by Annalisa Giacinti // Jan. 26, 2023
As a self-described “series of encounters, laboratories and excursions run by cultural practitioners, scientists, artisans,” Echoes invites young people from 14 to 21 years of age to take part, free of charge, in its nine-month social and cultural project. Started in November 2022 and running through to July 2023, it is aimed at bringing young people together and kindling a sense of community amongst them through storytelling, art production and a series of creative encounters. Echoes provides an opportunity to engage in collective discussions, moments of imagining and debates relating to four main topics: art, ecology and environmental protection, memory and remembrance, science and future.
Echoes Berlin 2022-2023
Initiated by VgK – Art in Context and funded by Aktion Mensch, the curatorial team behind this project is Amelie Conrad, a cultural worker and curator interested in art production and mediation, and Davood Madadpoor, a curator who works in narration, storytelling and fiction practices. The two are responsible for putting together Echoes’ diversified programme, which encompasses a variety of formats aptly suited to the multiple themes explored. One of these is ‘Late-Day Stories,’ a series of workshops exploring storytelling and its unique ability to build connections between people. Another series is called ‘Day with Artisans,’ which is centred on sustainability, quality and the traditional worth of handicraft. Intensive workshops dubbed “laboratories” focus on filmmaking, sound, illustration, textiles and fashion, permaculture, food fermentation, and technological changes. The similarly titled ‘Day with Artists’ invites participants to meet cultural practitioners whose practices address and recast everyday objects and events against the contemporary backdrop of a changing social and political landscape. Excursions supplement the programme, which will end in an unconventional exhibition aimed to broaden the conversation started by the participants and export it to the public.
Upcoming workshops to watch out for include ‘What is not music?’ by Ukrainian artist, musician and dancer Anton Kats happening on February 4th. Participants will board an improvised sonic “spaceship” made of synthesisers and powered by the rhythm of drum machines so as to metaphorically leave behind the formal understanding of music. Through the production of sound and concentrated listening, they will embark on a journey towards futuristic tones produced through experimental soundscapes, echoes, delays and teleporting voices. The spaceship is orchestrated by Kats himself whose practice, both pragmatic and aesthetic-driven, comprises installations, performances, sound and radio interventions.
Rather than a series of separate events, the goal behind Echoes is, according to Conrad and Madadpoor, to develop a far-reaching programme that provides an enriching, protected and fecund environment for personal growth, experimentation and creativity. Indeed, Echoes is not an event but an experience spanning months of collaboration between young participants and experts–their effort combined to mould new compelling perspectives on a challenging present.
Event Info
Echoes—Encounters, Laboratories, Excursions
Programme: Nov. 2022–July 2023
echoesberlin.info
Anton Kats: ‘What is not music?’
Workshop: Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023; 4pm, RSVP here
echoesberlin.info/…/what-is-not-music-von-anton-kats
TIER, Donaustraße 84, 12043 Berlin, click here for map
