Culture Node e. V.

Juan C. P Rz
May 18, 2023
6 min read

Culture Node, based in Germany, aims to create vibrant projects for a multicultural and open-minded audience. We aim to build strong cross-cultural relationships and promote mutual learning through the power of the urban arts. Hip Hop culture is our universal language, allowing us to transcend cultural, linguistic, geographical, and other boundaries.

"Hip-hop is our universal language, transcending cultural and linguistic boundaries, fostering mutual learning and strong relationships."

We create strong relationships between people and facilitate mutual learning through the power of the urban arts … beyond cultures, borders, and language barriers.

The Power of Hip Hop and Urban Arts: A Conversation with Culture Node

What came first in your life, creativity, or social work?

Creativity. Our association is an arts association in the first place, but we also pursue social goals with our projects.

Can you describe the first project you did with this association?

The first project would be the European Hip-hop Exchange, Corona Edition. Last year we did the actual exchange. We had 21 artists who met three times during the year 2020 in Bucharest, Paris, and Offenburg.

During corona, bringing people together in real life was impossible. We decided to do an online version of the exchange. We invited 14 artists from all disciplines of the hip-hop culture: Rap, producing, breaking, graffiti, DJing and beatboxing. They created four songs and videos together for two weeks. And we added photo and video editing as a discipline. The results were great, and we managed to create connections between all the people involved, even though we were all stuck at home.

If I understand it well, then Hip-hop would be something you already had experience with, right?

Hip-hop is what we are; that's the base and our tool for what we are doing. With this instrument, we create relationships between people and foster mutual learning.

That's the main point of our association.

What value has creativity in the activities of association and in your life?

Creating something together always builds strong bonds between people. So, you can put together people from various backgrounds, who speak different languages or have diverse social backgrounds, cut them out of their everyday life and put them in a new space surrounded by creativity.

You can still paint a wall, produce a beat, scratch, or dance together even though you don't speak the same language.

Creativity is a powerful tool for creating relationships. And usually, people stop bothering about things such as social background, where they come from, etc. It is also an instrument to empower people. Give them self-confidence. Teach them how they can use their potential or express themselves.

You said that your association was mainly based on art and the social topics came after. Did it come naturally, or did you feel like you wanted to broaden your activities?

It always goes together. When I was a teenager, the hip-hop culture gave me many social competencies and showed me how to express myself and occupy myself. I also met many people from other countries, and that's something I would like to share. Creativity, in general, can give a lot, especially to young people unsure about their place in society. Especially Hip-hop or the urban arts are a great entry point to get in touch with them. It's deeply rooted in hip-hop, to pass something to the next generation.

And then the cross-cultural aspect is also really strong. We are based next to the French border. Therefore, my generation of artists always had contact with French artists. That's also something, as an association, we want to foster and open doors for everybody because it's a challenge. You need to speak another language and know people. But if there's, for example, a project around cross-cultural meetings and stuff like that, then people would overcome that barrier.

"Creativity and hip-hop culture empowered me as a teenager, inspiring me to express myself and share the transformative potential of urban arts."

How did your connection to social work emerged?

It came naturally. We have a unique tool to work with people, which works great in combination with social work. Together we can create meaningful change.

I'm curious about how, as an organization, you position yourself toward the illegal history of graffiti? What is your approach toward the history of urban art?

That is a very good question. Most artists we are working with are in this culture for 15 or 20 years. So, we grew up with it and we have a strong connection to its history.

In our workshops, we will not advocate illegal graffiti but explain where it comes from because it's essential to know. It used to be an expression for deprived minorities who did not have a lot of ways to express themselves or be seen. In the seventies and eighties, it gave people a lot of pride and a way to express themselves. And suddenly, there was graffiti, which could bring your name/message on trains into neighborhoods you never put a foot in. It definitely was a way of empowerment.

Today, there are fortunately also much more legal walls now. There are festivals. There's also social media where you can express yourself. So, we have a strong relationship to the culture, the past and the present.

Which of the two, social or artistic, fulfills you more?

It's hard to say. Both go together. Whenever I look at our projects, the main point which makes me happy is the relationships we were able to create. However, we can only build those relationships using the arts.

Do you think that connection of those two can be problematic?

Yeah, that's an interesting question. From the cultural management perspective, it can be problematic if the arts are not funded for the art's sake but as a tool to fulfill other policy goals.

The social sector could, for example, say, "Okay, we need to create more cohesion between minorities in this part of the city, so let's use the arts." Then they have a project call, and artistic associations get involved because they're seeking funding. In an extreme case, the government might say, "Well, the arts can get their funding via other policy areas, so it's unnecessary to fund them only for the art's sake.

Hence, there should always be solid funding for the arts itself. However, as I mentioned before, the arts have a lot of power to bring people together and foster relationships. There is nothing wrong with using this potential in cross-sector corporations.

How do you determine your audience for each project?

Our approach is project-based, so our audience groups vary depending on the project. We adapt our strategies accordingly. There's no fixed formula to this.

I see. So, for example, when you're working with an NGO, do you have a specific target audience in mind?

Well, we do have a wide spectrum of target groups. We don't have a specific group in mind, but we work on projects that align with our mission and vision.

And do you find the diversity of the target group useful?

I think it's okay to have a wide audience group in general, but you don't have to throw every offer you have at everybody, because it's not going to interest everyone all the time. It's easier to promote a specific program to a sharp audience group that is interested.

That's actually very practical advice. So the last question is, do you think art has the ability to address pressing social issues?

Yes, it does have the ability, but the question is whether it has the ability to change or solve pressing social issues. That's a hard question. It's a little bit like a question of how naive or not naive you are, like whether you believe that art can change the world or not. I can only repeat what I said before that social issues are mainly solved by communicating a lot and changing the environment and circumstances, but that's a political issue.

As artists or an arts organization, we may not have the power to solve issues, but we can create a space for communication. By facilitating a safe environment, we can bring people together to communicate more easily than they might be able to elsewhere. This is what we can bring to the table. And well, I believe that this kind of communication can change our world step by step.