Grada Kilomba im Gespräch mit Lian Khalaf und Samee Ullah
In the 19th century Alexander von Humboldt held his KOSMOS lectures in the Berlin Singakademie—today's Maxim Gorki Theatre. He brought knowledge from various countries back to Berlin and reported on his trips around the world. During the season 2015/16, with the series KOSMOS² curated by Grada Kilomba, we want to grapple in the course of ten events with issues of knowledge transfer and knowledge production today. Who has access to knowledge and the opportunity to share it, and if so, then what knowledge? Who talks to whom, and about what?
In KOSMOS² artists whose lives have been shaped by fleeing will give lectures. They live in Berlin, but their knowledge cannot find a way into the conventional academic or cultural-institutional spaces for the dissemination of knowledge. We will be opening the series with three events during the Herbstsalon, artists will provide insight into their work. The author, theorist and interdisciplinary artist Grada Kilomba will give an introduction into the topic and moderate the talks.
KOSMOS² LABOR #3: Musik
The third evening will explore forms of emancipative knowledge through music. As guests we have invited two very distinct singers, Lian Khalaf from Syria and Samee Ullah from Pakistan who will gives us an insight into their work. Lian Khalafis a rapper whose music became of great importance during the Spring Revolutionin 2009, in Syria. He writes and raps his songs in both Arabic and Kurdish. Samee Ullah worked as an aircraft engineer for several years before startinghis career as an actor and singer. His first work on stage was Do Butterflies have Borders, followed by the play Letters Home by the Refugee Club Impulse where he plays a starring role and sings traditional songs in Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, Hindi and English. Both musical productions played acrucial part on the visibility of asylum politics.
Curated by Grada Kilomba. In cooperation with Maxim Gorki Theater.
The lecture series will take place KOSMOS² in cooperation with the Allianz Cultural Foundation.
