Spotlight on Germany ©Ceparedonda Pixabay Take a closer look at different aspects of life in Germany. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/dpa/ Susanne Hassler Black German Literature Asking the Right Questions Being Black should be completely unremarkable in today’s multicultural Germany. Yet many people still struggle with everyday discrimination and sometimes even blatant racism. Their stories are increasingly finding their way into German literature. Photo: Courtesy KOW, Berlin © Tobias Zielony Photography Between Fiction and Documentary Photographer Tobias Zielony is known for his photographs of young people from disadvantaged urban regions. An interview about his work and the boundaries between realism and reporting. Photo (detail): © Glitter, Illustration: Jasmina El Bouamraoui, Design: Huy Do Literature magazines in Germany The new diversity Like research laboratories for the literary world, magazines present new voices, provide space for experimentation, and test formats. And right now diversity is higher than ever before. Photo (detail): © Jens Ziehe Maria Eichhorn Critically questioning the system of the arts For decades, Maria Eichhorn has critically explored both social power relations and the art system itself in her work. Now she has an exhibition planned for the German Pavilion at the 2022 Biennale in Venice. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/dpa/Jörg Carstensen Katharina Grosse Using the power of colour Katharina Grosse is fascinated by how colour can transform places and materials: her gigantic spray gun artworks have taken her to the world’s largest exhibition halls. Photo (detail): © Goethe-Institut e.V. Kultursymposium Weimar 2021 Worried you may have missed something? The Kultursymposium Weimar has just taken place with many exciting contributions on the topic of “Generations” that absolutely nobody should have missed. Photo (detail): © picture-alliance / akg-images / Niklaus Stauss Joseph Beuys Fat, felt and legends In May 2021, Germany is celebrating a special art centenary on what would have been legendary artist Joseph Beuys’ 100th birthday. We look at what made the provocative lateral thinker tick. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/akg-images Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Driven by curiosity and the lust for life He was a poet and a lawyer, theatre director and naturalist, politician and traveller – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was an all-rounder and his interests varied greatly. His aim was always – to make the best of life. Photo (detail): ©picture alliance/Geisler-Fotopress/Christoph Hardt Women in Local Politics Women, get into politics! Whether in the Bundestag or in city and town halls, women are underrepresented in German politics. We explore the reasons and possible solutions. Photo (detail): © Noshe Pop and Electronic Music 2020 The figures aren’t everything 2020 was a year of great upheavals, a turning point. The pop and electronic music sectors had to grapple with the basic question of how to make a living amid a pandemic, ensuing crisis and concrete policy decisions. Photo (detail): © Adobe City and Country Home Is Where Your WiFi Is You read and hear in the media at regular intervals that people are either moving to the country or moving away from it. What is really going on? Is it an urban or a rural exodus? Where are Germans going? Society Photo (detail): © Oliver Auster/ picture alliance/dpa Voting at 16 “It would rejuvenate our political culture” The image of the moody teenager who thinks politics is just boring is outdated. The Fridays for Future movement has shown how enthusiastic young people can be about democratic processes and political issues. It would seem then, that an overhaul of the voting laws is long overdue. Photo (detail): picture alliance/Marc Vorwerk/SULUPRESS.DE Coronavirus policies “Conflict can build bridges” Thousands have taken to the streets in Germany to protest the government’s Coronavirus policies. Driven by very different motivations, the protests have created an intersection of new agers, conspiracy theorists and far-right radicals. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Westend61/Uwe Umstätter Digitalisation Digitally Sidelined Signing petitions, booking a visit to the local swimming pool, home schooling – all kinds of everyday things work digitally today. Those who have no access to the internet or who have only limited digital skills could be marginalized in our society. Media Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Goldmann Disinformation Hunting Down Fake News In the worst case, targeted disinformation can become a real and present threat to our democracy. A number of initiatives in Germany have responded by taking on the mission of fact checking information on the net. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/dpa/Cannes Film Festival Young German Cinema Changing Germany’s image A young generation of directors is taking German cinema in a new direction with intercultural perspectives, unusual narratives, and novel aesthetic approaches. Photo (detail): © Adobe Podcasts The attractiveness of the auditory experience One in every four Germans listens to podcasts, and in the United States it is one in every two people. What makes the audio programs so popular and who is involved in the German-speaking podcast scene? Sustainability Photo (detail): © Martin Herrndorf Climate change “We don’t need an eco-dictatorship” One year into the coronavirus pandemic, most people are tired of all the restrictions. How can they be inspired to embrace less consumerism for an ecological transformation? Sociologist Harald Welzer is confident that changing the narrative and positive visions will do the trick. Photo (detail): © Adobe The Forest in the Romantic Age Soulful soughing Germans feel a deep affinity for the forest that was uniquely expressed in the art of the Romantic Age. Now though, this place of dreams and yearning has become a poorly patient with a long and troubling medical history. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Norbert Probst/imageBROKER Sustainable Towns Digital Villages, Green Towns Germany’s most sustainable towns and cities rely on the participation of their residents. Quite a lot can be achieved even with comparatively few financial resources. Top
