Roxy Mackie

Age: 24

Role:  Social Media & Blog Content

Studied: MA History of Art and German at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland

Languages: Native English, German & a little bit of Mandarin Chinese and Czech

How long have you been in Graz & what brought you here?

I first came to Graz as an Erasmus student for one year, during the academic year of 2011-12. Since then I have returned every year, with a prolonged stay during summer 2013 for research related to my masters thesis.  I am currently 8 months into a 12 month EVS in Graz, working in the contemporary art centre < rotor > along side Cristiana...come by and say hello, one of us are almost always there!

What does Graz&... mean to you?

For me, Graz&... has two levels of value to the city, and myself: Firstly, on the basic level, it allows everyone and anyone to realise an event/workshop, regardless of previous experience. By supporting citizens in sharing whatever they wish to share with their fellow urban inhabitants, this will, hopefully, result in a variety of free opportunities for our community to learn something they have always wanted to and perhaps even find things they never even knew they were interested in. Through doing this, the project also offers the potential to redefine the differences quintessential in human beings as a positive opportunity to expand our individual sense of self and relation to our fellow inhabitants.

I believe Graz&... can work along-side the numerous established organisations and emerging discourse groups, providing an informal setting and people-led outlook in which to learn from and about the varied individuals (in age, gender, social and national backgrounds) that compose our urban community.  I hope the non-overtly criticism based character of the project and our internal aim of developing language-inclusiveness will create a comfortable environment for those who wish to influence the general discourse and events in Graz, but who may not have felt previously able to or motivated to, for whatever personal reasons.  Our open structure relies entirely on the community, which we hope will eventually develop to include every aspect of the citizens of our city, uniting them in their differences.

What you would like to see someone share (something you've always wanted to learn)?

I would absolutely love to see language-exchange take place, whether that be during organised workshops or something that naturally evolves from other workshops where people have connected via translating for someone else who may not know the language well.  Language is such an important factor in our everyday lives and has a massive impact in how we perceive and are perceived, and yet it is often not easily accessible for a lot of people. I am also very interested in woodwork and learning about general practical work...and also how to play the ukulele!

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