Say Anything?

Cultural politics and the dilemma of speaking for others 

Considering the current political climate- the explosive power of words and images are contributing to increasingly antagonistic debates over what one can say or do, and who can speak for or about whom. As underrepresented groups and their (re)- presentation are garnering more attention in cultural institutions (sparking controversy, critique and praise) what positions are we all as cultural producers willing to take? Does artistic freedom mean we must defend the right to say anything, whatever the cost? How much do we support that expression-if it might be harming, suffocating, silencing and perpetuating racial oppression? By asking that question are we already inhibiting the free spirited exploration of ideas? How can we engage in this conversation without falling into language orthodoxy or oppressive power structures? And finally and most intimately what is our proximity to the subject at hand? These are just some of the loaded inquires that will be addressed throughout this evening of staged talks with our invited guests- an artist, an activist, an academic, a journalist, a DJ and the general public. 

WITH Daniel C. Barber, Natasha A. Kelly, Isaiah Lopaz, Sheila Mysorekar HOST, CURATION Sarah Lewis-Cappellari DJ Zen Jefferson 

Things you can tell just by looking at him

Berlin based artist Isaiah Lopaz will look at the materiality of words and the violence they can inflict on the body by sharing stories from his current project Him Noir - an online platform for discussing issues of culture, race and politics. The blog hosts a photographic essay of self-portraits, where Lopaz wears t-shirts that bear racist comments, micro-aggressions, and racial slurs directed at him while living in Berlin. 

Critical Failure

Making reference to some recent cases in which attempts to critically expose racism have been charged with the appropriation of black suffering, Daniel C. Barber's talk examines the context in which public debates about censorship, good intentions, and anti-racism take place. In doing so, it addresses questions regarding the relationship between artistic expression, social power, and the role of critique.

The Danger of Binary Stories - A Black German Perspective

Natasha A. Kelly an "academic activist" based in Berlin will discuss the visibility of the Afro-German perspective in knowledge and cultural production. Delving into questions of community and strategies for the future, Kelly will look at different local positions and discuss which tactics might apply and how Black German perspectives can infiltrate the conversation.

TALKING AND NAMING: MEDIA AND POWER POLITICS

Sheila Mysorekar is a journalist and media advisor in post conflict areas, and she is the chairperson of "Neue deutsche Medienmacher", an organization whose initiative is to culturally diversify the media in Germany. Sheila will delve into questions that deal with issues surrounding representation and the sovereignty of discourse as well as media ethics and freedom of expression.

DANIEL COLUCCIELLO BARBER is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Pace University (New York). He is the author of Deleuze and the Naming of God and On Diaspora, and his current research critically addresses the logic, history, and politics of conversion.

ZEN JEFFERSON is a Swiss-American performer, DJ and sound collage artist based in Brussels. In 2006, he graduated with a BFA in dance from the Juilliard School in New York, and has danced with choreographers and companies in Europe for the past 10 years.  His current collaborations and practice in performance, ritual and healing interrogate the intersections of racial politics using the body, sound and community as a transformative vessel. 

NATASHA A. KELLY has a PhD in Communication Studies and Sociology. As an editor, author and lecturer at diverse universities she uses different art forms to materialize “untouchable” phenomena like racism and sexism as demonstrated in her exhibition EDEWA (www.edewa.info). This enables her to connect theory and practice and highlight the importance and necessity of the transfer-lines between politics, academia and society. Her dissertation titled: Afrokultur. “der raum zwischen gestern und morgen” (Unrast Verlag 2016) deals with the life and works of W. E. B. Du Bois, Audre Lorde and May Ayim, three Black knowledge workers who framed Afro-German identity.

SARAH LEWIS-CAPPELLARI is a Dominican-American curator, researcher and cultural producer based in Berlin.  Combining her artistic practices Sarah has come to play the role of a host concentrating on knowledge dissemination through theatrical forms. By assembling materials and facilitating situations that attempt to level out hierarchies of knowledge a platform is created where the focus is rather on knowledge interdependence– after all, we are all cultural producers. Sarah received a Master of Fine Arts in the “Art in Context” program at the University of Arts Berlin and has been working with Mobile Academy Berlin since 2013.

ISAIAH LOPAZ is an artist who interweaves sexuality, U.S. history, pop culture and personal mythologies to sculpt new narratives, which present the Black body as the master of history and the keeper of contemporary culture. His is also the founder of Him Noir, a blog about race, politics, and culture initially created as an online gallery for the artist’s photographic essay "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Him”. Lopaz is interested in how projections of race are framed onto the bodies of non-Whites and is interested in collaborating with other individuals who are privy to racism, to document their experiences, and to illustrate the presence of race and how it operates in various societies.

SHEILA MYSOREKAR is Indo-German and the chairperson of the independent, cross-cultural media organization "Neue deutsche Medienmacher e.V." (NdM). She studied in Cologne and London and worked as a journalist for politics/economics in many places, amongst others in Jamaica, India, the USA and several Latin American countries, also 11 years as an independent correspondent for the ARD in Argentina. She now works as a trainer for conflict-sensitive journalism and consultant for media in post-conflict states, amongst others in Libya and South Sudan.

A project by SOPHIENSÆLE.