Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) celebrates its re-opening with many thousands of visitors

What a celebration! From 2 to 4 June, in the framework of Acts of Opening Again. A Choreography of Conviviality, HKW invited the public to concerts, performances, rituals, processions, readings, and the opening exhibition O Quilombismo. Together with thousands of visitors, the artists, scientists, musicians, dancers, and other participants, the team of HKW set out to seek answers to the question: What to do with the world?

All in all, HKW welcomed more than 15,000 visits during the opening weekend. Never before has HKW had so many guests at an opening in its recent history.

The exhibition project O Quilombismo: Of Resisting and Insisting. Of Flight as Fight. Of Other Democratic Egalitarian Political Philosophies opened with installations and performances in the newly-named spaces inside the building, the gardens, the flagpoles on the outside grounds, on the roof terraces, and within the the first annual architectural pavilion.

It was a very special success and a great pleasure to welcome so many families and children during the weekend. 150 children played in the free childcare programmes in the Lili Elbe Garden, and hundreds danced in the children's discos in the Semra Ertan Garden pavilion. Due to overwhelming demand, HKW has decided to host the children's disco and childcare regularly during the summer, giving families a special welcome to the house. The next children's disco takes place on Saturday, 10 June, from 4–6 pm.

The newly launched series of music and dance workshops Bullerengue is enjoying great popularity. Further dates and registration at hkw.de/en

O Qulilombismo is framed by a diverse educational programme. Further information and all dates

Due to the large number of visitors on the opening weekend, the O Quilombismo exhibition handbook is currently being reprinted. Until the second edition arrives, visitors can find the PDF of the handbook for free download on site and via hkw.de, as well as loan copies at the counter in the Sylvia Wynter Foyer.

Acts of Opening Again also kicked off the summer concert series Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Congorama with concerts on the Paulette Nardal Terrace followed by DJ sets

Press photos:
hkw.de/pressphotos

Further information:
hkw.de/actsofopening
hkw.de/quilombismo
hkw.de/congorama

The upcoming programme highlights

­Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Congorama
Concerts, DJ set
Sat, 10 June 2023
Paulette Nardal Terrace, Restaurant Weltwirtschaft
Evening ticket €18/14
hkw.de/tickets
Press registration at: presse@hkw.de

19:00 Sanni Est
Concert

Sanni Est is a music producer, film-maker, performer, composer, DJ, film actor, and curator. Her performances involve experimental voices, Afro-Brazilian traditional percussion, and electronic production. She was the winner of the Deutscher JazzPreis 2023.

20:30 Blick Bassy
Concert

Composer and singer-songwriter Blick Bassy's sound is based in African rhythms, mixing Brazilian and American influences to create modern African music. As an avant-garde artist, he experiments with new ideas and directions in each of his projects. Following his 2019 album 1958, a tribute to freedom fighter Ruben Um Nyobé that reflected on Cameroon’s anti-colonial struggle and questions about identity, this year Bassy released Madibá. Dedicated to the theme of water, the album calls attention to the limited nature of this crucial resource and asserts the urgency of living synchronously with the environment.

22:00 SLIC Unit
DJ-Set

Slic Unit is a DJ network composed of BIPOC members based in Berlin and Hamburg. Their practice in the music industry aims to promote collectivity and women empowerment. The diverse musical influences found in Slic Unit’s sets reflect the backgrounds of its members, with  Afro house, UK bass, house, dancehall, jungle, R’n’B, rap, Brazilian funk, soul, and jazz all featuring.

More information

­The Sonic Vernacular: Blackness, Sound, and Fugitivity
David Scott and Layla Zami
Screenings, Conversation
Fri, 9 June 2023
18:00-22:00
Miriam Makeba Auditorium
Free entry

Framed by two films, David Scott and Layla Zami engage in the history of Caribbean revolutions through call-and-response, a musical format deeply rooted in the Black radical tradition.

More information

Partners

­O Quilombismo. Of Resisting and Insisting. Of Flight as Fight. Of Other Democratic Egalitarian Political Philosophies:
Funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation). In association with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation as part of the PARTENARIATS GULBENKIAN programme to support Portuguese and Lusuphone art in European artistic institutions.
The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) thanks IPEAFRO / Afro-Brazilian Studies and Research Institute for the collaboration.

Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Congorama:
The Pluri-Rythm Festival is part of the Kultursommerfestival Berlin 2023.
Media partners: taz, EXBERLINER, tipBerlin und COSMO

The Sonic Vernacular: Blackness, Sound, and Fugitivity:
In collaboration with the RTG Minor Cosmopolitanisms, University of Potsdam, where Scott is a Mercator Fellow for the summer.

Tongue and Throat Memories:
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. In collaboration with L’Internationale.

Visit

­Opening Times
Wed.–Mon. 12:00–19:00
Extended opening hours during evening programmes.
Free admission on Mondays and on every first Sunday of the month (Museumssonntag Berlin).

The Weltwirtschaft restaurant is open daily from 12:00.

Contact

­Jan Trautmann

Pressesprecher
Lead Communications Officer
Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW)
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10
10557 Berlin

T: + 49 (0) 30 397 87 157
presse@hkw.de