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Artist Residency 2023 An Jay

Artist in residence An Jay ©Andreas Chetkowski An Jay (Andreas Chetkowski) is a German hip-hop artist and German teacher. He is spending February and March 2023 as an artist in residence in Welington. 

Artist Residency 2022 Resident Artist Diary

Author Clara Ehrenwerth was 2022 artist in residence at the Goethe-Institut Wellington. Here she reports on her impressions in Wellington and elsewhere.  

Artist Residency 2022 Clara Ehrenwerth

Clara Ehrenwerth © Albi Fouché Clara Ehrenwerth is a writer, game designer and managing director at machina eX. Until end of December 2022, she was our resident artist in Wellington. 

 

Silent film screening Faust Interview with Erika Grant

Mephisto and Faust ©Wellington Film Society The Wellington Film Society was screening the silent film Faust on the 10th October 2022. with a live-score by four local musicians. We had the pleasure of talking to Erika Grant about the project. 

Rising Sea Level A Future in Tuvalu

A few of the islands of the island country Tuvalu in the turquoise-coloured sea Photo (detail): © Saving Tuvalu Rising sea levels pose a severe threat to islands such as Tuvalu. Already the island faces heavy floods, which could one day erase the island state from the map completely. 

Judith Geare – when a job becomes a vocation

A young woman sits on a desk full with paperwork. She wears glasses and has her blond hair tied in a ponytail. She smiles into the camera. © Judith Geare It’s only when I look up from my desk that I realise with a shock how many years I have been doing this. It seems like just the day before yesterday that I started work here …” For almost 40 years Judith Geare has been the face of the Goethe-Institut in New Zealand, but this year she is saying “goodbye”.

 

Sustainable Communities 2n40: from cooperative apartment building to solidarity-based cohousing project

2n40: full panorama view of the house © Tilman Günther As far as the residents of 2n40 are concerned, living in a large community is really nothing new, but rather a way of meeting a perfectly normal human need. Multigenerational living was once the norm, but since industrialisation, has increasingly become the exception.

Trends in German Comics 2021 Continuity and a love of storytelling

The comic scene in Germany has become more diverse and professional: Characters from ”Power Prinzessinnen Patrouille” (Power Princesses Patrol) and ”Mauer, Leiter, Bauarbeiter” (Wall, Ladder, Builder) by Berlin illustrator Mawil. Photo (detail): © Mawil/Reprodukt 2021 Not only has the comic scene in Germany become more diverse and professional, the genre is also becoming increasingly popular with readers. From children’s comics to the corona diary – the trends in 2021.
 

GERMAN CO-PRODUCTION PRESENCE AT DOC EDGE FILM FESTIVAL

Doc Edge Festival 2022. Image from the film 'Angels of Sinjar' in which two women are embracing and consoling each other. Doc Edge Festival 2022 | © Doc Edge The Doc Edge Documentary Film Festival is held annually in Auckland and Wellington screening the best documentaries from New Zealand and around the world. This year’s forum and festival will be held both digitally and in person. 

The German Lost Art Foundation Provenance Research on Collections from Colonial Contexts

Restitution – The wooden handle of a whip by Nama leader Hendrik Witbooi Photo (detail): Marijan Murat © picture alliance/dpa The German Lost Art Foundation helps to determine the origin and whereabouts of illegally taken artworks. The focus lies on objects stolen during National Socialism from Jewish property, but increasingly collections from the colonial era gain attention, explains the head of the new department, Dr Larissa Förster.
 

I'm Your Man - film still © NZIFF

WHĀNAU MĀRAMA NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2021

This year’s Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival takes place from 29 October to 5 December 2021. You can enjoy a selection of films from 40 countries. The following ten German (language) films will be featured this year.
 

Sustainable Communities Living Well Together

Earthsong - The common house and central green © Robin Allison Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood ist a cohousing community in west Auckland that is home to sixty-five adults and children in thirty-two homes nestled amongst gardens, paths, and a village green.

