Article by Noëlle BuAbbud // Oct. 9, 2020
We have reached the event horizon where “normative” social, political and economic models show their true distorted tendencies. How many concentric event horizons need there be for the organizing principle behind these oppressive global structures to collapse, pulled apart by the gravitational force of the masses? What are we accelerating towards?
‘Point Of No Return’ is the third edition of DICE Conference + Festival. DICE’s 2020 edition aims to cultivate social exchange and critical dialogue, mapping out new and necessary directions for fostering structural equity, expanded accessibility and security.
WaqWaq Kingdom // Photo by Marco Tinari
Inequality, discrimination and insecurity—further amplified by compounding crises—disproportionately burden certain members of society. For many musicians, artists and their corresponding communities, there is no turning back to exploitative standards. The present uncertainty necessitates designing new structures for an equitable future. Through workshops, seminars, panels and performances, DICE Conference + Festival will address ways in which safety nets, increased access and support can be expanded to underrepresented groups: the people whose innovation and creative energy is often appropriated but rarely given its due.
This year’s interdisciplinary program will take a multi-platform (AFK and digital) approach over a six-day period, from October 26th to 31st. Live performances will take place at Taborkirche in Kreuzberg. The line-up includes Hamburg-based experimental sound artist Rosaceae, whose distinctive and haunting sounds are a voice for the voiceless; Colombian composer and improvisor Alexandra Cárdenas, who uses live-coding and algorithms to generate her ‘Algorave’ electronic sets; Berlin-based Iranian-German singer Madanii, who combines elements of Persian music with pop, R&B and electronic sounds; Berlin-based American artist Laurel Halo; Juba, a Nigerian-British DJ who uses her platform to showcase music from Africa and its diasporas and explore the socio-political issues related to music; Slim Soledad, a Brazilian performer and multidisciplinary artist; Anthony Huseyin, a queer musician and performance artist who addresses oppressive social conservatism in his native Turkey and how it has played out in his own development as an activist; and Japanese Berlin-based duo WaqWaq Kingdom.
Slim Soledad // Photo by Pedro Ferreira
Laurel Halo // Photo by Phillip Aumann
The conference programme will take place at Kiezkapelle in Neukolln. Workshops include ‘Queer Ear Mastering’ with Tara Transitory and Nguyễn Baly and ‘Unpacking Intersections of Entitlement’ with Tina Lee and Miriam Aced. Panel discussions include ‘Money, Power, and Appropriation in the Burlesque Scene,’ curated and moderated by Adrian Blount, with Akynos, Missa Blue and Martini Cherry Furter, as well as a discussion to launch the newly formed Intersectional Association for Racial Equity in the Music Industry. Samaneh Moafi will also give a lecture on ‘Subverting the Politics of Funding,’ while Finn Ballard offers an interactive ‘Queer Neighborhood Walking Tour.’
DICE Conference + Festival is a music and discourse festival creating a more equitable model for music spaces. Programming aims to elevate vital and innovative voices whose contributions to the artistic field are underrepresented. The programme showcases interdisciplinary artists who expand the boundaries of artistic practice and stimulate critical dialogue in the broader community.
Exhibition Info
Dice Berlin
‘Point Of No Return’
Conference and Festival: Oct. 26–31, 2020
dice.berlin
Taborkirche, Taborstraße 17, 10997 Berlin, click here for map
Kiezkapelle, Hermanstraße 99, 12051 Berlin, click here for map
