The psych-disciplines present themselves as universal, yet their knowledge production and practices are predominantly shaped by urban contexts. Rural populations rarely appear as research subjects or service recipients, except in moments of crisis. This urban bias frames rural communities as outliers, reinforcing their marginalization. This presentation explores how systemic and cultural biases within the psych-disciplines contribute to this exclusion and its profound effects, while considering pathways to better integrate rural realities into the core concerns of these disciplines.

Many rural areas in Germany are facing rising rental vacancy rates, population ageing, and economic uncertainties. These developments weaken social cohesion and democratic resilience, which result in growing support of right-wing populist parties such as ‚Alternative for Germany (AfD)‘. These dynamics, an example of ‚dark times‘ in which the infrastructures of democracy (freedom of speech, civil engagement and so on) have become fragile, call for an immediate act of reimagining collectivism and community mobilization.

One example and response to these challenges can be observed in the small town Kalbe (Milde), in Saxony-Anhalt, a state in the former East Germany. In 2013 Citizens and artists jointly developed the concept of a ‚Künstlerstadt‘ (artists' town) to revitalize the region through artistic participative interventions. Based on the work of artist Joseph Beuys from the 1960s, they refer to the narrative of ‚Social Sculpture’, in which creative practice becomes a vehicle for self-efficacy, community resilience and sustainable change (Köbele 2017). In this sense the ‚Künstlerstadt‘ becomes a promising case to examine the nexus between art, narratives, and transformation.

My proposed work-in-progress-presentation aims to develop a theoretical understanding of the creative practice applying the Grounded Theory Methodology on interviews and documents related to the ‚Künstlerstadt‘. Engaging with the works of John Dewey and Claire Bishop, I discuss how Kalbe’s creative practice differs from other (urban-related) concepts of community-based art and give insights into the role of aesthetic experience reimagining the infrastructures of democracy such as civic engagement, community mobilisation, and political decision-making in rural contexts.

References

Bishop, Claire (2012): Artificial Hells. Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship. New York: Verso.

Dewey, J. (1934). Art as Experience. New York: Capricorn Books.

Köbele, C. (2017). Künstlerstadt Kalbe. Eine Stadt erfindet sich neu. In: Schneider, W., Kegler, B. & Koß, D. (eds.) Vital Village. Development of Rural Areas as a Challenge for Cultural Policy. Bielefeld: Transcript, pp. 111-116.

Ruppel, P.S., Mey, G. (2015). Grounded Theory Methodology—Narrativity Revisited. In: Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science 49, pp. 174–186.

The year 2027 will mark the 250th anniversary of the New York State Constitution of 1777, a foundational document drafted during the Revolutionary War that helped shape the U.S. Constitution. This presentation proposes a critical and creative engagement with such texts through the lens of documentary poetry, a genre that blends archival materials with poetic intervention to interrogate historical narratives.

Using the New York State Constitution of 1777 as a case study, I will present an alternative poetic draft that juxtaposes colonial legal language with Indigenous Lenape cosmology, historical figures such as Chief White Eyes, and speculative imagery drawn from folklore. This reimagined document (available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B1s8QhrVDf6Znb8_0tKKwJB9h2rehc_V/view?usp=sharing) invites reflection on how foundational texts encode both the logic of settler colonialism and the silencing of Indigenous sovereignty.

Through this presentation, I aim to:

• Introduce documentary poetry as a method for engaging with archival and historical materials, referencing works by Muriel Rukeyser, Charles Reznikoff, and M. NourbeSe Philip.

• Demonstrate how poetic intervention can expose ideological tensions and propose alternative narratives.

• Use the alternative draft as a live example of how artists can creatively rework historical documents to reflect multiple epistemologies and voices.

The session will conclude with an invitation to collaborate on a broader interdisciplinary initiative to reimagine foundational texts. A potential follow-up includes the creation of a collective archive of alternative drafts, poetic interventions, and visual narratives that challenge dominant historical frameworks and propose new visions of justice, belonging, and resistance.