2022

Politics of Memories and Archives – the spaces in between

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November, 16th/17th, 10 am

Nachbarschaftshaus Urbanstraße

This event will take place in-presence, as well as digitally.
In German and English spoken language, as well as German Sign Language with interpretation.

In cooperation with Nachbarschaftshaus Urbanstraße.

The Living Archives is an online platform for documenting, archiving and passing on knowledge from and for BIPoC communities. It is an intersectional, decolonial resistant-knowledge project, by and for BIPoC communities. The aim is to collect (lost and/or deleted) content and knowledge that is/was generated within BIPoC contexts and to make it accessible to these communities again.

These two days in November we want to address questions around the production and preservation of knowledge as well as movement-political activist memories. 

With keynotes, panels and workshops, we will jointly address decolonial knowledge (re)productions and politics of memory. The processes of knowledge about intersectional discrimination or about life realities that deviate from the norm, the remembering of activist struggles, persons or places are fundamentally affected by structural erasure or are pushed to the margins of society in their right to exist. We will therefore move together into the spaces in between. In-between spaces in which our stories are preserved and passed on so that we can now expand out of these social niches and digital subspaces with our processes of resistance.

Programme:

November 16th

10.00 am Arrival
10.30 am Welcome
11.00 am Keynote “Black Deaf History” with Vincent Hesse (German Sign Language)
11.45 am Lunch
12.45 pm Panel “Interwoven with Verwobene Geschichte*n” with Iman Attia, Iris Rajanayagam, Diane Izabiliza, Juliana Kolberg and Latifa Hahn (German spoken language)
2.00 pm Workshop Phase I
Workshop 1: “Expect _BIPOC_ism” with Adetoun Küppers-Adebisi (BIPoC safer space, German spoken language)
Workshop 2: Allyship “Righting History – How Historical Amnesia and Omission Fuels the New Rise of Normalized -Isms” with Red Haircrow (English spoken language)
Workshop 3: “Archive Restitution: When We Mind Our Bizness” with Dr. Njoki Ngumi (Black safer space, English spoken language)
4 pm Network exchange and closing

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November 17th

10.00 am Arrival
10.30 am Workshop Phase II (same groups and workshops as the first day)
12.30 pm Lunch
1.30 pm Panel “Yours, Mine, Our Memories” with Nataly Jung-Hwa Han, Kenan Emini, Dr. Njoki Ngumi, Bahar Sanli and Juliana Kolberg (German and English spoken language)
3.00 pm Launch & Talk “TRANCE” with Sea Novaa (English spoken language)
4.00 pm Reading “an alle orte, die hinter uns liegen” by Sinthujan Varatharajah (German spoken language)
4.30 pm Performance by Ginnie Bekoe
5.00 pm Closing and Graphic Recording by Huda Halal

Pls. find here further informationen about the workshops and our facilitators/panelists.

Registration:
Participation is only possible with prior registration. Some workshops are designed safer spaces and are only open to BIPoC. The number of participants is limited. People with experiences of discrimination will be given priority in registration.

Pls. register via contact@xartsplitta.net. Registrations by written, video and audio are possible.

When registering, we would appreciate receiving your thoughts on the following points:

  • Which workshop would you like to participate in?
  • Why did you decide to participate in that workshop?
  • How have you dealt with the topic so far?
  • Do you have needs or require support to participate (e.g. child care, language assistance, etc.)?
  • Do you want to participate online or in-presence?

This event takes place within the developement of the project The Living Archives and as part of “dive in. Programme for Digital Interactions” of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation) with funding by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) through the NEUSTART KULTUR programme.” 

Connected through Blackness

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Tuesday, October 18th, 12pm, online

Join us for a lunch chat and let’s talk about how Blackness connects us.

Being Black is wonderful. It is strong and soft and magical and creative and it is most definitly complex. It is no one time moment – or person – it changes and liberating our Blacknees needs individual process.

Blackness is, in aspects, constructed in conformity with the norm, just like everything else. To talk about differences that need to be pointed out we need spaces, braver spaces as well as safer spaces. What does intersectional experiences within Blackness mean, what effects does that have on our Black Bodies? What different perspectives on Blackness shall we talk about and re_center more? How can we create a community where all kinds of Blackness are welcomed and accepted?

Moderated by Juliana Kolberg we will talk with Ginnie Bekoe, Christelle Nkwendja and Red Haircrow.

This space is for Black People only and will take place in English spoken language.

Pls. register at contact@xartsplitta.net till Monday, October 17th.

Ginnie Bekoe is a Black activist who does talks, workshops and poetry primarily on the muddlings of Blackness, disability, fatness & queerness. Ginnie draws from their own identities and experiences, as well as knowledge that has been passed on (even from books!). Ginnie also deals extensively with baby elephants and ice cream.

