bê welat - the unexpected storytellers

The group show »bê welat – the unexpected storytellers« looks at a wide range of artistic approaches used to make sense of Kurdish realities – largely shaped by communal depression, acts of resistance, trauma, and various conditions of war, colonialism, language prohibitions and states of exile. The focus of this exhibition is on ›bê welat‹, a condition of home- and statelessness that calls for the rendition and design of new emancipatory spaces. In this spirit, nGbK will not only be used as a static venue: instead of building on a tradition of ephemerality and outside authorship, the broad programme, curated by fellow Kurdish artists and intellectuals, constitutes an invitation to critically engage with the impact state violence, (neo)colonialism, assimilation laws and sovereignty of authorship have on Kurdish contemporary arts.

While ›Kurdishness‹ is globally tied to images of political activism and anti-colonial resistance, Kurdish artistic interventions are often misunderstood as something supposedly unexpected. But they, too, can be seen as part of a larger Kurdish decolonial practice and self-positioning. Based on the fading tradition of ›dengbêjs‹ - musical bards who orally preserve Kurdish pasts and presents - the aim is to explore newer artistic methods of narrating and materialising Kurdish realities. »bê welat« exhibits works that connect Kurdistan and its various diasporas. These range from re-interpretations of traditional aesthetics, photography, painting all the way to digital sculpting and video art. In their works, each of the selected artists redefine geography, language and bodies among other aspects. The exhibition’s accompanying programme will expand around ›bê welat‹ through conversations with writers, artists, filmmakers, musicians and scholars. By examining different arts genres such as Kurdish music, theatre, literature and film, the programme aims to facilitate a multidisciplinary exchange within and between Kurdistan’s pluralistic contemporary art scene. »bê welat - the unexpected storytellers« aspires to move away from nostalgia, romanticization and the ever present orientalist tropes, to bring to light material connectivities as well as strategies and perspectives of and on Kurdish resilience.

Events:

25 June 2021, 14:00-21:00
nGbK / Instagram
Soft Opening

1-31 July 2021 (Original with en subtitles)
Online film screening
»Gênco« by Ali Kemal Çınar
»Toutes les vies de Kojin / The Many Lives of Kojin« by Diako Yazdani
»Ez firiyam tu mayî li cî / I flew you stayed« by Mizgîn Müjde Arslan

9-11 July 2021 (Original with en subtitles)
Online film screening
»Haus ohne Dach / House without Roof« by Soleen Yusef

2 July 2021, 18:00-19:30 (en/kur)
Online lecture performance
»The voice of female dengbejs / Dengê dengbêjên jin« with Hêja Netirk

10 July 2021, 18:00-19:00 (kur)
Online theater workshop
»Çîrokên bêzincîrkirî / Unchained stories« with Berfin Zenderlioğlu

14 July 2021, 18:00-19:30 (en)
Online talk
»Roads to take through film« with Mizgîn Müjde Arslan, Soleen Yusef and Özgür Çiçek
Moderation: Özgür Çiçek

16 July 2021, 17:00 (de)
Curatorial tour through the exhibition

18 July 2021, 14:00 (kur)
Curatorial tour through the exhibition

23 July 2021, 17:00 (en)
Curatorial tour through the exhibition

24 July 2021, 17:00-19:00 (kur)
Livestream
Talk
»Li sirgûnê wêje, li malê berxwedan / Literature in exile, resistance at home« with Yildiz Çakar, Hesen
Ildiz, Fatma Savci, Karosh Taha and Helim Yûsiv
Moderation: Bilal Ata Aktaş

25 July 2021, 14:00 (kur)
Curatorial tour through the exhibition

30 July 2021, 17:00 (de)
Curatorial tour through the exhibition

31 July 2021, 14:00-16:00 (kur/en)
Meeting point: Park am Gleisdreieck (Corner of Möckernstraße and Hornstraße)
Theater workshop
»Agoraya Lîstikan / Agora of games« with Mîrza Metîn

1 August 2021, 14:00 (kur)
Curatorial tour through the exhibition

6 August 2021 (OmU> en)
Release video documentation
Video portraits of Mihemedê Beyro, Ali Kemal Çınar and Diako Yazdani

14 August 2021, 18:00 (kur)
Online talk
« گەرمت لەدۆزەخ :بوونەوە رووت / to get naked: warmer than hell« with Hero Kurda
Moderation: Kani Jahangiri

15 August 2021, 18:00 (kur)
Online workshop
»The parallel universe collection« with Hogir Ar