Sustainable Communities Stedorf farm community: modern-style sustainable rural living

Home for a large bee population Marina Bierbrauer The Stedorf farm community is situated in Dörverden, in the German state of Lower Saxony, a little over 50 km south-east of Bremen. Jutta, who has lived here for many years now, agreed to spend the afternoon showing our author around the project, followed by a conversation conducted over a delicious drink of apple juice prepared from the apples in Jutta's own garden.

Sound Art Listening Like Breathing—Environmental Immersion in the Work of Annea Lockwood

Annea Lockwood, A Sound of the Danube, installation view at the Stadthaus, Ulm, Germany 2006: River stones are displayed near the wall.s near the Photo: Sabine Presuhn With a career that spans nearly 60 years, New Zealand-born New York-based artist Annea Lockwood is a hugely influential figure and reference in the field of art and sound internationally.

Artist Residency 2021 Jan Philip Steimel

Jan Philip Steimel - Portrait © Jan Philip Steimel Theatre and game creator Jan Philip Steimel will work on a new project during his artist residency.

Follow-up report: one year on from being flown back to Germany

Bodensee-Impression: Winter and Summer - teaser © Jennifer Barton A year has passed since Jennifer's return home on a repatriation flight organised by the German government, including the challenges of completing her degree and finding a job during the coronavirus pandemic. But what happens if to take up your new position, as in Jennifer’s case, you have to leave Germany again?

Follow-Up: A year of many changes and adjustments

Bremen impression © M. Vu "A year has now passed since I left New Zealand and returned home to Germany – a year of many changes and adjustments." - Manja reports back about the one year since she had to leave New Zealand on a repatriation flight. 

Joseph Beuys Fat, felt and legends

Художник с шапка: Йозеф Бойс по време на documenta 7 в Касел, 1982 г. © picture-alliance / akg-images / Niklaus Stauss 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.

Data protection Digital self-defence

The transparent citizen has long been a reality. The most popular apps may be practical, but they are absolutely not secure when it comes to users’ personal data. Photo (detail): © Adobe Popular apps often use data in ways their users would not appreciate, but there are alternatives. Digital expert Markus Beckedahl has some tips.

Word! The Language Column Pronouns

Illustration: several small coloured elements - yellow note, red circle with black cross, purple bar horizontal, blue bar vertical, white-red tablet © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank What is the relationship of German pronouns to gender-equal language? Sharon Dodua Otoo looks at the problem from the perspective of several languages – and has a suggestion.

Artificial Intelligence and Art When Is Art Really Art?

When AI creates a painting, is it truly art? And who ultimately owns the copyright? Photo (detail): © DeepArt Artificial intelligence making art puts a new spin on age-old questions, such as if AI art can really be called art, and who gets credit as the artist – the machine, the programmer or the person whose data was fed into the algorithm.

Goethe celebrates Pride Queer as German Folk

Queer as German Folk - Banner © Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut New Zealand offers the opportunity to dive into queer German culture at a diverse range of events from an exhibition through film screenings to comics.

Berlinale 2021 The streaming Berlinale takes the pulse of our times

„Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn“ by Radu Jude, Winner of the Golden Bear, Berlinale 2021 Photo (detail): © Silviu Ghetie / microFilm The Berlinale's first online competition features powerful contemporary cinema, with the winning film resonating with our current state of mind.

A Residency Report The Wanderer

Empty seats on flight from Singapore to Frankfurt © Sam Clague 2020. Amidst the deafening turmoil of a world grinding to an undignified halt, I found myself offered an incredible opportunity by the Goethe-Institut. I began my journey in late August, en route to Germany...

Take Me to the River A Living Archive

Take Me to the River Illustration (detail): © Goethe-Institut e.V. 2021 (11 February 2021)
In the online exhibition Take Me to the River by the Goethe-Institut and Prince Claus Fund, artists explore the consequences of climate change for indigenous peoples. The curator Maya El Khalil and her assistant Danielle Makhoul spoke about the interface of art and sustainability and the importance of indigenous perspectives in art.