Red Haircrow is an award-winning writer, educator, psychologist and filmmaker of Native (Chiricahua Apache/Cherokee) and African American heritage, who holds a Master’s in Native American/Indigenous Studies and a BSc in Psychology. Their interests and research focuses include Indigenous game development, GLBTIIQ2S needs and suicide prevention, and inter-generational historic trauma of marginalized and minoritized groups and peoples. redhaircrow.com/ and flyingwithredhaircrow.com/. 

This event takes place within the LADS funded project #CommunitiesSolidarischDenken.

Self-Regulations Toolkit Workshop

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Wednesday, October 19th, 10am

This workshop will take place in presence and in English spoken language.

This workshop is an invitation to create your own self-care toolbox for challenging times. 

All of us have life experience, self-knowledge and resources available to us – usually more than we think! How can we harness these resources to soothe, regulate and empower? To carry us through hard times? And how do we care for ourselves in situations that we can’t change or solve at this moment?

In this workshop we will identify situations that trigger us, learn to recognize when we are in survival mode, explore the individual and shared resources we have, and compile this knowledge into a tool to use when things are tough.

You will leave the workshop with a physical toolbox full of ideas and resources to care for yourself. It’s gonna be fun and we’re going to get creative!

This workshop is a safer space for BIPoC.

Pls. register on contact@xartsplitta.net till October 12th.

Bild von Dee, in einem gelben Kleid, lächelnd im Park auf einer grün-gelb gestreiften Decke mit Schild "IG-Handle: pop.up.friend. Having a hard time? Come talk to me *smile*. Donations appreciated for helpful answers *heart*"

Dee (she/her) is a certified life coach, kink coach and death doula with a range of classic, creative and unconventional tools under her belt to support you on your path.

Her approach is one of balance, of finding ways to navigate this material world in a way that meets your needs while remaining true to yourself – of being human in a world in flux.

Her experience is informed not only by her formal qualifications, but most importantly by her upbringing in the tropics, her eagerness to try anything once and her own ongoing process of growth and change, the lessons of which she is here to share.

Contact her at popupfriend@writeme.com or @pop.up.friend on Instagram

This event takes place within the LADS funded project #CommunitiesSolidarischDenken.

People of Colour – ein Gespräch über die Geschichte von Solidaritäten

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Titel der Veranstaltung und Informationen zum Ort und Anmeldung sind abgebildet. Im Hintergrund eine Zeichnung eines Herzens unterlegt in Orange.
Titel der Veranstaltung und Informationen zum Ort und Anmeldung sind abgebildet. Im Hintergrund eine Zeichnung eines Herzens unterlegt in Orange.
Illustration: Jasmina El Bouamraoui & Karabo Poppy Moletsane.

This event will take place in German spoken language.

Montag, 31. Oktober 2022, 19 Uhr

BIWOC* Rising

U.a. mit Nicola Lauré al-Samarai, Jihan Jasmin Dean

Die aktuelle Bedeutung von People of Colour prägte sich in den USA mit der Entstehung der Black-Power-Bewegung in den späten 1960er Jahren. Der Begriff sollte eine Gruppe an Menschen in ihren Kämpfen gegen rassistische Unterdrückung und in Absetzung zum Weißsein, solidarisch zusammenbringen. In den 1980/1990er Jahren wurde “People of Colour” in Deutschland in der diasporischen Bewegung aufgenommen. Seit dem bis heute haben wir die unterschiedlichsten Bezugspunkte zu dieser Selbstidentifikation entstehen lassen. Einiges an Mehrschichtigkeit ist notwendig, anderes durch Übersetzungsfehler oder Tokenism entfremdet. Im Rahmen von #CommunitiesSolidarischDenken beschäftigen wir uns dieses Jahr mit dieser Solidaritätskategorie und möchten hierfür Kontext schaffen.

Am 31.10. ab 19 Uhr bei BIWOC* Rising (Dresdener Str. 11, 10999 Berlin).

Mit euren Fragen und in einem offenen Gespräch im safer space möchten wir Geschichten teilen und uns bewegungspolitisch Erinnern mit den Aktivist*innen, die das Aufkommen von People of Colour beobachtet und selbst begleitet haben in Deutschland, u.a. mit Jihan Jasmin Dean und Nicola Lauré al-Samarai.

Diese Veranstaltung ist eine Einladung an BIPoC.
Bitte schreibt uns bei der Anmeldung einige Worte zu euch.
Es gibt eine begrenzte TN-Zahl, daher meldet euch bis 24.10. unter contact@xartsplitta.net an.

