Our three-week ECHOES IN INK series of memorial walks and graphic workshops has now come to an end. At the core of our project “ECHOES IN INK: The Art of Remembrance” lies the connection of two elements: historical education and artistic creation.

The thematic memorial walks with city guide Katharina Michael offered participants in-depth insights into the Jewish history of Dresden. Starting with the foundations of Jewish life and central sites of religious practice, the walks traced the path through persecution during the Nazi era, the destruction and reconstruction of Dresden, and today’s culture of remembrance. Participants not only gained historical knowledge, but also engaged with personal stories, current memorial sites, and questions about the future of remembrance. The walks combined historical information with creative and reflective approaches, enabling a multifaceted understanding of Jewish history in Dresden.

In the subsequent graphic workshops with artist Nazanin Zandi, participants learned the basics of creating a graphic novel. Under professional guidance, they step by step explored all essential elements—from character development to image composition and perspective work, which fosters shifts in narrative viewpoint, to the atmosphere of places and their emotional depiction. Finally, they applied dramaturgical techniques to structure their graphic novels narratively and to develop their personal “voice of remembrance.” In this way, individual first ideas for visual storytelling emerged, making historical content accessible in creative and multi-voiced ways.

The strength of Echoes in Ink lies in this special connection: history is not only conveyed, but placed in dialogue between past and present, and translated into a personal artistic form of expression. This revealed the diversity of individual approaches—regardless of whether participants brought prior historical knowledge or drawing experience.
Throughout the process, a wealth of ideas emerged. Taken together, they make visible what Katharina Michael also emphasized in her tours: engaging with history in a lively way brings forth new stories—if one is willing to look and to tell them.

Following this, five graphic novel workshops will take place, in which participants will create their own stories. First concepts may emerge, or already existing ideas can be further developed.

The graphic novels will be presented this autumn at the Full Moon Gallery, published as both a print and online edition, and made available for educational use throughout Germany.
Registration is possible here: https://forms.gle/nnEdxU4oDjeoNAdK9

A project funded by the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) and the Foundation EVZ.