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Resonanzen / Resonances



I am deeply touched and moved, and I thank you all very much for your appreciation. Thank you, a lifetime. It means the world to me.

Ich bin tief berührt und bewegt und danke Ihnen und Euch sehr für diese Wertschätzungen. Danke, ein Leben land. Es bedeutet mir die ganze Welt.

Prof. Birte has established a unique and exceptional approach to teaching that is rarely seen in academic institutions. For the first time, we, as students, have had a platform not only to learn but also to express our concerns and emotions. Her transparent, friendly, and empathetic communication style has fostered an environment that goes beyond academic growth; it has nurtured our emotional well-being. Through her dedicated and spontaneous creativity, Prof. Birte has shown genuine care and imparted lasting value to our academic paths.

Birte's classes have served as a haven of integration, care, and empowerment. These qualities are increasingly rare in the present world and time. While colleagues in other institutes struggle to be heard, we were given a class to complain. While others fight to be seen, we have been offered a space to cry and heal. We, as students, have created, interacted, learned, unlearned, complained, and cried within the walls of this institution. We believe in the potential of these academic walls to transform, embrace, and support our artistic and humanistic endeavors, passions, and personal battles. Prof. Birte Kleine-Benne has played an instrumental role in fostering this belief.

One notable instance of Prof. Birte's commitment to solidarity and social consciousness was her authorship of a powerful solidarity statement in support of the Iranian people, students, and women. With her words, she not only expressed solidarity but also sparked meaningful discussions and encouraged empathy within our academic community. Her actions demonstrate a rare ability to transcend disciplinary boundaries and engage with real-world issues, bridging the gap between academia and societal concerns.

We firmly assert that her position in this university holds immense significance for the students, both individually and collectively, in their artistic endeavors. She places emphasis on the importance of their thoughts, supporting their processes within and beyond the confines of academic contexts. Her presence is invaluable to her colleagues as well, as she brings a rare level of care to professional and personal relationships. Prof. Birte serves as a figure who fearlessly initiates discussions on diverse and significant topics, fostering meaningful approaches through the constant exchange, lack of hierarchy, and genuine concern for every individual she encounters.

I am extremely proud and happy to meet and work with Prof. Birte Kleine-Benne, a person in whom extreme professionalism, great professorship, and gentle soul meet, the one who full-heartedly embraced my artistic and personal voice and took care of them for the past two years. I wish everybody could have a Birte in their growing process.
She changed the gravitation of this university, as well as my own.
Enormously grateful to you Birte.

I had the chance to take part in Birte's seminar in my third semester at the Bauhaus Uni and to be completely honest, it touched me deep inside. It allowed me to open myself, explore and speak what I have inside. Not only as a woman but as an immigrant, a sister, an artist, and a human.
I have witnessed her professionalism, her care for people, her commitment to the students, and the issues she talks about.

Birte helped me incredibly both personally and academically. Not only did she go the extra mile to endorse my project for a ... scholarship from the university, but she also provided invaluable guidance and support throughout the entire process. From the initial stages of planning to the completion of the project itself - an emergency artist in residency program for an artist fleeing the war in Ukraine during the summer of 2022 - Birte was there, offering her expertise and compassion.
Her empathetic nature and thoughtful recommendations were instrumental in navigating the many challenges that arose during the course of the project.

Prof. Birte's Complaintivism? was my first emotional but also academic confrontation about my artistic journey at this University. Her dedication to being an amazing mentor and professor who took time and space only for students was special. ...
Personally, I won?t forget her feedback about my essay during her class. I'm more than sure her question and comment initiated a deep connection with my own work and colleagues.

The amount of support and solace that Birte can give to the students is beyond measure. As a dedicated and meticulous professional, she always finds the time and words to give.
When everything is fast and unsettling, her practice can help you reconsider and repeat to yourself "Okay, let's give it another try".
I would like to have professors like Birte on our Faculty, that can make the students feel safe and comfortable.
Birte supported me on tricky projects ..., allowing me a reliable space to investigate my artistic practice. I am very grateful for her work and I would like that further generations can enjoy this as well.

Her support has been fundamental to me. Academically, she creates a safe space for work. I trust her and her methods because they have proven effective. She is sharp and offers unique guidance. She listens to students, which is rare but shouldn't be. She is genuinely interested in our learning and creative process, making sure we have the necessary support to do what we love. Her confidence in me gave me the courage to seek funding, apply for a ..., explore my own expressions, and learn how to communicate them. I´ve become more open because I recognize the significance of my work, largely thanks to the trust she´s shown to me. We need her and more mentors like her- those who value the person behind the art and are truly committed.

I have met very few teachers who are as committed as Birte is.
A long list of qualities distinguishes her performance, not only the academic content, which is excellent but also important values that are essential in the university.
Empathy, solidarity, understanding, attention, listening, constructive criticism, advice, recommendations, and creativity are some of the qualities that undoubtedly make Birte an extraordinary teacher.
The topics covered in her classes are some of the most elevated, pertinent, and important issues that confer to the sphere of culture and art today. Today more than ever.

Birte has a significant effect in my life. When I started as a freshman at Bauhaus university, Birte gave me support which helped me to find myself in both a new academic environment and life. With ?Complaitivism? she helped me to raise my voices and gave me the courage which is very much significant in my artistic practice. Although we had few in person seminars, she always found a way to make connotations in a very strong way. Last November she started the open solidarity letter for Iran in the most creative way possible to merge politics and arts. I was all in tears seeing this letter being performed in Campus Rally by my colleagues and other faculty members. About her teaching methods, she has one of the most innovative methods. It?s all about challenging ourselves and discovering new approaches in interdisciplinary matters. ?Crying Institute? is a sample of her strong ability to manage a big group of students with different academic backgrounds and help them to produce in a whole new way. She is always there to offer comprehensive and coherent feedback with every step. When it comes to funding and competitions , Birte always supports us with detailed feedback and suggestions. She helped me in my personal and artistic life.Bauhaus University needs Professors like Birte and we need her.  

Where should I start talking about the influence Birte has had on my experience with professors at the university here in Weimar? The way university seminars can be thought of? The encouragement she has given me? The professional competence that has been revealed through all her academic courses?The effort to frame my artistic work, to understand it and to develop it through constructive criticism?  
Certainly, the opportunities she has opened up for me and the interaction in seminars and in personal conversations have shown a way how a university can be functioning, if only one listens to the needs of the students and gives them a voice. Already, her influence is a key component of my personal and artistic development that I can't and wouldn't want to do without. I would not want to deny any of the future students at the bauhaus university this opportunity for intensive and supportive collaboration at eye level. On the contrary: I can only urge everyone to value, absorb and internalize every bit of collaboration with Birte.

I feel heard and understood by Prof. Birte Kleine-Benne. This is the result of attentively conducted work and her personal way - the individual contact with people (and not just students). At all costs, Prof. Kleine Bene includes every voice in the discussion and encourages relaxed intellectual exchange. It is not a matter of course to be able to say what one thinks, especially when it comes to critical issues that have never been dealt with in that way. The most recent example of such an untapped topic would be the crying institute. The great demand for the course alone should be reason enough. It's an area that everyone was familiar with after these tough three years and yet couldn't talk about.

With Birte Kleine-Benne it was possible for me to think of theory as of a vivid practice again. And to enable myself to actively connect my abilities and my disabilities with a discoursive production-process, that is about connecting, supporting, questioning, listening. About asking and problematizing my methodologies to open up to others.
And that is a huge learning process for me. Before, at another university, i was confronted with hierarchical powerplays, with professors performing status-habits without critical reflection. Their teaching was compromised by fears covered with the seemingly safety of ?secured? wisdom. Where  critical thoughts or however ?impossible? inventions arised, often a safe answer, that was tested before often enough, came in, to flatten the ground. Reproduction of canon, of traditions and of methodologies made my ambitions lose their motion and drive.
Birte Kleine-Benne is bringing herself in not just professionally, but personally and is creating a learning-field, that is giving everyone the possibility, to be seen and heard. To gain and develop tools for scientific and artistic research, that are specifically connected to one's own personal interests and to the contexts, that one is actively engaging in.