Cyberactivism Secret Sarayaku

Feather and hand Photo: © Misha Vallejo Ecuador, Amazon Rainforest: A small Indigenous community, confronted with the interests of Big Oil, fights to preserve its land using the tools of its ancestors and the internet. This is their story. A visual essay. 

Sustainability A World without Plastic

All round the world, politicians, the private sector and society are declaring war on plastic waste. Photo (detail): © Adobe Plastic bans, disposable dinnerware made of bioplastics, and streets made of plastic waste: countries, companies and private citizens are all pursuing initiatives that show what the world would be like without plastic.

“Sound of X” The Sound of the City

Eight cities, nine soundscapes: “Sound of X.” Photo: Goethe-Institut/Benny Suhendra Panjaitan/Design: Groupe Dejour A city can be easily identified by its skyline or sights. But can it also be identified by its sound? For “Sound of X” by the Goethe-Institut Singapore, artists audio-visually captured the identities of cities in Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Inclusive Learning and Teaching Gender-inclusive language in German teaching

Gender inclusiveness © Sharon McCutcheon Languages, and therefore language learning, are closely linked to identity. Even in language classes for beginners, pupils talk about themselves, their experiences and their relationships. How can you help your pupils express non-binary gender identities?

Sustainable Towns Digital Villages, Green Towns

Bad Berleburg in North Rhine-Westphalia received the German Sustainability Award for Small Towns in 2020. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Norbert Probst/imageBROKER 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.

Web Comic Series: “Queer Comic Conversations” Together in Colour

Talking in coloured pictures: “Queer Comic Conversations” Photo (detail): Anna Heger and Sam Orchard The artists Anna Heger and Sam Orchard send their avatars to various places in New Zealand and Germany for the comic series “Queer Comic Conversations”. They talk about their experiences as queer people, encounters with hatred and violence and about support systems.

Celebrating the currywurst The curried sausage, an icon of German cuisine

<i>Currywurst</i> snack stand in Berlin, the birthplace of the spicy, saucy, German sausage speciality. Photo (detail): © picture-alliance / imageBroker / Karl F. Schöfmann In addition to roast pork with dumplings, a pork joint with sauerkraut, and potato salad, no list of German national dishes would be complete without the humble currywurst or curried sausage. The spicy snack was invented 70 years ago.

NZIFF Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival 2020

Lara quadrat © NZIFF This year’s Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival takes place from 24 July until 2 August 2020. There are 79 feature films and seven collections of short films. The following seven German language films will be featured this year.

Trends in German Comics Drawing on Life

Excerpt from the graphic novel “Jein” by Büke Schwarz Illustration: © Büke Schwarz/Jaja Verlag Now as ever, real life remains the most vital source of inspiration for the German comics scene, even in these troubling times of the coronavirus crisis. Many German cartoonists have been artistically processing the pandemic and its effects on everyday life – and publishing their comics online.

Artificial Intelligence Algorithms are like recipes

Source code is like a recipe: algorithms shape our day-to-day lives. Photo (detail): © Adobe But the ingredients have to be carefully selected to ensure that a dish tastes good: Algorithm expert Sebastian Schelter talks about artificial intelligence, how it takes decisions off our hands, and how this impacts our lives.

Doc Edge Festival 2020 © Doc Edge

German Films @ Doc Edge 2020

Doc Edge Documentary Film Festival is held annually in Auckland and Wellington to screen the best documentaries from New Zealand and the world. This year’s forum and festival will be held digitally. The following seven German (co-)productions will be featured this year.

