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The community-based media platform KARAKAYA TALKS has for years been addressing global power dynamics, violence, and crises, which in public debates are often discussed separately, in a simplified manner, or in a depoliticized sense. The experience of its founders, Esra Karakaya and Djenna Wehenpohl, shows that whilst there is empathy, the bigger picture is missing. Crises are reported on in parallel, but rarely considered in relation to one another, regardless of how closely they are linked geographically or historically.&nbsp;However, in the ongoing coverage of geographies such as Sudan, Palestine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, or Iran, there are recurring patterns: in political interests, in media narratives, in the hierarchization of suffering, and in the forms of dehumanization that legitimize or normalize violence. At the same time, events in these countries have long shaped global public discourse. Through social media, news feeds, and algorithmic logic, images and voices from different crisis contexts enter the collective consciousness in parallel—yet they are also quickly forgotten. In the process, both the political context and a sense of empathy are lost. Millions of people are simultaneously mourning the loss of loved ones, their homeland, physical integrity, or their future, and yet their experiences often appear in the public consciousness as separate events. A gap emerges between the lived reality of violence and its portrayal in the media, which distorts whose suffering appears close and relevant.&nbsp;Against this backdrop, the Talk Show: Multiple Crises is conceived as a public space for dialogue, in which different contexts of violence are not considered in isolation but in relation to one another. The focus is on the question of what becomes visible this way: Which patterns recur? Which narratives legitimize violence? Which forms of collective amnesia shape public debates? And what role does Germany play, as a media, political, and social agent, in the perception of these crises?&nbsp;The talk show is part of the curatorial framework Relational Work, Relational Power established by KARAKAYA TALKS. It creates a space where different perspectives come together, knowledge is shared, and complex interconnections become visible, without reducing the multifaceted nature of the topics to simple answers.

With Ouassima Laabich, Gilda Sahebi, and Eric Otieno Sumba, moderated by Anna Dushime (German simultaneous translation)Part of Relational Work, Relational Power, 2.9.2026

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Talk Show: Multiple Crises

In the discussion series Theatre of Reconciliation, Max Czollek encounters people who are exploring questions of memory. How do societies remember? What does the much-lauded German Erinnerungskultur&mdash;culture of remembrance&mdash;have to do with the question of belonging? What does remembrance mean for the German, European, and international present?

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Max Czollek in Conversation with Peggy Piesche

Surreal Continuum: Revisiting, Remapping, Reimagining Surrealism&nbsp;is a two-day festival programme that re-examines the movement on its centenary, reimagining and remapping it by examining interrelated movements and histories typically regarded as disconnected or rendered completely unseen, as well as by celebrating its overlooked artists and proposing other reference points.

Opening speech by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Director and Chief Curator of HKW, 11.4.2025

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Surreal Continuum: Revisiting, Remapping, Reimagining Surrealism

The exhibition&nbsp;Global Fascisms&nbsp;critically examines the aesthetic, social, and political dynamics of fascism, questioning its appeal and ideological mechanisms. A key aim is to understand fascism not only as a historical phenomenon, but also as an ongoing global threat that transcends its historically confined definition, manifesting in diverse political, cultural, and social contexts today. Focusing on the historical and contemporary contexts in which far-right ideologies thrive, the exhibition interrogates contested notions such as&nbsp; &lsquo;identity&rsquo;, &lsquo;community&rsquo;, and &lsquo;belonging&rsquo;.

The exhibition brings together works by around fifty international artists who respond to the rise of fascist ideologies through a variety of media, including painting, film, performance, discourse, publications, and digital formats. Historical artworks complement the group exhibition, creating surprising connections between past and present. The exhibition offers insights into the ideological seduction and aesthetics of fascist ideologies, while analysing the social and technological developments underlying these movements.

global-fascisms

Global Fascisms

Who does Germany belong to? In eight podcast episodes, Max Czollek and his guests shed light on different perspectives and concepts of belonging in a plural society. The dialogue creates an archive of home and resistance, reminding us that these discussions are not new and that strategies have already been found in the past that can be taken further today.

In the eighth and final episode of the podcast Who Does Germany Belong To?, Max Czollek speaks with Linus Westheuser about ownership structures. Westheuser, a dry poet, holds a PhD in sociology and from 1 January 2026 is a senior researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Social Studies in G&ouml;ttingen. What is the connection between increasingly elite-oriented policies and the migrantization of political debates? What does a growing sense of uncertainty and the dysfunction of public institutions have to do with the dismantling of &lsquo;social property&rsquo; (Robert Castel)? How does this perspective relate to the issues of antidiscrimination previously discussed on this podcast? And what might progressive politics&mdash;politics that address the concerns and problems of the majority while also&nbsp; (re)thinking the project of justice and equality&mdash;actually look like?

