8 – 14 July: Cultural Events Online
From Concerts to VR Theatre

One person sits back in front of the computer and throws his mask over to the back, while another person, looking at the screen, has the mask hanging from one ear
© Goethe-Institut. Illustrazione: Katta Rasche.

Mandatory masks? Not at these events. Here’s our next lineup of online cultural events to enjoy in the comfort of your own living room over the next seven days: panel discussions and debates about justice and toxic clouds, some soulful pop and dance-inspired classical music, book launches, improv and plays to experience through VR goggles.

Wednesday 8 July, 5–6 pm
DISCUSSION | COUCH LESSON: AI + BIAS

ON THE COUCH, READY, SET, GO! Totally neutral? Think again. Artificial intelligence is man-made. So prejudices and biases get transferred from humans to machines, and certain groups are discriminated against on the basis of their origins, gender or sexual orientation. How can we prevent that? Machine-learning-design researcher and artist Caroline Sinders (US), Lorena Jaume-Palasí of the Ethical Tech Society (Germany) and Gunay Kazimzade of the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society (Germany) discuss AI and bias in the Goethe-Institut’s discussion series Couch Lessons.
Language: English
>>> Couch Lessons
 
 
Thursday 9 July, 7 pm
TALK | TERRESTRIAL UNIVERSITY: CLOUD STUDIES
 
TOXIC CLOUDS: The police use tear gas to disperse protesters, airplanes spray crops with herbicides and pesticides, and armed forces still use white phosphorus and chlorine gas to spread fear and terror. What are the effects of toxic clouds in various places around the world, such as clouds containing phosphorus and glyphosate in Gaza, methane in Argentina or chlorine in Douma (Syria)? Samaneh Moafi will be speaking at the Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe (ZKM) about her field of research, which is known as “forensic architecture”.
>>> Cloud Studies
 
 
Thursday 9 July, 7–8.30 pm
BOOK LAUNCH | GAY MUSEUM: FROM ANTI-DISCRIMINATION TO A LIBERATED SOCIETY?
 
BLACK, QUEER, WOMAN? Traffic can come from several directions at an intersection, and so can discrimination. This intersectional approach is described in the book Intersektionalität: Von der Antidiskriminierung zur befreite Gesellschaft?, which will be presented in a streamed discussion with the authors at Berlin’s Schwules Museum on Thursday.
Language: German
>>> From anti-discrimination to a liberated society?  

 

Kulturama.digital

Looking to livestream international cultural events? Kulturama brings the global arts scene right into your living room, including house concerts live from Buenos Aires, puppet theatre from Munich and live acts from the Berlin club scene. Organizers and artists list their cultural events on the Kulturama platform calendar, which opens them up to an unlimited international audience. Users will find the dates and times of upcoming events and can make donations to support artists of their choice. Together and in solidarity through this time.
>>> Kulturama.digital



Friday 10 July, 7.30 pm
CONCERT | JESPER MUNK LIVE SESSION
 
COME CLEAN. This is what Jesper Munk’s music is all about: about coming clean with yourself – and about a melancholy feeling which, recollected in tranquillity, may well yield a thing of beautiful. This German-Danish singer from Berlin presents his latest album Favourite Stranger, with a pop-heavier sound than his two previous records. So if you’re in the mood for an honest-to-goodness blend of pop, R&B and soul, check out this live session on Friday.
Language: English
>>> Jesper Munk Live Session
 
 
Saturday 11 July, 7–8.30 pm
IMPROV THEATRE | IMPROSTREAM: THE IMPROVISIONARIES PLAY WHISTLEBLOWER

AD LIBBING is precisely what these improv actors will be doing on Saturday, when they’ve got 60 minutes to create four characters using ideas from a live audience. We’ve no idea what’s in store for us – and neither do the actors themselves.
Language: (tentatively) German
>>> Improstream
 
 
Sunday 12 July, 1 pm
CONCERT | THE BERLIN PHIL SERIES: TANGO & MORE

DANCE-INSPIRED CLASSICAL MUSIC. Invitations to dance are few and far between nowadays, so we really ought to make the most of them! This latest edition of the Berlin Phil Series features the Berlin Philharmonic’s renditions of classical works inspired by tango, ragtime and waltz. So check out this lively live stream and let the music move you… on your living room dance floor.
>>> The Berlin Phil Series
 

PODCAST: THE PODCAST UFO

THE PODCAST-UFO HAS LANDED, unloading its rich cargo of absurdities and witty humour. On their podcast, Florentin Will and Stefan Titze, two comedy writers you might know from the TV show Neo Magazin Royale, promise us „no special edition, no frills, no pre-packaged programming“. Just two funny guys with the gift of the gab.
Language: German

>>> The Podcast UFO

 

THEATRE | AUGSBURG STATE THEATRE: VR PRODUCTIONS
 
REALLY VIRTUAL. While most theatres are posting video recordings of their productions on the web or streaming their performances in 2D now in the coronavirus era, the Augsburg State Theatre is banking on virtual reality instead. Their three VR plays Judas, shifting_perspective and Der Mitarbeiter – Tagebuch eines Wahnsinnigen (The Employee: Diary of a Madman) catapult you straight into the thick of the on-stage action with the aid of VR goggles. Sign up for your VR theatre experience now on the Staatstheater website.
>>> VR productions

 
Tuesday 14 July, 5–7 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION I Visibility Politics & Climate Justice

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY – IS THERE A CONNECTION? Unfortunately, yes. The climate crisis is a crisis of justice at every level. Conversely, colonial violence past and present is largely responsible for the current climate catastrophe. Meanwhile, the Western European climate movement is often called out for being too white and too privileged. How can we engage a politics of visibility within climate justice movements to shatter systemic exclusions? Whose stories have we heard so far and whose do we need to be listening to now? Two young climate activists, Asuka Kähler and Chihiro Geuzebroek, will be exploring these and other issues with Professor Amanda Boetzkes.
Language: English
>>> Visibility Politics & Climate Justice
 

GOT ANY TIPS?

We’re always on the lookout for online events these days, so if you have any tips or leads of your own, please email us at: sophia.karimi@goethe.de or sinah.grotefels@goethe.de. We look forward to checking out your recommendations!

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