Aleida and Jan Assmann Scholars of remembrance culture

Developers of the concept of cultural memory: professors Aleida and Jan Assmann. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Arne Dedert/dpa Professors Aleida and Jan Assmann – one a cultural and literary scholar, the other an Egyptologist – have studied forms of collective memory for more than three decades. In 2018, the husband-and-wife team were awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in recognition of their work.

“Arts of the Working Class” “Inviting everyone to join the discussion”

Arts of the Working Class Special Edition LA: Worlds of Homelessness Titelseite © Arts of the Working Class The homeless newspaper “Arts of the Working Class” and the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles present the special edition “Worlds Of Homelessness”. In an interview with “The Latest” at Goethe, editors María Inés Plaza Lazo and Alina Ana Kolar talk about their idea of an art magazine for everyone, how a distribution network of homeless people helps with its realization, and how Covid-19 affects the magazine and its sellers.

A first-hand account Repatriation flight for German travellers stranded in New Zealand: a first-hand account

Airbus A380 in Auckland ready for departure. Credit: Jennifer Barton © Jennifer Barton Jennifer and Manja, our former interns from the cultural section of Goethe-Institut Wellington, have just returned home from New Zealand to Germany on one of the repatriation flights organised by the German government. We asked them about their experiences at the end of their time in New Zealand, the flight home, and their arrival in Germany.

Pazifik-Leipzig Residency Programme "Framing Brownness"

Three women sit on a rocky beach Photo credit: Kasmira Krefft and Commissioned by Enjoy Gallery Christopher Ulutupu is a video and performance artist who will take up a three-month residency at the Art and Culture Centre Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei. The residency is a collaboration project of LIA (Leipzig International Art Programme) and the Goethe-Institut.

Word! The Language Column How many Words does the German Language have?

Word! The language column © Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank Coining new words is a cinch in German. But not every neologism belongs in a dictionary. Kathrin Kunkel-Razum talks about sifting through long word lists for the next edition of the “Rechtschreibduden”, the standard German spelling dictionary.

#MyJob “Motivating young people to keep going”

Amine El Aryf has been organising and mentoring the Horizonte programme at the Berliner Wasserbetriebe (Berlin water company) since 2017. Photo (Filmstill): Ula Brunner © Goethe Institut Amine El Aryf came to Germany in 2011 because of love. A Moroccan national, he has been involved in the organisation of entry qualifications for refugees and young people in Berlin since 2017. The fact that he took up a training role is partly to do with the weather in Germany.

Interdisciplinary education The universal approach to research becomes more important

Given the nature of current research topics, should university teaching be focused more on specialisation or universal learning? Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Waltraud Grubitzsch University teaching has become increasingly specialised over the centuries. But the topics addressed in research today increasingly require an interdisciplinary approach.  Leibniz Association president Matthias Kleiner sees a renaissance of universal research. 

Klaus-Dieter Lehmann’s 80th Birthday “Working with an open visor”

Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, President of the Goethe-Institut. Photo (detail): Maik Schuck It all started with an Apollo 11 moon rock. But the natural scientist Klaus-Dieter Lehmann was instead drawn into the world of culture. It’s still holding on to the president of the Goethe-Institut.

“Movement (1920-2020)” Defending the right to movement

The "Movement” Pop Up radio station. Photo (detail): Vangelis Patsialos The artist Natascha Sadr Haghighian is known for assuming different identities without revealing her own biography. At the Venice Biennale she worked for the German Pavilion and now presented her work at the festival "Movement (1920-2020)" by Onassis Stegi, in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Athens. The journalist Despina Zefkili met the artist on behalf of „Goethe aktuell“ and spoke with her about the right to freedom of movement and our responsibility to defend it.

Climate Change and Neocolonialism Climate Colonialism as a New Power Structure

The rainforest is on fire: smoke and flames in the Amazon region near Porto Velho. Photo (detail): Bruno Kelly © picture alliance / Reuters Wasteful use of the earth’s resources is a leading cause of environmental disasters, and the wealthy industrialized countries are benefiting from the exploitation of developing countries, says author Petra Schönhöfer.