Who does Germany belong to? Podcast Episode 8, with Max Czollek and Linus Westheuser

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So Who Does Germany Actually Belong To?

The concept of matter is necessary to understand ideas of objects, physicality, and concreteness. But it is impossible to define matter without invoking emptiness&mdash;a void, a vacuum, or empty space. Quantum physics has revealed that the atoms that make up &lsquo;solid&rsquo; matter consist of dense nuclei, which are surrounded by vast spaces between these nuclei and the electrons orbiting them. It is impossible, therefore, to describe a material object without recognizing that it largely comprises emptiness rather than matter. This seemingly paradoxical relationship between matter and emptiness is central to quantum theory, underscoring its description of phenomena such as wave-particle duality, quantum vacuum state and its fluctuations, the uncertainty principle, and field theory. Beyond the realm of physics, this philosophical conundrum concerning matter/emptiness is foundational to a variety of ancient cosmologies, as the centuries-long debates between various strands of Buddhism and Taoism suggest.

Just as mathematician Georg Cantor (1845&ndash;1918) produced a structure for numbers that corresponded with and described entities of infinities&mdash;thus demonstrating the diversity of the concept of &lsquo;infinity&rsquo;&mdash;philosophical approaches to emptiness can help to fertilize the void. In this talk, philosopher and physicist Sundar Sarukkai explores the extended meanings&mdash;as well as the limitations&mdash;of the unique vocabulary of the quantum world, exploring its relation to philosophical and artistic concepts, as well as their references within &lsquo;everyday&rsquo; contexts. Sarukkai proposes that the idea of the void calls attention to the uncertainty of the epistemological project as well as the boundaries of ontology. Art, he suggests, is one manifestation of this great churning of uncertainty that seems to be foundational to both quantum theory and human existence. Uncertainty is not merely about empirical phenomena relating to position and momentum; reducing uncertainty, as Heisenberg&rsquo;s principle does, to just technical physics may in turn flatten the experience of being in the world. In this sense, physical objects, social formations, and ultimately the very idea of the subjective self, are to some extent &lsquo;uncertain&rsquo;. Sarukkai&rsquo;s keynote explores these blurred edges between what something is and what something isn&rsquo;t, as an invitation to hold space for uncertainty.

Keynote by Sundar Sarukkai, part of&nbsp;Fertile Void: Quantum Cosmologies between Science, Stories, and Speculation, 1.11.2025

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Fertilizing the Void

The Internationaler Literaturpreis 2026 Reader gathers extracts from the six works&nbsp;shortlisted for the award, which&nbsp;honours an outstanding work of contemporary international literature that has been translated into German for the first time.

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The Internationaler Literaturpreis Reader 2026

Musafiri: Von Reisenden und G&auml;sten&nbsp;spricht aus der Position der Gegenwart und nimmt dabei die aktuellen Auspr&auml;gungen wesentlich &auml;lterer Spannungen in den Blick, die um die Frage kreisen, wer willkommen ist und wer nicht, wessen Perspektiven willkommen sind und wessen Perspektiven nicht willkommen sind und wer &uuml;ber diese Grenzbereiche entscheidet. Der &ouml;ffentlich Diskurs und die Politik unserer Zeit (und dabei ist Deutschland eines der augenf&auml;lligsten Beispiele) ist in vielerlei Hinsicht von &Auml;ngsten gepr&auml;gt, die aus der vermeintlichen Bedrohung der etablierten (und h&auml;ufig hegemonialen) und in den jeweiligen lokalen Blickwinkeln verankerten Sichtweisen auf die Welt herr&uuml;hren. Als solches ist die Ausstellung ein dringendes Pl&auml;doyer f&uuml;r die Anerkennung und Bekr&auml;ftigung der polyphonen Welten all derer, die sich von den Orten ihrer Herkunft gel&ouml;st und auf den Weg gemacht haben.

Exhibition and Research Project, 8.3&ndash;16.6 2025

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Musafiri: Of Travellers and Guests

The one-week programme&nbsp;Always, Already There, conceived in collaboration with guest curator George E. Lewis, focuses on Afrodiasporic contemporary music composers. A series of concerts, lectures, and panel discussions draws attention to an enormous blind spot across Europe and aim to overcome it permanently.

