Crying Classroom is an inclusive and collaborative project dedicated to exchanging methods, practices, and strategies for dealing with, thinking through, and understanding crying within institutional, artistic, and educational contexts.

The project was founded in 2023 by Prof. Dr. Birte Kleine-Benne, Nadja Kracunovic, and Rand Ibrahim.

About

Crying as a subject of research within an academic art historical and theoretical context has been examined only marginally. Focused on the research in crying – including perspectives from medicine, biology, anthropology, psychology, psychoanalysis, social studies, cultural studies, politics, history, gender history, religion, semiotics, sociology, and communication theory – the institute compiled key theoretical and historical texts, significant terminologies, suitable methods, and existing artworks and practices that have investigated crying as a topic. The aim was to become operational as an institute of crying experts.

Driven by the urge to move to a physical space, the institute entered a new stage of research. The result is the Crying Classroom, a research space for students and art practitioners of all disciplines to instrumentalize new artistic strategies, pedagogies, and research methodologies within a culture of emotions.

The Crying Classroom was founded to explore crying through a variety of media and approaches across different institutions. Targeting practitioners of art and various disciplines, as well as students, the Crying Classroom functions as a mobile, interdisciplinary classroom. The project has thus far established collaborative classrooms in 2023/24, as with Der Laden and Bauhaus University Weimar in Germany, conducted PCAP (Post-conceptual Art Practices) workshops at the University of Fine Arts Vienna, and an online workshop with the Iceland University of the Arts, Reykjavík.

The CC published the Crying Handbook︎︎︎,   designed by Camilo Londono and Gabriela Parra. The handbook gathers texts on tears by contributors to the seminar Crying Institute at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.

Crying Handbook, Lucia Verlag︎︎︎

Crying Classroom Program (2023-24)

Driven by the urge to move this research into a physical space, the institute entered a new stage and developed the Crying Classroom. The Crying Classroom is a mobile, interdisciplinary research space for students, artists, and practitioners from different fields. It explores crying through artistic strategies, pedagogies, and research methodologies within a culture of emotions.

In October and November 2023, the Crying Classroom inhabited Der Laden, Weimar, as a two-month public program of workshops, performances, listening sessions, writing practices, and collective research formats. The program brought together artists and contributors working with grief, mourning, voice, writing, embodiment, vulnerability, politics, and emotional knowledge.

The October program included contributions by Anahita Farshchi with audio by Babak Sepanta, Negar Kablou, Nicklas Koppe with an ensemble of performers, Feydrea Valista, and Katherin Gutierrez. The November program continued with works by Pati Sayuri, Jasmina Al-Qaisi, Jonah Martensen, Jennifer Yue Yuen Yu, Zeren Oruc, Jovan Turčinović, Maria Anna Obermeier, and Isidora Markovic. Through formats such as Cry to Heal, Weaving as Mourning, I went under the blanket to hear stories, GIVE THESE EYES SOME TEARS, Is it normal to cry while writing?, and fluid weight, the classroom became a temporary infrastructure for studying crying not only as an emotion, but as a social, political, aesthetic, and bodily practice.

Workshops

‘’We need to talk about Racism at our University’’

29.05.2024, Weimar, Germany
Workshop at the Symposium at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Moderators: Rand Ibrahim and Nadja Kracunovic
Hosted by Bauhaus Module ‘’ Bauhaus Fragility - We need to talk about Racism at our University’’
Host: Lea Maria Wittich, Mona Mahall, Arijit Bhattacharyya

“Thoughts on crying”

19.01.2024, Vienna, Austria
Workshops at the PCAP (Post-conceptual Art Practices) at the Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien
Moderators: Rand Ibrahim, Nadja Kracunovic
Host: Melina Vesley

“Mapping Human Rights with Tears”

26.04.2024, Reykjavík, Iceland
Workshop (hybrid) @ The Iceland University of the Arts
Moderators: Rand Ibrahim, Nadja Kracunovic
Collaborator: Laura Wiemers