Adieu la vie, adieu l'amour. The last days …
After a performance by Karl Kraus
The last days of mankind - a seven hundred page drama that realizes the First World War as a linguistic event - is a piece that the author himself thought of as unperformable! Four Senegalese actors and actresses approach the drama and still end up being embroiled in their own history: the Tirailleurs sénégalais. The performance is a mix of Kraus' drama, peppered with original documents of a Senegalese researched memory of the First World War. This creates its own current perspective on the First World War and on the absurdity of war in general. Concept and direction: Claude Jansen / Sofie Olbers in cooperation with German Cultural Centre (Goethe Institut) Dakar, Senegal

DECOLONIZE MÜNCHEN – Exhibition at Münchner Stadtmuseum
What is the city’s attitude towards the vestiges of its colonial past? Which places and areas are the main focus of post-colonial critiques? How have colonialism and racism been written into Munich’s urban environment? What does decolonization mean in today’s world? These are the types of issues addressed by the DECOLONIZE MÜNCHEN exhibition at the Münchner Stadtmuseum taking place from October 25, 2013 – February 23, 2014. A rich cultural program will complement the exhibition with a variety of guided tours, discussions and artistic interventions. These events will attempt to close some of the gaps in our awareness of colonial history, provide insights into the current debate and, in particular, sharpen the focus of how we view things in the post-colonial era.
www.muenchner-stadtmuseum.de

Homestory Germany – Black Biographies Then and Now
The exhibition »Homestory Germany« is a collective self-portrait. Presented are biographies and conceptions of lives by 27 different persons with African, African-American, and Afro-German backgrounds through three centuries. Black perspectives and reflections, contributions and merits are appreciated and dignified as a source of a divisive and joined wisdom.
For the supporting program of the exhibition at different locations, a special pedagogic and educational concept has been developed: The target group is the youth. It is designed to convey the messages of the exhibition in a lively manner, and to acquaintance them with biographical work.
www.homestory-deutschland.de

Cosmos Germany – typically German and yet still special?
Cosmos Germany reports about what it means to be a black person in Germany. 15 young people met at first in a safe environment to talk to each other, how day to day discrimination and racism usually functions. Out of theses conversations grew two theatrical plays. Within 2008-2013 they have been staged many times at schools and conferences opening out into Q&A-sessions with the audiences. More than anything theses storytelling projects prove, however, that empowerment is the key to a growing self-determination and personal responsibility! In 2009 this project was awarded the sponsorship prize of the City of Munich »Munich’s Gleam of Hope« (Münchner Lichtblicke).

Change of Perspectives II
The film project »Change of Perspectives II – Black Children and Youngsters« has been realized by the City of Munich under the leadership of the Anti-Discrimination Agency for People with a Migrational Background (Antidiskriminierungsstelle für Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund – AMIGRA). It was conceptualized and realized by the journalist and filmmaker Nadja Ofuatey-Alazard. In this roughly one hour long documentary young adults speak their mind, mainly via outtakes of the storytelling project Cosmos Germany – typically German and yet still special? Their viewpoints are contextualized by interviews with experts: Acclaimed educationists from the German speaking countries.

HAJUSOM – Transnational Art in Hamburg
In 1999 the performance collective Hajusom was formed in the City of Hamburg. Together with artists of different genres, young refugees and migrants develop different formats, reaching a large audience with those. Since its origins, Hajusom’s work focuses on globalization and its consequences: all of the participants see migration as a firm part of the change of society. Henceforth they have decided to shape theses changes together with the means of art. bergh culture and arts projects supports Hajusom since 2004 in the areas of tour and guest performances management, international cooperation as well as fundraising.
www.hajusom.de

Sing out loud for your rights
On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child in 2009 a very special choir project took place: As experts in their own rights more than 500 children and young people actively raised their voices. In order to captivate the largest attention possible they stepped out into the public performing texts especially written for this occasion and singing a haunting chorus. Those performances became a ringing contribution to Munich’s campaign »Children have Rights« and drew far-reaching attention. »Sing out loud for your rights« is a production of freispiel art agency (Sarah Bergh and Sara Mack). Workshops for Children Rights for schools and spheres beyond the schools can still be booked via freispiel Kulturagentur. Contacts: www.freispiel.info
www.singoutloud.de

Do Ask Me!
»Do you got time for an interview?« asking this questions, children turned to pedestrians in downtown Munich in the summer of 2012. Those who got time, however, did not get asked any questions. Rather, a video camera was placed in their hands, combined with the wish to interview the young filmmakers instead. This arduous change of perspective created unexpected encounters in the public sphere.

»Do Ask Me!« is a production of freispiel art agency (Sarah Bergh & Sara Mack), www.freispiel.info. The filmmaker Franz Wanner carried out a video experiment with the class 5 a) of the Wilhelm-Busch-Realschule, which was planned as a self experiment and than developed within an enhanced framework.