Jihan Jasmin Dean ist in einem Dorf in Westdeutschland aufgewachsen, hat in Tübingen und Berlin gelebt, studiert, gearbeitet und ist inzwischen im ländlichen Raum Oberfrankens gestrandet. Sie ist Sozialwissenschaftlerin, Teil der Netzwerke von People of Color in Deutschland, und seit 2018 Geschäftsführerin eines diversitätsorientierten Jugendverbands in Jena (thueringen.bdp.org/). Sie promoviert außerdem am Zentrum für Antisemitismusforschung (TU Berlin) und bei Prof. Dr. Nikita Dhawan (Zweitbetreuerin) zum Thema Rassifizierung, Subjektivierung und Bündnispolitik in Deutschland nach 1989. Sie war Stipendiatin der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung. 

Nicola Lauré al-Samarai ist Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaftlerin. Sie interessiert sich für den Zusammenhang von Rassismus, Geschichte und Erinnerung sowie für dekolonisierende Bewegungs-, Erinnerungs- und Kulturpolitiken. Sie arbeitet als Autorin, Lektorin, Vermittlerin und Kuratorin und war u.a. an folgenden Projekten und Publikationen beteiligt: Labor 89: Intersektionale Bewegungsgeschichte*n aus West und Ost (2020), Decolonize ’68 (2018) und Homestory Deutschland. Schwarze Biografien in Geschichte und Gegenwart (2005–2012). Gemeinsam mit Kien Nghi Ha und Sheila Mysorekar gab sie 2007 die Anthologie re/visionen: Postkoloniale Perspektiven von People of Color auf Rassismus, Kulturpolitik und Widerstand heraus. 

This event takes place within the LADS funded project #CommunitiesSolidarischDenken.

Between Self and Home: A Diasporic Filmclub

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On the picture there are picture strips in black and white of the films arranged one below the other. Above them is diasporic filmclub and the address of the venue, below the strips is written in blue letters "Between Self and Home".

September 15th – October 06th, every Thursday, 7pm

at OYA BAR
(Mariannenstrasse 6, 10997 Berlin)

On the picture there are picture strips in black and white of the films arranged one below the other. Above them is diasporic filmclub and the address of the venue, below the strips is written in blue letters "Between Self and Home".

For those deracinated subalterns, “home” has become “another country”. Losing home is not only losing a material shelter or geographical place but above all it means losing a social world in which your life was previously shaped. That created new generations whose cultural aspirations and references are inevitably different from those of their parents and ancestors.

The film program consists of films on our roots that are no longer in their original soil. Stories that sometimes become an ode to or a quest towards our lost homelands.

Where is home? What does ‘homeland’ mean for us?

The diasporic filmclub “Between Self and Home” is a cooperation with POC Art Collective, curated by Nahed Awwad and Necati Sönmez and OYA BAR Kreuzberg.

Together we invite you to watch, share stories and have discussions around these essential questions of what and where home is, sometimes accompanied by the filmmakers.

Program

Necati Sönmez works as a film critic, curator and filmmaker. He is the initiator of Which Human Rights? Film Festival and one of the founders of the Documentarist Film Festival, which soon became the most important documentary film festival in Turkey. He has been a jury member at over thirty festivals and curated various documentary film programs.

Nahed Awwad is an independent Palestinian filmmaker and film curator based in Berlin. She has worked in films and television since 1997. Nahed received her diploma from the European Film College in Denmark and has since released eight films, e.g. “25km”, “Going for Ride?”, “5 minutes from home”, “Gaza Calling”.

Nahed Awwad and Necati Sönmez are a part of the POC Art Collective.
POC Art is an art collective based in Berlin consist of artists and curators who emphasise the art of People of Color. POC Art aims at organizing cultural events such as film screenings, concerts, talks, and workshops. An earlier event was a series of film screening and concerts under the title of “Music Beyond Borders”

OYA BAR is a queer-feminist Collective, running the Bar space at Schokofabrik in Kreuzberg, Berlin. It’s aim is to provide a Café, Bar, community place as well as home and safer space especially for queer BIPOCs.

Let’s continue to take care of each other!
Feel free to test yourself before coming and wear mask if possible.

September 15th, 7pm

Their Algeria by Lina Soualem

2020, 73 minutes, Algeria
Spoken languages: French and Arabic, English subtitles

Inserted is the film poster of Their Algeria. Pictured, besides the title in the center in English and below in Arabic, are two people looking into the distance.

After 62 years of marriage, Lina’s grandparents, Aïcha and Mabrouk, separate. They came from Algeria to France 60 years ago. Side by side, they experienced a chaotic immigrant life. Their separation is an opportunity to question their journey of exile.