With contributions by Leila Adu-Gilmore, Jessie Cox, Douglas R. Ewart, Hannah Kendall, Harald Kisiedu, George E. Lewis, Monthati Masebe, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, and others

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Always, Already There Booklet

Corie Rose Soumah States of Intermeshing: Smoke (2024) Corie Rose Soumah, electronicsSatch Hoyt Oblation Un-Muted (2024, world premiere) Satch Hoyt, electronics, video; Joshua Rubin, clarinet; Jonathan Finlayson, trumpet; Jacob Greenberg, keyboards; Levy Lorenzo, percussionLevy Lorenzo &amp; Fay Victor Modified (2024) Levy Lorenzo, electronics, percussion; Fay Victor, voiceCedrik Fermont Point of Convergence (2024) Cedrik Fermont, electronicsChristina Wheeler From the Quarter to the (W)Hole: A Prelude (2024, world premiere) Christina Wheeler, kora, Array mbira, balafon, electronics; Fay Victor, voice; Joshua Rubin, clarinet; Rebekah Heller, bassoon; Jonathan Finlayson, trumpet; Caitlin Edwards, violin; Jacob Greenberg, keyboard; Levy Lorenzo, percussion*The concert took part in the frame of <a href="https://www.hkw.de/en/programme/always-already-there" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Always, Already There</a>, supported by the Capital Cultural Fund and by the Federal Foreign Office, with the friendly support of Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung and Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.

Concert with International Contemporary Ensemble with Cedrik Fermont, Christina Wheeler, Satch Hoyt, Corie Rose Soumah, part of Always, Already There, 7.11.2024

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Decolonial Electronics

Videos

This keynote conversation departs from Haitian sociologist Jean Casimir&rsquo;s concept of the counter-plantation system, a framework he argues is essential for understanding Haiti&rsquo;s resistance to colonial exploitation and its quest for economic autonomy. He emphasizes the importance of preserving cultural heritage and of reclaiming land and labour from the vestiges of plantation economies, advocating for community-centred traditions and agricultural practices that prioritize local needs over global capitalist demands. 
 
Conscious of the need to dedicate in-depth reflections on this concern, Casimir, Marl&egrave;ne L. Daut, and C&eacute;lestin Monga map out the strategies of underdevelopment employed against the Haitian nations in the frame of post-colonial geopolitics. Together, the trio weaves a narrative of hope and resilience, envisioning a future where Haiti, supported by the various nations of the so-called Global South, can thrive through solidarity and self-sufficiency. 
 
Expanding on the notion of the counter-plantation system and the urgency of building economic solidarities between African as well as other Caribbean nations, Casimir, Daut, and Monga delve into the intricacies of post-colonial economic structures and the potential for transformative change.&nbsp;In engaging with Haiti&rsquo;s political history and present, this&nbsp;Bwa Kayiman&nbsp;session poses the question: what would Haiti&rsquo;s economic situation be today if the world as a whole had recognized its debt to it?&nbsp;

Keynote and conversation with Jean Casimir, C&eacute;lestin Monga, and Marlene L. Daut, part of Bwa Kayiman&mdash;Tout Moun se Moun,&nbsp;2.8.2024

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Rasambleman! Sa Na Kenbe? Reimagining Translocal Living Economies for Haiti’s Counter-Plantation System

Souverainet&eacute;, de quel c&ocirc;t&eacute; es-tu? [Sovereignty, which side are you on?]&nbsp;is an articulation on how notions of sovereignty have been adapted according to various social, economic, and geopolitical realities. Together with playwright, poet, political essayist, and 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Wole Soyinka, writer, poet, and novelist Evelyne Trouillot reflect on governance and governments, civic engagement, the place of the arts in society, as well as state abuse and destabilization wrought by colonial and imperial regimes. Soyinka and Trouillot&rsquo;s conversation aims to propose that sovereignty should be understood not merely in terms of borders or the functions of executive, legislative, and judicial institutions, but as something rooted in living civics&mdash;informed by communitarian practice and values such as reciprocity, respect for plurality, and shared responsibility. Drawing on personal insights, their artistic practice, and cross-regional perspectives, they consider sovereignty as a concept rooted in communal well-being and a spirituality dedicated to the care of land and people.

Inaugural conversation with Wole Soyinka and &Eacute;velyne Trouillot, part of&nbsp;Bwa Kayiman&mdash;Lakouz&eacute;mi,&nbsp;1.8.2025

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Souveraineté, de quel côté es-tu? [Sovereignty, which side are you on?]

