August at HKW
1.8.2025
Bwa Kayiman—Lakouzémi
On Sovereignty as a Relational Practice
Performances, Dance, Rituals, Lectures, Conversations, Poetry, Music, Food, Films, Installations
Fri., 1–Sat., 3 August
Free entry
In Haitian Creole, the word lakou is used to describe more than a physical piece of land or a small yard; it also refers to the locus where all important aspects of community take place. Departing from this holistic social institution, and continuing deliberations on the political, philosophical, and cultural legacies of the Haitian Revolution and the Caribbean region, Bwa Kayiman reaches its third edition in 2025. This year's festival unfolds reflections not only on how sovereignty is practiced, but also how it is asserted, defended, and manifested.
With contributions by Alada, Awam Amkpa, Laura Beaubrun, Boukman Eksperyans, Ken Bugul, Julien Creuzet, Black Pearl de Almeida Lima, Jean D'Amérique, Silvia Garde, Séléna Hollemaert-Awadé, Yann-Olivier Kersaint, Makeda Monnet, Ésery Mondésir, Cyrielle Ndjiki, Jowee Omicil, Ana Pi, Évelyne Trouillot, Lyonel Trouillot, Yeser Sipriano, Slim Soledad, Wole Soyinka, Craig Wong and others
Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Bass Cultures
Concerts, Film Installation
Sat., 2 August, starting 19:00
€23/19, Installation free
Jowee Omicil und Boukman Eksperyans are the guests of the last evening of Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Bass Cultures. The concerts create a bridge to Bwa Kayiman, the annual event at HKW in celebration of the Haitian Revolution. Saxophonist, composer, pianist and singer Jowee Omicil combines jazz with Haitian rhythms. As well as being a gifted multi-instrumentalist who moves effortlessly between genres, Omicil is also an inquisitive explorer, always in search of knowledge and spirituality. Boukman Eksperyans was the first band to play in the musical style called rasin, which has now achieved worldwide fame. Often dealing with political issues, since 1970, the genre has mixed various kinds of traditional Haitian music like rara, Vodou singing, and rural work songs with rock, reggae, soukous, funk, and jazz.
The short feature documentary Sound System Sanskriti (2024) on the reggae scene in Hyderabad, is shown as a continuously looping video installation in the Lydie Dooh Bunya Space between 16:00 and 22:00.
Semra Ertan begegnen
Commemoration, Performances
Sun., 3 August, 13:00–15:00
Free entry
Semra Ertan, a powerful voice against racism and discrimination, used her art and poetry to confront social injustice and name the struggles that are still faced by marginalized communities in Germany. She remains a symbol of defiance and solidarity in the face of ongoing injustice. This event invites the public to gather in solidarity to celebrate Ertan’s courage, creativity, and enduring impact.
With Initiative in Gedenken an Semra Ertan, Adi Liraz, Anguezomo Nzé Mboulou Mba Bikoro, Berivan Kaya, Cana Bilir-Meier, Zühal Bilir-Meier
L is for the Way You Look at Me:
We Are A Living Science
Reading Group
Wed., 20 August, 17:00–19:00
Free entry, please register
Until 2027, L is for the Way You Look at Me unfolds a series of workshops, screenings, reading groups, and convivial events. The programme explores the reimagination and re-enactment of love along three themes: the microorganism, the human body, and the geological body.
The modern science of microbiology has shaped the ways in which we understand, perform, and manage life and had a significant influence on our logics of arranging intimate relations and developing moralized discourses around them. Through the microscope lens that makes visible the many intra- and interactions among microorganisms, the first edition seeks a deeper understanding of the lively condition through which motion and emotion, life and love are made possible.
On 20 August, the Reading Group We Are A Living Science with MYB (Meltdown Your Books) asks, how scientific knowledge enters our habits, homes, and bodies, and how the very concept of ‘objective’ science is already structured by social, personal, and cultural life.
Long Night of Museums
Kids' Disco Special, DJ Sets, Familiy and Children, Readings
Sat., 30 August, 16:00–02:00
For this year’s Long Night of Museums on 30 August, the Kids’ Disco at HKW is even bigger, even more colourful and even more varied! Several DJs play a wide variety of sounds across different dance floors. There is also a lively accompanying programme that disco-goers can take part in: use your own body as a percussion instrument, learn from professionals how to DJ, design creative disco outfits. Also taking place: readings by representatives from Zumunchi e.V. and Black Dads Germany.
16:00–22:00
Kids’ Disco Special
With a Long Night of Museums ticket
21:00
Italo Disco for grown-ups at Weltwirtschaft restaurant
Disco at the pavilion
Free entry
HKW Hosts
Forward Festival
Thu., 28–Fri., 29 August
Forward Festival, the ultimate gathering spot for creative minds and industry professionals, returns to HKW on 28–29 August. Under the renewed vision “Turn ideas into action”, the 2025 Berlin edition will feature an eclectic programme with over 50 international creatives from a wide range of fields—including digital art, motion, design, graphic design, photography, marketing, and more. Over the course of two days and across three stages, thought leaders will explore bold ideas, examine emerging trends, and debate the future of creativity.
For the programme see forward-festival.com
Calendar
Fri., 1–Sun., 3 August
Bwa Kayiman
Performance Festival
Free entry
Fri., 1 August
18:00
Bwa Kayiman
Invoking Eleguá, Ogún, and Obatalá: Guiding Spirits of Connection, Justice, and Clarity
Blessing, Ritual with Silvia Garde, Yeser Sipriano
Haitian Creole/ES, free entry
18:00–23:00
Bwa Kayiman
What Happens to A Dream Deferred
Video Installation
Haitian Creole, EN subtitles, free entry
18:00–23:00
Bwa Kayiman
Diaspora Daydreams
Installation by Yann-Olivier Kersaint
Free entry
18:30
Bwa Kayiman
Souveraineté, de quel côté es-tu? [Sovereignty, which side are you on?]
Inaugural Conversation with Wole Soyinka, Évelyne Trouillot
EN/FR, with simultaneous translation EN/FR/DE, free entry
20:00
Quatuor & Quantum—Larmes marées de la lune
Performance by Julien Creuzet & Ana Pi in collaboration with Séléna Hollemaert-Awadé, Makeda Monnet, Cyrielle Ndjiki
In Martinican Creole/FR, EN subtitles, free entry
21:00–22:30
Bwa Kayiman / Tongue and Throat Memories
Patois Gathering from Asia to the Caribbean
Food Offerings with Chef Craig Wong
€20, please book in advance
22:30
Bwa Kayiman
Plidetwal [rain of stars]—Enacting Lakouzémi, a Poetic Assembly
Poetry Reading with Jean D'Amérique, Ken Bugul, Lyonel Trouillot, Évelyne Trouillot
Haitian Creole/FR, partial EN translation, free entry
23:30
Bwa Kayiman
VIBRATIONS, TRANSLATIONS
Performance by Slim Soledad with Alada and Black Pearl de Almeida Lima
PT/EN, free entry
Sat., 2 August
12:00–22:00
Bwa Kayiman
What Happens to A Dream Deferred
Video Installation
Haitian Creole, EN subtitles, free entry
12:00–22:00
Bwa Kayiman
Diaspora Daydreams
Installation by Yann-Olivier Kersaint
Free entry
14:00–20:00
Free of charge, please register
16:00–22:00
Sonic Pluriverse Festival
Sound System Sanskriti
Film Installation
EN, Telugu, Urdu, Hindi, Patois, EN subtitles, free entry
16:00
Bwa Kayiman
Looking back to move forward: Boukman Eksperyans, resonance to the dissidence
Conversation with Manzè & LòLò Beaubrun (Boukman Eksperyans), Ésery Mondésir
FR, simultaneous translation DE/EN, free entry
17:00–19:00
Bwa Kayiman
Una Sola Sangre, a Kongossa on the Many Paths of Return
Film Screening and Kongossa
Haitian Creole/ES, subtitles EN (film), FR, simultaneous translation EN/DE (kongossa), free entry
19:00
Sonic Pluriverse Festival / Bwa Kayiman
Jowee Omicil, Boukman Eksperyans
Concerts
€23/19
Sun., 3 August
12:00–21:00
Bwa Kayiman
What Happens to A Dream Deferred
Video Installation
Haitian Creole, EN subtitles, free entry
12:00–22:00
Bwa Kayiman
Diaspora Daydreams
Installation by Yann-Olivier Kersaint
Free entry
13:00–15:00
Performances, Commemoration
DE, Performances EN/DE/TR, free entry
15:00–20:00
Free of charge, please register
16:00–18:00
Bwa Kayiman
Yanvalou—Ceremonial Dance of Water, an Initiation to Lakou
Movement Lecture, Dance and Singing Workshop with Laura Beaubrun (Boukman Eksperyans) and others
EN/FR, Free entry
19:00
Bwa Kayiman
European Film Premiere, Q&A with director Awam Amkpa
EN, free entry
Wed., 20 August
L is for the Way You Look at Me
Reading Group with Meltdown Your Books (MYB)
EN, free entry, please register
Thu., 28–Fri., 29 August
Sat., 30 August
15:30–22:30
Free of charge, please register
16:00–2:00
Long Night of Museums with Kids' Disco Special
With a Long Night of Museums ticket
Visit Information
Opening Times
Wed.–Mon. 12:00–19:00
Free admission on Mondays
Extended opening hours during evening programmes
Childcare
HKW offers free childcare for many of its programmes. For further information visit hkw.de.
Current information about visiting and accessibility.
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