Lina Soualem
French-Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker and actress, born and based in Paris. After studying History and Political Science at La Sorbonne University, she started working in journalism and as a programmer in film festivals, looking to combine her interests for cinema and the study of contemporary Arab societies. Lina worked as a programmer for several film festivals. Her debut film “Their Algeria” premiered in Visions du Réel International Film Festival.

September 22nd, 7pm

A Year in Exile by Malaz Usta

2020, 19 minutes, Turkey/Syria
Spoken languages: Arabic, English subtitles

The movie poster of "A Year in Exile" is in black and white. On it are 12 images from the film arranged as tiles. Underneath is the title of the film in Turkish and Arabic.

An immigrant’s first year in a metropolitan city outside his small country. Through a collection of moving images and sounds the film exhibits what he faces, the pictures that he sees, the crowded thoughts in his head, and the state of emotional shock that he lives in.

Malaz Usta
Damascus born Malaz Usta moved to Turkey in the beginning of 2016. In 2014 he started working as a graphic designer and film editor. In 2018 he started studying Radio, TV, and Cinema at the Faculty of Communication in Marmara University. He is also continuing his double major studies in Film Design at the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Saroyanland by Lusin Dink

2012, 72 minutes, Turkey
Spoken languages: Turkish and Armenian, English subtitles

The Saroyanland movie poster features a figure in a beige trench coat on the left, standing with his back to you. She wears a beige hat, but the back of her head is transparent, as if the person had no head. The background of the poster is turquoise. The title of the poster is centered in English and Turkish.

In the year 1964, famous author William Saroyan took a journey to his birthplace in Bitlis, located in historic Armenia. This docu-drama traces the actual path of that journey and aims to understand Saroyan’s unique attitude to belonging, witnessing the self-discovery of a man who followed the traces of his Armenian ancestors.

Lusin Dink
After graduating from Istanbul Bilgi University’s Cinema-TV Department, Dink began her career as assistant director. She has worked for about ten years in many national and international productions and shot her first feature docu-drama SaroyanLand in 2012 which has premiered at Istanbul Film Festival. The film did its international premiere at Locarno Film Festival the same year and screened in over 20 national and international film festivals, winning the Best Balkan Film Award in Sofia and Best Documentary Award in Yerevan.

September 29th, 7pm

Stand Still by Majdi El-Omari

2013, 104 minutes, Canada
Spoken languages: English

The film poster of "Standstill" shows three faces looking down sadly and or dreamily. The poster is in black and white. The title is placed in the center.

After the political crisis in Kanesatake’s reserve, Arihote, a Kanienkehaka “Mohawk”, sometime war photographer, and his wife parted ways. While trying to help his son who has committed a misdemeanor, Arihote happens upon the revenge killing of a neighbor by Wedad, a Palestinian refugee. Loath to get involved in a police investigation, Arihote finds himself helping Wedad to leave the crime scene. Arihote finally begins to rebuild his relationship with his son, and to focus on resolving his feelings about both his wife’s departure and his father’s suicide.

Majdi El-Omari
After working in the Middle East as an assistant director and production manager on various feature and documentary films, El-Omari became a filmmaker, scriptwriter, producer and editor. El-Omari’s short films d’auteur have been selected in several international festivals. “Standstill” was his debut feature film. El-Omari lives in between Haifa and Montreal now is writing his next feature film while teaching fiction filmmaking in Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem.

October 6th, 7pm

You Come From Far Away by Amal Ramsis

2018, 84 minutes, Egypt
Spoken languages: Russian, Spanish and Arabic, English subtitles

On the movie poster of "You Come From Far Away," an image clip from the movie is divided into many post-its. On it, at the bottom, there is a person who looks like a shadow. Above the colors of the sky are in a bright blue. In the middle is the title in Arabic and English.

Imagine that your father is a Palestinian Arab, and he had fought against Franco in the Spanish Civil War. Imagine that you have siblings, and you cannot talk to them because you do not speak the same language. Imagine that you have a family, but you were raised without parents… This cinematographic journey reveals the extraordinary story of the family of Najati Sidki, a Palestinian brigadist who took part in the Spanish Civil War, and finds out how the Palestinian identity faces the turmoil imposed by the numerous exiles.

Amal Ramsis
Amal Ramsis is an Egyptian filmmaker who was born and raised in Cairo. She has studied cinema in Madrid between 2002-2005. She has conducted numerous workshops around the world with women who have no experience in filmmaking at all. Ramsis is the founder and the director of Cairo International Women’s Film Festival. Her films “Only Dreams” (2005) “Life” (2008), “Forbidden” (2011) and “The Trace of the Butterfly” (2014) have got several international awards and been screened in many festivals.

Flyer Between Self and HomeHerunterladen

This event takes place within the LADS funded project #CommunitiesSolidarischDenken.