Wunschgarten (Wishgarden) is a social design method developed by artist and social designer IPek. It is rooted in IPek’s experience in community art, product, and process design. Wunschgarten emerged during her six years of weekly practice as a social worker. Since its creation in 2019, it has evolved from a series of creative workshops in the public spaces of Basel into a free-form, creativity-based community development method. The target group is kids* aged 7–13, whose needs and ideas—combined with those of IPek herself and other social workers taking part in the activities—have shaped this method.

Wunschgarten focuses on three key topics: nature, gender and migration in urban surroundings. These themes open space for conversations on sustainability, the climate crisis, gender equality, environmental responsibility, and migration-based experiences.

Wunschgarten appears in many forms and across diverse spaces. Sometimes, it’s a traditional plein-air painting group. Other times, it’s an experimental DIY workshop where kids build birdhouses from broken skateboards. Some activities span several days or seasons, like designing a caravan in public space. Others are quick, like upcycling workshops where kids design and make their own wallets in under an hour. Some activities, like coloring a communal poster, are intimate and calm even if there are a lot of participants doing it at the same time. Others, like communal mural paintings, strengthen active social abilities in bigger groups.

The most important goal is to welcome kids from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds and foster social skills by empowering their creativity in a safe space. The time spent together encourages the exchange of thoughts and ideas, supported by a flexible structure of labor and skill-sharing. Every participant can take pride in the results—be it a mural in a library or a coloring book made from kids’ drawings. Each outcome is an experimental example of communal design, valued and celebrated just as it is.

Would you like to invite IPek to give a lecture on Wunschgarten or lead a communal design project at your orphanage, social center, festival, juvenile prison, or cultural institution? Contact IPek here

*‘Kids’ is used to avoid the clumsy official social term for people of these ages: preadolescent. The name was also adapted to be more target-group-friendly and to avoid misunderstanding, as ‘preadolescent’ officially refers to those aged 9–12, whereas IPek works with kids aged 7–13.

For detailed information about the activities of Wunschgarten, please choose from the links below.