Artist Residency 2020 Anna Peschke

Portrait Anna Peschke © Jens Wazel Director and visual artist Anna Peschke will realise a new project during her residency.

Brexit Strengthening European ideas

The Goethe-Institut is strengthening programmes for German-British cultural dialogue. Illustration (detail): Tobias Schrank As of 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom of Great Britain is no longer part of the European Union. The Goethe-Institut, which has been committed to German-British cultural dialogue for over sixty years, is responding by working even more closely with British and European partners.

Worlds of Homelessness “Social Balance Is the Key”

Recently rents have risen more sharply in Berlin than in any other German city. Photo (detail): © Adobe In all German cities, it takes money to live anywhere close to downtown, quite a lot of money in fact. Those who cannot afford the rising rents in cities are pushed out to the periphery. We asked an expert how urban planning could address this widening gap between rich and poor.

#MyJob “Empathy is important”

Samed Qoshja has been working at the Charité Berlin since 2017. Photo (Filmstill): Ula Brunner © Goethe Institut Administering medication, measuring blood pressure and continually asking patients how they’re feeling: nurse Samed Qoshja has plenty to keep him busy in his job. Originally from Albania, he has been working at the Berliner Charité since 2017 – and Germany already feels almost like home to him.

New Edition of “das goethe” Digital Colonialism

Marokko is een van de Afrikaanse landen met het snelste internet. Foto (fragment): © Art Directors & TRIPAlamy Stock The new edition of “das goethe” with the theme “Digital Civil Society” will be issued on 16 January. On The Latest at Goethe, journalist Ina Holev explains how colonisation continues in the digital space.

"#Nucleus" Films for a better climate

Filmmakers from seven countries Photo: Amirul Firdaus The Goethe-Institut New Zealand hosted the smartphone film competition "#Nucleus", which stimulated discussion about the environment and sustainability. Now nine filmmakers from seven countries came together to develop a short film.

Repatriation Debate The Restitution of Colonial Artefacts Is Going Slowly

Namibian national hero Hendrik Witbooi probably never dreamed that his whip and bible would one day be the stuff of international controversy. Photo (detail): © picture-alliance/dpa Where do they belong? Ownership claims to cultural assets from the colonial period are often controversial and negotiating possible restitution is frequently a fraught and drawn-out process. Germany is taking some initial steps towards a resolution.

Darknet Redeeming the darknet in five examples

Darknet predstavuje chránenú komunikáciu na internete, na čo sa používa, určujú jej užívatelia Photo (detail): © Adobe The darknet is often seen as the Cain to the internet’s Abel, as a hub for weapons and drugs and a paradise for paedophiles and terrorists. But, as it turns out, it’s not really so dark after all.

Blockchain After the Hype

The blockchain has the potential to change many areas of our society. Photo (detail): © Adobe / Siarhei The crypto currency Bitcoin turned many into millionaires overnight and was on the tip of everyone’s tongue, especially once it reached an all-time high in 2017.  Public interest in Bitcoin and the technology behind it, the blockchain, dropped in keeping with currency’s abrupt fall. So what is going on with the technology today?

Artist residency 2019 Vanja Smiljanić

Artist in Residence 2019: Vanja Smiljanić © Andrea Pizzalis Cologne-based visual and performance artist Vanja Smiljanić will be in Wellington for an artist residency.

Worlds of Homelessness “Social Balance Is the Key”

Recently rents have risen more sharply in Berlin than in any other German city. Photo (detail): © Adobe In all German cities, it takes money to live anywhere close to downtown, quite a lot of money in fact. Those who cannot afford the rising rents in cities are pushed out to the periphery. We asked an expert how urban planning could address this widening gap between rich and poor.

The German-German border “A place of remembrance and hope”

From no man’s land to a new habitat: a 1,400 kilometre-long nature preserve was created on the former border between East and West Germany. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB/