Project

Lola von der Gracht,
We Are Everywhere

We Are Everywhere, Durational Performance © Silke Briel

We Are Everywhere, Durational Performance © Privat

We Are Everywhere, Durational Performance © Silke Briel

We Are Everywhere, Durational Performance, Lawunda Richardson, Daria Geske and Lukresia © Silke Briel

The project We Are Everywhere aims to create visibility and appreciation for the past and present of transgender people in Germany and, simultaneously, to address the challenges transgender people face in public spaces.

It brings the history of transgender people between 1899 and 1969 to life by linking historical figures with real transgender people living in Berlin today.

The performers are not only part of an artistic intervention but also living witnesses of an ongoing history. Through their performance, the transition from past to present becomes visible: the struggles fought decades ago remain relevant today, and the paths trans people take now and in the future are built upon that history.

The project We Are Everywhere includes artistic billboards, floor foils, and a performance over three days.

Konzept: Lola von der Gracht

Performer: Daria Geske, Lawunda Richardson and Lukresia

Costum Design: Mariona Urgell

Artistic billboards

At a time of increasing violence against queer and trans* people, honouring our transgender predecessors has become alarmingly urgent.

The billboards feature those individuals who were active or visible before the 1970s and 1980s—before there was increasing media coverage, community networks, and early political achievements for trans people.

Durational Performance

Security personnel in public transport spaces do not explicitly ensure the safety of queer people or People of Color.

The performance comments on infrastructures that are not designed for minorities and addresses the themes of safety in public space and structural discrimination—while envisioning the utopia of a safe place for queers.

Three Performers Are Part of the Intervention

- - The Ticket Seller distributes free slips of paper to subway visitors that resemble BVG tickets. These tickets do not grant access to transport but instead to perspectives, lived experiences, and information about the historical figures depicted on the billboards. In this way, a diverse canon of voices is gathered—and because visitors can take the tickets home, the exhibition space expands from the public into the private sphere.
  - The Elevator Operator revives the almost extinct profession of the elevator attendant, embodying elegance, flamboyance, and positivity. She greets each person entering the elevator with the question: “Where are you going today? / Wohin gehen Sie heute?” This opens up spontaneous and open-ended conversations, which the performer improvises as they unfold.
  - The Conductor is a point of contact responsible for maintaining the order of train operations. This person embodies confidence and presence without actively approaching passengers or disrupting the flow of transit. Like a protest sign, they occasionally raise their conductor’s signal paddle (bearing the words “WE ARE EVERYWHERE”) and blow the whistle. When spoken to, they simply respond loudly: “We Are Everywhere,” hold up the paddle, and walk on.

We Are Everywhere, Performance © Silke Briel

We Are Everywhere, Durational Performance © Silke Briel

Lola von der Gracht, We Are Everywhere © Lola von der Gracht

We Are Everywhere, Plakat © Silke Briel

We Are Everywhere, Fahrkarten © Lola von der Gracht

We Are Everywhere, Button und Fahrkarten © Lola von der Gracht

We Are Everywhere, Durational Performance © Silke Briel

BVG-Tickets

Each of the 19 individuals featured on the billboards, for whom a biography exists, receive a ticket displaying their year of birth and death, a short biography, and—if available—a quotation.

A 20th ticket will be dedicated specifically to Eldorado (near Nollendorfplatz, today: Organic market), a world-renowned nightclub that served as a central venue for the queer scene between 1924 and 1933.

The tickets are available German, English, Turkish, Arabic, Polish, and Ukrainian.

We Are Everywhere, BVG-Ticket © Lola von der Gracht

Protest Buttons (Floor foils)

Pin-back buttons are worn as expressions of group identity and as affirmations or rejections of sociopolitical discourses. In their commitment to associated communities and causes, the buttons for von der Grachts Performance originate from contexts within the L(G)BTQI* movement, with a focus on trans*, non-binary, and lesbian perspectives. Intersectionally, they also address issues raised by anti-racist, women’s rights, and disability movements.

Collages composed of these buttons will be printed on floor foils.

In addition to a large number of English-language buttons, the following languages are also represented: German, Portuguese, Japanese, Thai, French, Ukrainian, Spanish, Turkish, Polish.

We Are Everywhere, Durational Performance © Silke Briel

We Are Everywhere, Buttons © Lola von der Gracht

Project

Lola von der Gracht,
We Are Everywhere

We Are Everywhere, Durational Performance © Silke Briel

We Are Everywhere, Durational Performance © Privat

We Are Everywhere, Durational Performance © Silke Briel

We Are Everywhere, Durational Performance, Lawunda Richardson, Daria Geske and Lukresia © Silke Briel

The project We Are Everywhere aims to create visibility and appreciation for the past and present of transgender people in Germany and, simultaneously, to address the challenges transgender people face in public spaces.

It brings the history of transgender people between 1899 and 1969 to life by linking historical figures with real transgender people living in Berlin today.

The performers are not only part of an artistic intervention but also living witnesses of an ongoing history. Through their performance, the transition from past to present becomes visible: the struggles fought decades ago remain relevant today, and the paths trans people take now and in the future are built upon that history.

The project We Are Everywhere includes artistic billboards, floor foils, and a performance over three days.

Konzept: Lola von der Gracht

Performer: Daria Geske, Lawunda Richardson and Lukresia

Costum Design: Mariona Urgell

Artistic billboards

At a time of increasing violence against queer and trans* people, honouring our transgender predecessors has become alarmingly urgent.

The billboards feature those individuals who were active or visible before the 1970s and 1980s—before there was increasing media coverage, community networks, and early political achievements for trans people.

Durational Performance

Security personnel in public transport spaces do not explicitly ensure the safety of queer people or People of Color.

The performance comments on infrastructures that are not designed for minorities and addresses the themes of safety in public space and structural discrimination—while envisioning the utopia of a safe place for queers.

Three Performers Are Part of the Intervention

- - The Ticket Seller distributes free slips of paper to subway visitors that resemble BVG tickets. These tickets do not grant access to transport but instead to perspectives, lived experiences, and information about the historical figures depicted on the billboards. In this way, a diverse canon of voices is gathered—and because visitors can take the tickets home, the exhibition space expands from the public into the private sphere.
  - The Elevator Operator revives the almost extinct profession of the elevator attendant, embodying elegance, flamboyance, and positivity. She greets each person entering the elevator with the question: “Where are you going today? / Wohin gehen Sie heute?” This opens up spontaneous and open-ended conversations, which the performer improvises as they unfold.
  - The Conductor is a point of contact responsible for maintaining the order of train operations. This person embodies confidence and presence without actively approaching passengers or disrupting the flow of transit. Like a protest sign, they occasionally raise their conductor’s signal paddle (bearing the words “WE ARE EVERYWHERE”) and blow the whistle. When spoken to, they simply respond loudly: “We Are Everywhere,” hold up the paddle, and walk on.

We Are Everywhere, Performance © Silke Briel

BVG-Tickets

Each of the 19 individuals featured on the billboards, for whom a biography exists, receive a ticket displaying their year of birth and death, a short biography, and—if available—a quotation.

A 20th ticket will be dedicated specifically to Eldorado (near Nollendorfplatz, today: Organic market), a world-renowned nightclub that served as a central venue for the queer scene between 1924 and 1933.

The tickets are available German, English, Turkish, Arabic, Polish, and Ukrainian.

Protest Buttons (Floor foils)

Pin-back buttons are worn as expressions of group identity and as affirmations or rejections of sociopolitical discourses. In their commitment to associated communities and causes, the buttons for von der Grachts Performance originate from contexts within the L(G)BTQI* movement, with a focus on trans*, non-binary, and lesbian perspectives. Intersectionally, they also address issues raised by anti-racist, women’s rights, and disability movements.

Collages composed of these buttons will be printed on floor foils.

In addition to a large number of English-language buttons, the following languages are also represented: German, Portuguese, Japanese, Thai, French, Ukrainian, Spanish, Turkish, Polish.

Project

Lola von der Gracht,We Are Everywhere

Konzept: Lola von der Gracht

Performer: Daria Geske, Lawunda Richardson and Lukresia

Costum Design: Mariona Urgell

Artistic billboards

At a time of increasing violence against queer and trans* people, honouring our transgender predecessors has become alarmingly urgent.

The billboards feature those individuals who were active or visible before the 1970s and 1980s—before there was increasing media coverage, community networks, and early political achievements for trans people.

Durational Performance

Security personnel in public transport spaces do not explicitly ensure the safety of queer people or People of Color.

The performance comments on infrastructures that are not designed for minorities and addresses the themes of safety in public space and structural discrimination—while envisioning the utopia of a safe place for queers.

Three Performers Are Part of the Intervention

BVG-Tickets

Each of the 19 individuals featured on the billboards, for whom a biography exists, receive a ticket displaying their year of birth and death, a short biography, and—if available—a quotation.

A 20th ticket will be dedicated specifically to Eldorado (near Nollendorfplatz, today: Organic market), a world-renowned nightclub that served as a central venue for the queer scene between 1924 and 1933.

The tickets are available German, English, Turkish, Arabic, Polish, and Ukrainian.

Protest Buttons (Floor foils)

Collages composed of these buttons will be printed on floor foils.

In addition to a large number of English-language buttons, the following languages are also represented: German, Portuguese, Japanese, Thai, French, Ukrainian, Spanish, Turkish, Polish.

Project

Lola von der Gracht,We Are Everywhere

Konzept: Lola von der Gracht

Performer: Daria Geske, Lawunda Richardson and Lukresia

Costum Design: Mariona Urgell

Artistic billboards

At a time of increasing violence against queer and trans* people, honouring our transgender predecessors has become alarmingly urgent.

The billboards feature those individuals who were active or visible before the 1970s and 1980s—before there was increasing media coverage, community networks, and early political achievements for trans people.

Durational Performance

Security personnel in public transport spaces do not explicitly ensure the safety of queer people or People of Color.

The performance comments on infrastructures that are not designed for minorities and addresses the themes of safety in public space and structural discrimination—while envisioning the utopia of a safe place for queers.

Three Performers Are Part of the Intervention

BVG-Tickets

Each of the 19 individuals featured on the billboards, for whom a biography exists, receive a ticket displaying their year of birth and death, a short biography, and—if available—a quotation.

A 20th ticket will be dedicated specifically to Eldorado (near Nollendorfplatz, today: Organic market), a world-renowned nightclub that served as a central venue for the queer scene between 1924 and 1933.

The tickets are available German, English, Turkish, Arabic, Polish, and Ukrainian.

Protest Buttons (Floor foils)

Collages composed of these buttons will be printed on floor foils.

In addition to a large number of English-language buttons, the following languages are also represented: German, Portuguese, Japanese, Thai, French, Ukrainian, Spanish, Turkish, Polish.

Lola von der Gracht,
We Are Everywhere

Lola von der Gracht,
We Are Everywhere