EXOPHONY: ZWISCHENSPRACHENSPRECHEN

Exophony: zwischensprachensprechen is an exercise in weaving together different tracks of multiligualism that coexist in the lived-in urban culture. Conceptualized initially as a theater-based workshop-performance, the program had to change its setup due to COVID-19–related social distancing. In its new format Exophony: zwischensprachensprechen is a performance video in which diverse lingual experiences, perceptions and poetics are woven together in a series of testimonies.

The performers, speakers, protagonists in this video are members of Import Export Kollektiv (an initiative that works with young adults from diverse communities and language groups) and Old School at Schauspiel Köln (a theater initiative for senior citizens) and at the Silent University Ruhr (an initiative that assists immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers in getting their qualifications and skills recognized in the German system). Some of them are monolingual and some are multilingual, but all of them belong to communities and identities that exist outside the hegemonic and normative center. Through their testimonies on languaging, they highlight the multiple and fluid nature of contemporary urban culture, expressing some anxieties about living outside the norm, but most importantly they share strategies of living together with cultural and ethnic differences. Sometimes poignant, sometimes humorous and occasionally angry, the texts were developed through a series of online exercises and interactions during the COVID-19 lockdown.

There is no subtitling in order to preserve the rhythm and texture of multilinguality.

The project Exophony: zwischensprachensprechen is organized by the ADKDW in cooperation with Schauspiel Köln and Silent University Ruhr. The program series Exophony: is funded by Kunststiftung NRW.

with KRISHNA ADELBERGER , LOLITA AGATEP, SAKIYE BOUKARI, JANE DUNKER, SARA FARAHZADI, JUSTIN FONKEU NKWADI, JUSTIN HERLTH, ANTJE KABUS, NADA MAHMOUD, BEHSHID NAJAFI, MIRJAM PIETCHAMOA, ZARLASHT SEDIGI, CEREN SENGÜLEN, SABRI SPAHIJA, WOLFGANG TIEDT, NIKLAS TIJE-DRA, WOLFGANG WEWER, DIANA ZOZA

Facilitators: BRIDGET FONKEU, BASSAM GHAZI, DAVID VOGEL