Sirens howled in Berlin: what was that

In the German capital, people gathered to talk about art during the war, and suddenly they heard an air raid siren

NEWS
2022-10-17 23:51:02

From October 6 to 9, the “Goethe-Institut in Exile” festival was held in Berlin with the participation of Ukrainian artists, including writer and musician Serhiy Zhadan, film director Irina Tsilyk and theater director Vlad Troitsky.

The Goethe-Institut is implementing this project as part of a massive package of measures funded by the budget of the German Federal Foreign Office to mitigate the consequences of the war caused by Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The program is planned for two years and will become a "transit station" for the restoration of certain areas of work of the Goethe-Institut in Afghanistan, Syria, Belarus and Ukraine.

Literally translated, Exile is expel, cast out. Forced emigration due to the full-scale war launched by Russia against Ukraine has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, many of whose are artists, which is why the “Goethe-Institut in Exile” project first focused on Ukraine. The program aims to support artists who are forced to live and work in "exile" as a result of hostilities.

The project began with a festival of Ukrainian culture, where the main events were performances, film screenings, readings, concerts, discussions and workshops.

The main topic of discussions were the ways to further uphold the intellectual and creative freedom of Ukraine.

One of the aspects that the artists discussed at the festival was the issue of how the world perceives Ukrainian culture. The well-known Ukrainian writer Serhiy Zhadan focused on the need to create a "new literary language" that would sound more distinct to the world community.

“It is very important to explain all these things to the world. One of the reasons why the world does not understand us, why Europe did not listen to us, is largely because we were not convincing, that we did not have such intonations that it would be difficult to counterargument. We have a lot of work ahead of us with the language, its narratives and intonation. If we cannot explain all this to the world, it will be a crime against those who are no longer with us,” he said during the discussion.

According to Sergiy Zhadan, now is not the time to pause Ukrainian culture, because culture is not about entertainment, it is primarily the voice of the people, their confidence and thirst for struggle.

The culmination of the festival-opening was the immersive performance “Alarm”, which was realized by the Kyiv Center for Contemporary Art “DAKH” under the direction of director Vlad Troitsky. In the courtyard of the ACUD arts center, video and sound from the archives accumulated since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine were played live.

Theater director Vlad Troitsky, also the founder of the Dakhabraha group and the international art festival GOGOLFEST, noted the importance of the “cultural front” and its role in the current struggle of Ukrainians for freedom. According to him, it was art that became a real weapon in the hands of the people, helping to shape the national consciousness.

“I am very proud that we live in Ukraine and we are fighting for it here today, on our common front. And we will definitely win.” - says Olena Likhovodova, curator of the “Goethe-Institut in Exile” program and coordinator of Goethe-Institut projects in Ukraine.

 

 

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