Focus on the Arts: Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10
10557 Berlin
Its home is a landmark of modernist architecture. The building was the USA’s contribution to INTERBAU 1957 in Berlin. The architect Hugh Stubbins wanted to create a place in which “the freedom of intellectual work would have no limits.” At the time of its founding in March 1989, situated right on the border of the former German Democratic Republic, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt found itself, after the fall of the Berlin wall, at the center of the city and society. With its interdisciplinary, international approach, it soon became a pioneer in the exploration of how our dreams and destinies have been woven together by globalization.
In 2009, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt will examine the memorable and dramatic events of 1989 beyond the borders of Germany in the rest of the world. 1989 – Global Histories throws a spotlight on the international events of “89 that have changed the world: the Tiananmen Square massacre in China; Khomeini”s death in Iran; the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan; the end of dictatorship and the establishment of neo-liberalism in Latin America; the end of Apartheid and of Cuban interventions on the African continent. It will also examine the immediate effects of the fall of the Berlin wall and German reunification on the lives of immigrants and their children in East and West Germany. The inaugural address will be given by Timothy Garton Ash. Other participants are Yang Lian (China), Navid Kermani (Iran), Manthia Diawara (New York), Nevim Çil (Berlin), protagonists and witnesses from Argentina, Venezuela, Chile as well as Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.
The program for the anniversary year will continue in June with the international conference Beyond Multiculturalism? Concepts for Immigrant Societies, Re-examined and ends in September with a large birthday celebration for the Haus der Kulturen der Welt organized by Rirkrit Tiravanija and artist colleagues from as close as Berlin to as far as Katmandu.
From March 19 to May 3, 2009, PICTOPIA – FESTIVAL OF NEW CHARACTER WORLDS will show, discuss, and critically examine the phenomenon of character design (an icon with lively traits). With an exhibition, a symposium, a conference, as well as film and performance programs and the “Character Walk”, a tour of project spaces and artist-run galleries in Berlin, the most diverse aspects of the global character design and its community of designers, artists, illustrators and scientists will be shown.
In the early summer and autumn, the new installments of the festival N TRANSIT, curated by André Lepecki (New York), and WORLDTRONICS, will present international developments in the performing arts and electronic music. This year, for the second time, the summer open-air festival WASSERMUSIK combines concerts on the Spree with experiences and reflections on the theme of water. Featuring 2009 music and literature of the Caribbean and the global language of the accordion.
The 9th Asia-Pacific Weeks, from October 7 – 18, 2009, are linked with Rirkrit Tiravanija”s party. Valerie Smith will curate Transitional Spaces, an exhibition with Qui Zhijie and others. This is complemented by the Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s cultural program for the Asia-Pacific Weeks with a symposium on contemporary Chinese art and readings by Chinese authors.
Additional highlights of our busy 2009 program include the pilot multimedia project summer camp + workstation = 2009 (August 15 – 30, 2009), as well as Audio Poverty, a cross-genre investigation by the curators Ekkehard Ehlers and Björn Gottstein of the relationship between music and poverty (February 6 – 8, 2009).
Partner events such as the transmediale.09 (January 27 – February 2, 2009), the international festival for digital art and culture or the 23rd Teddy Award Ceremony for films with a gay/lesbian background on February 13, 2009 as part of the Berlinale, as well as the 19th Rencontres Internationales for films situated between cinema and art, organized in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou, Paris, and the Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, underline the Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s uniquely important position in the art capital Berlin.
Further information:
Haus der Kulturen der Welt
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10
10557 Berlin
Contact:
Anne Maier
Press Officer
Haus der Kulturen der Welt
+49 (0)30 39787 153
anne.maier@hkw.de
