At a time in which the idea of Europe is being questioned and nationalism seems to be on the rise, we see it as our imperative goal to connect young people from different backgrounds in a common project. The remoteness and the limited possibilities of the secluded location demand a unique solidarity which is hard to summon in urban spaces. To retreat into a rough mountainous environment is to be immersed in questions of the self and of basic needs. This frees us from our routine habits and lets us open up to experiments. Respect towards nature and our fellow human beings as well as artistic processes hone the eyes of participants for values which must not be lost if we strive towards a future worth living in.

Jürgen Haas, 2018
Head of BA Animation,
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

The biggest gain for me was: I felt like I finally found access to a state of playful and open-ended experimentation. After almost two years working in storytelling for Swiss public television and two further years at the Filmakademie Stuttgart, whose education is strongly focused on integrating students into the industry, that really means a lot. […]
I would like to emphasize how important working with teacher Maja Gehrig was. She takes on two very energy-intense roles, switching between a lovingly attentive landlady and an equally thoughtful but also pragmatic teacher who is constantly encouraging development while constructively criticizing. That this 24/7 stand-by duty really gnaws at one’s strength doesn’t stop her from trying to find an answer to every question – even personal ones.

Michael Bohnenstingl, 2017
Student at Animationsinstitut of the Filmakademie Baden–Württemberg

Out of Home was a pleasant surprise in each of its step. From an unexpected invitation, to being inside a van crossing the Alps filled with unknown people, it was a dive into the unexpected, away from whatever I might call home. […]
Maja was subtle, delicate, in her guiding, and her pre-sence felt only natural to that place. Soon enough, I was amazed to see ourselves waking up early, going for long tiring walks, working hard with our backs to beautiful landscapes, for no reason except our own wills and de-sires.
I fail to imagine someone more suited to lead such an experience than Maja: her sensibility to people and their values is impressive. With great care, she man-aged to keep us all in a good place, supporting our own journeys, finding what resonates with each one and pushing us further.
As we found ourselves close to our inner motivations, having fun with unprejudiced, crazy ideas, Out of Home sounded like the wrong name for something that start-ed to feel precisely like… home.
I have nothing but gratitude towards our short stay in the hut, and I hope that more people can benefit from such a detoxifying experience.

Paulo Scatena, 2018
Student at Animationsinstitut of the Filmakademie Baden–Württemberg

[…] This workshop is a wonderful real Utopia… every-one who went there has come back full of inspiration, drawing from this rich source for months to come.

Prof. Christina Schindler, 2018
Leiterin Animation, Filmuniversity Babelsberg Konrad Wolf

Just a few lines to thank you so much for inviting our students to the Out of Home workshop. Their feedback is that it was great (… except maybe the Swiss recipe for cooking pasta!) and they really liked Maja Gehrig’s guide. I wish we will have new opportunities to make our students share experiences, hopefully in Italy.

Chiara Magri, 2018
direttrice didattica dip. at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Corso Di Animazione

The enthusiasm is unanimous. the concentration over those few days, the reduction of technical means. Working with sounds that are rarely used in compo-sitions and interpretations. ond then the interplay be-tween image and sound and the subsequent debate over reception. getting to know different project for-mats, introduced to us through maja gehrig, is also very valuable. once again, the music students are thrilled and will be coming back.

Urban Mäder, 2018
Professor at Lucerne School of Music

It was a pleasure to cooperate with your workshop. In my opinion it´s very important that talented animation professionals can meet somewhere in the world and share their brains, and this workshop is a very nice place to do this! It was a very nice travel for Zsófi, her team got help in every way when they needed and the whole week was very improvisatory. She told me be-yond the work, there were many interesting programs like yoga and trips around the area. […] So I hope next time we can also cooperate with you and join your workshop.

Eszter Glaser, 2018
Project Manager atMoholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest

It was a truly great experience to see such untouched nature and I personally was able to take a lot of inspi-ration with me for my further creative work. I’m really grateful that you did this so well and that I was able to be a part of it.

Camille Noémie Geißler, 2018
Student at Filmuniversity Babelsberg Konrad Wolf

[…] I really want to say how grateful I am for getting the chance to participate in this workshop, it was a privi-lege amazing experience that I don’t take for granted. Thank you for this incredible one week journey.

Hagar Faibish, 2018
Student at Filmuniversity Babelsberg Konrad Wolf

A fantastic week with the possibility to experiment artistically and gain confidence in one’s own creativity; a week which enables interdisciplinary and internation-al contacts as well as gaining insight into Swiss nature, culture, and is a lot of fun throughout. Thank you!

Luisa Schneider, 2018
Student at Filmuniversity Babelsberg Konrad Wolf

[…] Definitely FIVE STARS

Filippo Di Piramo, 2018
Student at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Corso Di Animazione

[…] OoHA – is an enrichment and pedagogically speaking the future of schooling!

Roman Naef, 2018
Student at Lucerne School of Music

involved institutions:
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – organisation and implementation, 5 students
Lucerne School of Music – support, 3 students
Filmuniversity Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Potsdam Babelsberg, Germany – 5 students
Animationsinstitut of the Filmakademie Baden–Württemberg, Ludwigsburg, Germany – 1 student
Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest (MOME), Budapest, Hungary – 1 student
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Corso Di Animazione, Sede Piemonte, Torino, Italia – 2 students
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Vienna, Austria – 1 student
The Animation Workshop of the VIA University College, Viborg, Denmark – 1 guest lecturer

the team:
Maja Gehrig, Animation Film Maker, lecturer – artistic leading
Daniela P. Meier, assistant – organization
Igor Kuzmic, student assistant – organisation and transportation
Lea Stillhard, alumna – organization
Michelle Ann Nardone, Director of the BA in Animation and CG Arts at TAW – Yoga teacher and guest
Ewald Trachsel, lecturer and stone sculptor – scout initiation-excursion
Gotllieb Trachsel – shed attendant