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The symposium "Networks of the Black Atlantic: Heritage, Knowledge and Solidarity" is part of a broader movement addressing the urgent need to decolonize institutions and build a more inclusive cultural sector. By bringing together actors from diverse backgrounds, we hope to contribute to strengthening connections between communities and promoting a better understanding of the challenges associated with Black Atlantic heritage, while stimulating concrete initiatives for a future in which art and culture play a central role in social transformation.

The programme:

• Tuesday, November 18: Day 1. Establishing cultural links
• Wednesday, November 19: Day 2. The diaspora: archives, futures and decolonialities
• Thursday, November 20: Day 3. Rethinking the decolonial museum & Afrosonic perspectives
• Friday, November 21: Day 4. Black Canadian Art & Collective Memory
• Saturday, November 22: Day 5. On Curating

In The Wake Of Our Archives: On Transmission and Inherited Memories is an exhibition that delves into the intimacy and affective nature of family archives and oral accounts. It poses the question, “How do we relate to and embody inherited memories?”

Taking cues from Stuart Hall’s reflections on the "living Archive", the term archive here is approached not only as evidence or recount of the past, but also as a testimony to the voids in time and history. It is approached as a holistic and dynamic body that offers, in its incompleteness, the possibility to inhabit and continuously reassess the past, in search of that which was omitted.

Canada 2024 | 88 min
Director: Neil Diamond, Joanne Robertson
Director of Photography: Glauco Bermudez, Yoan Cart
Editing: Rebecca Lessard
Music: Anaïs Larocque

So Surreal : Behind the Masks is a documentary that uncovers the untold story of the ceremonial masks of the Yup’ik people (Alaska) and the Kwakwaka’wakw people (Northwest Coast). Filmmaker Neil Diamond, a member of the Cree Nation (one of the major Indigenous nations of North America) and known for his impactful documentaries such asReel InjunandRed Fever, brings a unique perspective deeply rooted in his culture and his commitment to preserving Indigenous narratives.

Part of the symposium Networks of the Black Atlantic: Heritage, Knowledge and Solidarity

To celebrate the 100th birthday of East German filmmaker Konrad Wolf on October 20, this streaming series offers a selection of his pioneering, politically daring, and thought-provoking work. A committed anti-fascist of Jewish descent, Wolf vividly and pointedly depicted a generation questioning its role in Third Reich’s horrors, inviting his viewers—then and today—to consider their own relationship to the historical movements of their time. Stream for free until November 30!

Fifty years after her death, the work of German-American philosopher and author Hannah Arendt remains strikingly relevant. In the face of today’s complex challenges, her work compels to revisit fundamental questions of freedom, responsibility, and judgment. 

Reading Group | Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 6 pm | Goethe-Institut Chicago

Welcome to book*ish, the reading group for contemporary German graphic novels of the Goethe-Institut Chicago! Practice your German while exploring each book’s themes and artistic style. Open to all levels, from beginners to fluent speakers.

The next session features Anna by Mia Oberländer, an audacious debut that reimagines the struggles of being “too big” for a narrow-minded world. Set in the German countryside, this witty, visually inventive tale follows generations of women who turn their difference into strength.

The discussion will be held in hybrid format—in person and via Zoom. Virtual participants will receive login details one week before the event.

Come discover the art of zine creation during a workshop at the Goethe-Institut Montreal!

Multidisciplinary artist Mélina Lopez-Racine will teach you how to create different zine formats and share her tips to help you complete your project.

We provide all the materials, including some German magazines to create collages.

To celebrate the 100th birthday of East German filmmaker Konrad Wolf on October 20, this streaming series offers a selection of his pioneering, politically daring, and thought-provoking work. A committed anti-fascist of Jewish descent, Wolf vividly and pointedly depicted a generation questioning its role in the Third Reich’s horrors, inviting his viewers—then and today—to consider their own relationship to the historical movements of their time. Stream for free until November 30!

Film selection:

• Lissy (1957)
• Stars (1959)
• Professor Mamlock (1961)
• Divided Heaven (1964)
• I Was Nineteen (1968)
• Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment (1971)
• Solo Sunny (1980)

What to do when inner values and outer reality can no longer be reconciled? Ignore, despair, laugh at, protest? Gegenüber sheds light on the power of creativity and forms of resistance — and asks: When is the right moment to change the world? A transatlantic journey through society, history, and resistance.

When "easy reading texts" are too easy: For learners of German from levels B2 and C1, we recommend e-books from our digital library, the Onleihe.

Our translation funding programme supports the publication of books by German authors in another language.

The Onleihe is Goethe-Institut’s digital library (eLibrary). More than 23,000 German language eBooks, audio books, movies, materials for German language learners, magazines and newspapers are available for downloading from the Onleihe. 

The rules of the language, the origin of new vocabulary and the latest, most important changes in the use of the language - these and other exciting topics are the focus of our column about the German language.