Freiburg vocational school students visited Isfahan and returned with their impressions and, of course, photos.
The dozen budding photographers and graphic designers worked together for one week with students on a project. "We met a lot of very open-minded people," explains 20-year-old Anja Gutmann. And her fellow pupil Jonas Fehlinger was very excited by the visit: "Because it was really different - the conservation of handcraft, the architecture, everything."
He saw a blacksmith in the market. Leonie Faller added that she saw somebody printing carpets. And then there was the fantastic food... This initial visit to Iran was arranged by Christiane Begatik, a teacher at the Gertrud-Luckner Vocational School. The City of Freiburg paid for half of the visit, and the Freiburg-Isfahan Circle of Friends made contact with the university where photography and graphics is also taught. Accommodation and food were free of charge.
Freiburg is the only German city with a partner city in Iran. Connections at an individual level have always been very active even if contact at an official level has been on hold. The school group arrived in the middle of the night and a welcoming committee was waiting for them. "We were shown fantastic hospitality," explains photography teacher Jörg Robold. There were security checks," explains his colleague Klaus Kaps, "but these are always really friendly." They sensed no tension as they were travelling around the country, but only picked up on the dissatisfaction with the system and the restrictions.
The trainees and students did a workshop together, explained prospective graphic designer Jan Knäble. They took pictures for two days and, in five mixed groups, created posters on the themes of buildings and food. "That wasn't without its problems," said Christiane Begatik. This is because the approach and the design rules are in some cases contradictory.
Teacher Marion Krauß explains that the Freiburg students work more independently and creatively while the Iranians adhere more strictly to specifications. Anja Gutmann divided up the word "architecture" and positioned it on the poster in two lines: "Then the teacher said you can't do that." Robold said that it could just as well happen the other way around and everybody laughed.
"There were no arguments, only tears," explains Marion Krauß referring to the heartfelt farewells. When Klaus Kaps instinctively moved to shake the hand of an Iranian female colleague he remembered that you don't do that: "Too much electricity." However, the host's enthusiasm was certainly sparked for the dual system. An immense amount of interest was shown in German training. In October, the Iranians are coming to Freiburg.