In the last 2 semesters I visited 3 courses by Professor Birte Kleine Benne. The classes were shaped by an open structure, always incorporating the interests and stories of the students present. Together we explored, deconstructed and reconnected the language we use to talk about, with and through art. Her skills in opening up the room, creating a safe space and inspiring participation is something I had not experienced at this University before. In these classes I learn to reflect on my speech, practice vulnerability and perform myself in critical conversations.
The bravery to experiment with new formats and taking on critical perspectives towards canonic narratives have added a lot of depth to the teaching body of this university. I have seen these formats, practices and spaces evolve with each class and am curious to see them grow further.

My first encounter with Birte was at her class ?Complaintivism?. There, she asked us: ?what are you complaining about?? That clever inquirer was the starting point of my thesis, my first art solo show in Europe, and my current projects. Hence, her impact has already reached the materialization fo my dreams as student and artist. Aparat from these practicalities, I must say that Birte's capacity to combine intellectual themes with human sentiments has given me the strength and curiosity to go beyond my own limits and prejudges. As an open child asking to what our world means, her feedback and words are on of the biggest treasures I found at the Bauhuas-Universität. Birte cares about knowledge and students with compassion, empathy, critical thinking, and sensitivity. Among her classes or in individual consultations, opinions, ideas, personal stories references, and creativity merge in an emotional and conceptual laboratory of avant-garde debates. Birtes methodology to approach philosophical matters througout artistic strategies is just overpass by her dedication to listen to each student carefully. Luckly, I can hear that my personal experience with her is not the only one, because each classmate or colleague has similar understanding of her work. Therefore, I am still amazed how one solo human being could embrace and cover so many backgrounds and stories with same fierce, love, and dedication. Her presence at the University overflows academic impacts and lays foundations of passion, humanity, intelectuality, and reciprocity on all the people have got the fortune to meet her.

 

She has transformed how dialogues are conducted, how courses are taken place, and our learning environment.

There is not one teacher at this university from whom semester tells so much good, even enthusiastic about the person and their teaching.

In 2022, I had the privilege of attending Birte's Complaintivism class, an experience that initially felt like a complaint in itself. However, little did I know that this class would become the catalyst for one of my most cherished experiences and creative works. It provided me with a unique opportunity to collaborate with four talented artists from Syria. We were able to bring attention to the struggles and stories of these individuals inside of societies that often go unheard in the midst of biased and limited media representation.
The impact of this class extended beyond the walls of the Bauhaus and Weimar. It transcended boundaries and reached another country, providing a platform for marginalized voices to be heard. In a world where divisiveness and hatred prevail, Birte became the embodiment of the feminist ear that Sarah Ahmad spoke about. Witnessing the possibilities and transformative power behind Birte's actions and teachings, it begs the question: Can we truly envision a Bauhaus without her invaluable presence?
through all, Birte did not spare a moment or an effort to support me as well as other students, again she placed us in a crying institute that was new space for expression. Any honest art professor or a practitioner would understand the value of this. It is not a brief support, it is not a pedagogic responsibility, it is love and care that moves Birte and is transferred to the students. I wonder where do we head from here if the strings to such an influential and empowering personality were cut off.

Intellectually and artistically Birte is a force to be reckoned with. While she has a calm, cool and modest demeanor, the speed and accuracy with which she guides students and everyone she encounters through the relevant issues of our era, noting the debates of theorists throughout history and rendering them accessible to all levels of comprehension? is nothing short of brilliant. And necessary for German artists of the future to stay in dialogue with their own history and connect to the global.

Birte not only brings differentiated analyses and great and diverse knowledge of positions, theories and discourses in art history. She also engages in direct dialogue with students, shaping her courses according to our feedback and needs. Moreover, she has the courage to go beyond the established canon and stimulate new movements of thought, as she impressively demonstrated with her seminar "Crying Institute."
The relevance of these impulses and the learning environment she creates is proven by the high number of registrations for her courses and also by the overwhelming amount of personal statements from students whose development she has supported.
Birte Kleine-Benne shows great care, keen attention and sincere interest in everyone she encounters and everything she does. This includes a willingness to question herself and to learn with and from others, rather than imparting knowledge in a purely linear fashion. She has a unique way of accompanying, and encouraging, growth. These are the qualities that make an excellent professor.

