"[…] Denise Van der Cruze, The Mic Movement […]"
amplifying art in berlin & beyond
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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African Roots
I am weary when I receive compliments here because they are usually precursors for the inevitable question that is usually the first thing most Germans ask me, often before they ask my name. “Where are you from?” O...
Street Art Gallery
I grew up in Brooklyn in the eighties and the street art in Berlin is reminiscent of the NY in the infamous pre-cleanup era. Street art is everywhere as tags (which I sort of hate) or larger, more intricate works. In Prenzlauer...
DJ Premiere Schools Berlin
If you love hip-hop, you know DJ Premier, the most formative hip-hop producer. He has created music for everyone from Nas, Mos Def, Wu Tang Clan, KRS-One, Busta Rhymes & Gang Star to name a few. If you are new to hip hop,...
Heard & Seen @ Black Milk
The hip-hop in Berlin is up close and personal. The Bohannon has a basement feel and minimal separation between performer and audience. Check out how Black Milk and his crew bring it at the their concert at the Bohannon. This i...
Berlinale Blackness
A guide to movies in the 2012 Berlinale featuring people from the African diaspora. I am thrilled at about the new black films that I’ve seen recently. Sundance was full of treasures this year like Pariah, Red Hook Summ...
YAAM! featured in a short documentary
YAAM! from KaliShakti on Vimeo. Yaam! is one of Berlin’s most unique venue. It operates as standing festival, complete with market, play area, beach, basketball court and stages. Most of it is open air so of course ...
Black Milk Flow
You have to respect a performer who brings his own washcloth as if sweat would come too quick to reach the stage-supplied towel. Black Milk came to Berlin with no intentions of holding back. His band preceded him: a DJ who did ...
Looking Back: Afrika Bambaataa
Perhaps once you were in the Tresor room, bouncing to some bangin’ beats by Jeff Mills, or out ravin’ to hardcore at a Teknival and wondering what a NY DJ who first coined the term “hip hop” has to do with techn...
Looking Back: Bad Brains
With all the social unrest going on these days, it might be good to revisit the good ol’ days of antiestablishment music. Not the happy california flower power idealism of the 60’s hippy move...