MR DUNST: People here often mention the past. Was it really like that? What from that era is worth keeping? The concept of ‘future’ seems to offer little inspiration here. OLIVER: I used to think it was nice being able to shop and go to the cinema here. But that changed once I started driving. It was just the way things evolved. ANJA: Life has changed. OLIVER: We’ll find a way to adapt. ANJA: Change is the only constant. The world will continue to evolve, and so will this place. OLIVER: We still have some time before that happens.

S. Anders leben. Eine Handlung in Gesprächen ( Living Differently. An Act in Conversations), 2023, text animation, 24 min<br />
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Ms Gerd: The place itself is outdated. Oliver's child in our block is growing up as if in a retirement home. HENNY: Take a look around. The streets are deserted. MR SCHWAD: Most people prefer to retread into their own form walls. 'My home is my castle' – that's their motto.<br />

S. Anders leben. Eine Handlung in Gesprächen ( Living Differently. An Act in Conversations), 2023, text animation, 24 min<br />
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MR SCHWAD: This place hasn’t developed culturally like more central areas. Locals have long had to go elsewhere for shopping, dining, and so on. STEFAN: It’s not the people’s fault, but the infrastructure. MS RITTER: We feel left behind here. MS RATKE: We should demand more from the government! MS KLAUS: Sometimes it feels like too much for me. It takes ages to figure out what’s going on in the town council with all the bureaucracy and laws.

S. Anders leben. Eine Handlung in Gesprächen ( Living Differently. An Act in Conversations), 2023, text animation, 24 min<br />
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MR DUNST: I imagine that if nothing were to happen, the future would be a blank canvas, devoid of anything. MR WINDORF: Just beyond S, there was a Stone Age settlement. When I gaze at the stars there at night, I’m struck by the thought that what I’m seeing has already been witnessed by someone long ago. From Saturn’s perspective, Earth is merely a faint dot, yet here we are living on it – tiny, but incredibly beautiful. It’s captivating. It changes the way you walk through the forest, the way you move through S.<br />

S. Anders leben. Eine Handlung in Gesprächen (Living Differently: An Act in Conversations), 2023<br />
Sandersleben (Saxony-Anhalt), 14 April 2023, starry sky

S. Anders leben. Eine Handlung in Gesprächen (Living Differently: An Act in Conversations), 2023<br />
Installation Werkleitz Festival ‘Mein Schatz’, 2023, rotating door leaf (wood, car paint, metal rod) and photograph (pigment print)<br />
photo: Falk Wenzel

S. Anders leben. Eine Handlung in Gesprächen (Living Differently: An Act in Conversations), 2023<br />
Werkleitz Festival ‘Mein Schatz’, 2023, scenic reading with inhabitants from Sandersleben (Saxony-Anhalt)<br />
photo: werkleitz

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S. Anders leben ist ein Textstück, in dem die Bewohnerinnen und Bewohner der Stadt S. über Stimmungen im Ort, aktuelle Entwicklungen und Möglichkeiten der Mitgestaltung sprechen. Welche Erzählungen, Gefühle und Wünsche verbinden die Menschen mit der Gegenwart des Ortes, welche Gedanken an die Zukunft bewegen sie? Das Stück wird von Menschen aus Sandersleben, Wiederstedt und Hettstedt aufgeführt. Der Text wurde von Stephanie Kiwitt nach Interviews in Sandersleben 2022–26 geschrieben.

Between 2022 and 2024, Stephanie Kiwitt photographed traces of ongoing transformation in places and landscapes of Saxony-Anhalt (Flächenland, Fortlaufend). In late 2022, she returned to Sandersleben to speak with residents and learn more about their town. From numerous interviews, a text piece emerged in which locals reflect on the atmosphere in the town, the past and present, demographic shifts, and the opportunities and challenges of civic engagement, local initiatives, and visions for the future. The piece was expanded in 2026 following additional conversations.