The first evening of&nbsp;Bwa Kayiman&mdash;Lakouz&eacute;mi&nbsp;ends with an adaptation of&nbsp;VIBRATIONS, TRANSLATIONS&nbsp;(2023) by Slim Soledad&mdash;artist, DJ, co-founder of the queer collective Chernobyl, and initiator of one of S&atilde;o Paulo&rsquo;s first trans-led parties of the same name. The performance takes place under the simulated light of a red full moon, shining on the&nbsp;lakou-like scenography to create a nocturnal space of communion. Soledad&rsquo;s artistic practice derives from her deep connection to sound and dance as tools for transfiguration. During the performance she and her guests, the artists and performers Alada and Black Pearl de Almeida Lima, explore music&rsquo;s ability to bridge material and immaterial experiences of the world, as well as its potential for enabling resonances between the body and the spiritual. Through sonic and ritualistic practices, the performers translate sound into body motions and vice versa, while also decoding the vibrations emitted by natural elements like water, rock, and plants. Drawing upon Afro-futurist and ancestral knowledge frameworks, soundscapes, movements, and spoken incantations allow for collective and individual connections, intertwining past and present, emotions and dreams.&nbsp;

Concept, Sound, Direction, Performance: Slim Soledad&nbsp; 
Sound, Performance: Alada&nbsp; 
Choreography, Performance: Black Pearl&nbsp; 
Co-Direction, Light Design, Production: Lolla Venzon

Performance by Slim Soledad with Alada and Black Pearl de Almeida Lima, part of&nbsp;Bwa Kayiman &ndash; Lakouz&eacute;mi,&nbsp;1.8.2025

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VIBRATIONS, TRANSLATIONS

Following the tradition of the Bwa Kayiman ceremony that took place in 1791 and sparked the Haitian Revolution, the Sylvia Wynter Foyer at HKW and the installation&nbsp;The Playground of All Possibilities&nbsp;are activated by performative gestures centring the voice as a tool of resistance: the voice that sings, the voice that mourns, the voice that speaks, the voice that whispers. Taking inspiration from traditions of agoras such as Senegalese Pencs, Colombian Mingas, Peruvian Pe&ntilde;as, Haitian Lakous, and others, the space is dedicated to weaving and activating together historical, cultural, ancestral, and contemporary narratives pertaining to stories of liberation from Haiti and various Caribbean geographies.

Performance by Rachelle Jeanty, Luis Garay, Amina Szecs&ouml;dy, Kelvin Kilonzo, Lukresia Quismundo, John Shades, and Riva Pr&eacute;cil, part of Bwa Kayiman&mdash;Tout Moun se Moun, 2.8.2024

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Rasambleman, Sa Na Kenbe? The Lakou as a Space for Political Transformation

HKW hosts a movement lecture by legendary choreographer, dance pedagogue, and scholar L&rsquo;Antoinette Stines. Conscious of the importance for people of colour&nbsp;to create their own language and canons outside European ones, her L&rsquo;Antech, short for L&#39;Anyah CARIMOD (Anglo-Caribbean Modern Contemporary) Technique, is an effort to comprise the range of ways that bodies that inhabit the archipelago move and the dance cultures they carry. Taking the body as a library that stores histories, her methodology is a result of creolization, using what she calls &lsquo;synerbridging&rsquo; (a combining of the words &lsquo;synergy&rsquo; and &lsquo;bridging&rsquo;) between the dance practices that emerge from kumina, bruckins, nyabinghi, tambu, yanvalou, piquet, arara, bambosche, various European classical lines, and daaance&#39;all (dancehall). With a long trajectory of works that promote female and local cultural empowerment, Stines formulates in L&rsquo;Antech the retained movements that came across the ocean, the ancestral memories of African people, without excluding the European, Asian, and Indigenous contributions present in CARIMOD.&nbsp; 
 
With the support of assistant demonstrator Jessica Shaw and drummer Kemoy Outar.

Movement lecture and dance workshop with L&rsquo;Antoinette Stines, part of Bwa Kayiman&mdash;Tout Moun se Moun,&nbsp;3.8.2024

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L’Antech: Wine yu Bottom. Lift up yu Chest and Pointe yu Tuoz

Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) is a pluri-disciplinary institution in Berlin whose work centers around the practices of visual arts, performative arts, sonic/music, architecture, literature and oraliture, as well as scientific and cultural discursive formats.

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