"[…] Denise Van der Cruze, The Mic Movement […]"
amplifying art in berlin & beyond
Articles
Full Story »
Correct me if I am (politically) wrong: “Real” Art, Elitism and White Delusions of Grandeur
Posted April 8, 2013 by Sharon Dodua Otoo
White cultural producers are fighting to retain their privileges: to date they still occupy dominant positions in the German art industry and therefore presumably experience the mere existence of political correctness as a threat.
Berlin Boombox
Full Story »
the things i am thinking while smiling politely…
Posted March 11, 2013 by denise
Dodua Otoo’s writing is efficient and brutal with a journal-like quality. This writing style effortlessly explores complex issues like white supremacy in intimate relationships, cultural colonialism, immigration, the mine-field of divorce and universal human failure. None of these issues are at the center of the story, yet are weaved through everything that happens. Her narrative gives us a sneak peek into the unsaid and often felt universe of a black woman in Berlin.
Articles
Full Story »
Black in Berlin
Posted February 25, 2013 by Karina Griffith
Last week’s premiere event was a great inauguration. “The Politics of Community” was the overarching theme, but after a wonderful introduction to give some academic context, Taylor expertly guided our discussion forth and back to other areas of concern. Topics ranged from politically correct vocabulary (one beautiful Black women rejects both terms “race” and “mixed” to describe herself), to how German administrative forms fail to reflect the diverse background of some Berliners (how can you communicate that your place of birth, ethnicity and place of residence are are varied when there is only one box to check?) to how the emphasis on Germany’s Nazi past leaves little room to address the atrocities of colonialism that foreshadowed it.
Berlin Boombox
Full Story »
The Berlinale Breakdown
Posted February 21, 2013 by denise
My mind is a whirl of movies and my pupils are still dilated. Most of the filmmakers in the Berlinale Blackness films were coming from outside of the culture that they wanted to represent. This means that they would be naturally attracted to the most striking elements of the society that they were discovering and may not have had the cultural fluency to appreciate the subtler aspects of that society.
Articles
Full Story »
7 Things You Can Do To Make Your Art Less Racist – A comprehensive How-To-Guide
Posted February 20, 2013 by Sandrine Micossé-Aikins
Many renowned artists were racists and/or sexists. This is not your fault. But it becomes your problem, too, if you elect to continue their legacy as if they had not been dehumanising the majority of the people on the planet.
Recent Reactions
Correct me if I am (politically) wrong: “Real” Art, Elitism and White Delusions of Grandeur
White cultural producers are fighting to retain their privileges: to date they still occupy dominant positions in the German art industry and therefore presumably experience the mere existence of political correctness as a thre...
Those who arrive on the Wednesday…
The last few Bundestreffen have taken place in Helmarshausen in Hessen (just north of Kassel). The entire youth hostel is booked out and for four days Black people from all over Germany are invited to participate in workshops, ...
the things i am thinking while smiling politely…
Dodua Otoo's writing is efficient and brutal with a journal-like quality. This writing style effortlessly explores complex issues like white supremacy in intimate relationships, cultural colonialism, immigration, the mine-field...
Review: FATAL ASSISTANCE | ASSISTANCE MORTELLE
FATAL ASSISTANCE (Assistance Mortelle) is Haitian-born director Raoul Peck's attempt to set the record straight. The feature documentary rebukes the naive assumption that relief efforts are purely altruistic, and shows another...
Review: Born This Way
In a country where being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer is a crime, there are still people who dare to be themselves and put their freedom on the line in order to help others in the community. The documentary, th...
Community Unity Day
Berlin keeps me on my toes. For everything I see, there are countless things that I miss like the work of Anthony Baggette of Clear Blue Water. I made it down to Kreuzberg to catch Community Unity Day 4 at Südblock as p...
Black in Berlin
Last week's premiere event was a great inauguration. "The Politics of Community" was the overarching theme, but after a wonderful introduction to give some academic context, Taylor expertly guided our discussion forth and back ...
Review: Portrait of Jason
The original master material of Clarke's was lost for over 45 years, and thanks in part to Milestone Pictures Kickstarter campaign, a restored print was premiered at the film festival in Berlin to sold- out audiences. One has t...
Black Intervention
On Wednesday, 20 February 2013, hundreds of people came out to the Ballhaus Naunynstrasse to hear essays, talks, and music from seven invited guests on the highly emotional and polemic debate on language in children's books cur...