Prof. Birte Kleine Benne provided invaluable assistance with a project proposal I shared with her, and I requested her to be my supervisor. Her guidance, feedback, and resources were immensely helpful. What sets her apart is her remarkable understanding and personal support, coupled with her exceptional professionalism as a supervisor. It may sound trivial, but her prompt email responses highlight an important quality of a good professor?responsiveness and effective communication!
She consistently proves herself to be a reliable professor. Given her outstanding theoretical and practical contributions, I believe she is an indispensable asset to our university.

Prof. Birte Kleine Benne shares knowledge in a transparent and empathic way.
Prof. Birte Kleine Benne shares knowledge and still asks questions.
She is the first Professor in theory that opens my mind and view in every lecture.
She is the first professor with such an inspiring and modern way of teaching.
Without Prof. Birte Kleine Benne academic knowledge stays static.
Without Prof. Birte Kleine Benne my knowledge wouldn?t be that empowered.
As an media art student, i have to say, that without Birte, i would know nothing about the system of art and the possibilities i have. It's not media art where I have learned these theories and methods. Its just because of Birte and her style of teaching and sharing.
She is doing care work.

I've been traveling between Asia, America and Europe in the past 6 months, and until today do I have the time to briefly talk about my impression of Birte. Birte, from my personal perspective, is one of the few art theory professors I've encountered who is able to transcend traditional Western modes of thinking. She approaches cross-cultural subjects with an open, inclusive, and objective perspective.
In the current field of art research, we are accustomed to emphasizing the individual creativity and critical thinking of artists and scholars, while lacking the courage to critically examine and reflect upon the higher-level rules and the systems that generate these rules. I understand that we may not fully understand the specific criteria and requirements the school used to evaluate Birte. But as we've seen in these stories, the students? evaluation of Birte are quite positive.

Dr. phil Birte Kleine-Benne hat einen außergewöhnlich scharfen, differenzierten und kritischen Blick auf die Kunstgeschichte und hat mit uns aktuelle künstlerische und gesellschaftliche Fragestellungen an ausgewählten Beispielen erörtert. Ich habe in jedem Seminartreffen meinen Erfahrungshorizont um eine neue Perspektive erweitert, was meiner künstlerischen Praxis zu Gute kam. Die Themen der Seminare sind nah an meinen Interessen sowie am Puls der Zeit angelegt. Besonders dankbar bin ich darüber, mit welchem besonderen Engagement sie sich für die Interessen und Vorhaben der Studierenden einsetzt.

Birte war für mich eine große Motivation, um mein Studium nicht wegzuschmeißen. Ihr kritischer Blick und Herangehensweisen hat mich bei jedem Gespräch inspiriert und neue Türen in meinem Kopf geöffnet. Also, meines Erachtens, genau das, was gute Dozenten machen sollten. Verknüpfungen schaffen, nachdenkliche und reflektierende Menschen, die auch "das Offensichtliche" immer wieder nachfragen können.

Birte Kleine-Benne was among the best professors I've encountered in my studies at Bauhaus, and I am very sad she started teaching only during my last terms. Never before at Bauhaus had I been gently and supportively challenged that much to re-examine the world and my positions towards it. Birte Kleine-Benne deeply impressed me and the class with her truly interdisciplinary knowledge, ability to think across and connect dots, as well as her outstanding emotional intelligence: to be interested in the students as actual human beings with their specific and diverse histories and backgrounds, to be interested in mutual and respectful understanding apart from different positions in discussions and different power positions within the university's hierarchic framework. Talking about power: rarely have I met professors able to critically reflect the system they are part of, and taking initiative to democratize it, focus on students and try to adapt the system to the student's current needs on their way to developing professional and meaningful careers and lives within an art world in a world in crisis.

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