Akki – Aktion & Kultur mit Kindern e.V.

Akki – Aktion & Kultur mit Kindern e.V. is a non-profit association and recognised independent provider of youth welfare (freier Träger der Jugendhilfe) based in Düsseldorf, Germany. Founded in 1985 by Christoph Honig, it specialises in the conception and delivery of cultural-education projects, workshops and actions for children and young people. Its home is the Kinderkulturhaus in Düsseldorf-Oberbilk, which opened in 2006. The organisation works on the principle that children and young people should engage actively and independently with project content according to their own interests and motivations. To that end Akki provides multi-dimensional learning spaces, resources, rooms, time and materials, supported by qualified professionals from all artistic and cultural disciplines. It sees itself as a mediator of artistic themes and cultural traditions and as a promoter of children's creativity outside school. Akki's programme spans several long-running formats. The children's city 'Düsseldörfchen – Stadt der Kinder' has been staged in the summer holidays since 1989 on behalf of the Düsseldorf youth office, with around 350 school-age children building and shaping their own city under changing themes. The kite-art project 'Bilder am Himmel' has taken place on the Düsseldorf Rhine meadow since 1986, producing large flying images in a final 'flying exhibition'. Since 1994 Akki has developed interactive 'Mitmach-Ausstellungen' (hands-on exhibitions) for children on topics such as sound, light, air and language; these travel to venues including the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Expo 2000 in Hanover, the Labyrinth children's museum in Berlin and the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg. The media workshop 'Clipper' has offered professional media-practical support to children and young people since 1988, and the organisation also runs a costume fundus (Kostümfundus) and a mediatheque. Akki works with a wide network of clients and cooperation partners, including youth and cultural offices, associations, schools, leisure and cultural institutions, companies and sponsors. It is a member of Der Paritätische (DPWV), the Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft kulturpädagogische Dienste / Jugendkunstschulen NRW (LKD), the Gesellschaft für Medienpädagogik und Kommunikationskultur (GMK) and the Bundesverband Deutscher Kinder- und Jugendmuseen. Its work has been recognised with awards including 'Spielen in der Stadt' (1988), Civis '96, a special prize of the Deutscher Kulturpreis (1996), 'Mixed up' from Kultur macht Schule (2005) and the Jugendkulturpreis of the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Rheinland (2006).

Akki – Aktion & Kultur mit Kindern e.V. was founded in 1985 by Christoph Honig in Düsseldorf. It established itself as a non-profit association and a recognised independent provider of youth welfare, specialising in cultural education for children and young people. Early programme strands include the kite-art project 'Bilder am Himmel', which has taken place on the Düsseldorf Rhine meadow since 1986, and the media workshop 'Clipper', which has offered professional media-practical support since 1988. In 1989 the children's city 'Düsseldörfchen – Stadt der Kinder' was launched in the summer holidays on behalf of the Düsseldorf youth office, becoming a long-running participation project. In 1994 Akki began developing interactive hands-on exhibitions for children, known as 'Mitmach-Ausstellungen', covering themes such as sound, music and noise ('Schon gehört?'), machines ('Die Mitmachmaschine'), light ('Lichtspiele'), air ('Luffft'), growth ('Mehr und mehr. Vom Wachsen') and language ('hää?'). These exhibitions were designed as travelling shows and were hosted by institutions including the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Expo 2000 in Hanover, the Labyrinth children's museum in Berlin and the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg. In 2006 the association moved into its own Kinderkulturhaus in Düsseldorf-Oberbilk, which remains its base. Over the decades Akki has received several awards for its work, including 'Spielen in der Stadt' from the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry for Urban Development and Transport in 1988, Civis '96 from the German federal government and ARD, a special prize of the Deutscher Kulturpreis 1996 from the Stiftung Kulturförderung in Munich, 'Mixed up' from Kultur macht Schule of the BKJ in Remscheid in 2005, and the Jugendkulturpreis of the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Rheinland in 2006. The organisation has also published documentation and readers on cultural education, media projects and youth art schools, often in cooperation with the LKD and other partners.

• 2006

  Kinderkulturhaus in Düsseldorf-Oberbilk opens; Akki receives Jugendkulturpreis of the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Rheinland, Düsseldorf.

• 2005

  Akki receives 'Mixed up' – Kulturpreis von 'Kultur macht Schule' of the BKJ, Remscheid.

• 1996

  Akki receives Civis '96 (shared) from the German federal government and ARD, and a special prize of the Deutscher Kulturpreis 1996 from the Stiftung Kulturförderung, Munich.

• 1994

  Akki begins developing interactive hands-on exhibitions (Mitmach-Ausstellungen) for children.

• 1989

  Children's city 'Düsseldörfchen – Stadt der Kinder' launched in the summer holidays on behalf of the Düsseldorf youth office.

• 1988

  Media workshop 'Clipper' starts offering professional media-practical support; Akki receives 'Spielen in der Stadt' award from the NRW Ministry for Urban Development and Transport.

• 1986

  Kite-art project 'Bilder am Himmel' begins on the Düsseldorf Rhine meadow.

• 1985

  Akki – Aktion & Kultur mit Kindern e.V. founded by Christoph Honig in Düsseldorf.

Non-profit cultural education provider and free youth welfare organisation focused on participatory, creative learning for children and young people outside school.

• Düsseldörfchen – Stadt der Kinder

  A participation project in the summer holidays since 1989, commissioned by the Düsseldorf youth office, in which around 350 school-age children build and shape their own city under changing themes.

• Bilder am Himmel

  A kite-art project held in autumn on the Düsseldorf Rhine meadow since 1986, where children and artists create large flying images presented in a final 'flying exhibition'.

• Mitmach-Ausstellungen

  Interactive hands-on exhibitions for children developed since 1994 on themes such as sound, light, air and language, designed as travelling exhibitions.

• Medienwerkstatt 'Clipper'

  A media workshop offering professional media-practical support to children and young people since 1988, and a cooperation partner in the municipal network School, Youth, Culture.

1. 1Akki – Aktion & Kultur mit Kindern e.V. – Einrichtung kultureller Bildung in Düsseldorfakki-ev.de
2. 2Aktion & Kultur mit Kindernde.wikipedia.org
3. 3Akkiwikidata.org
4. 4Aktion & Kultur mit Kindernde.wikipedia.org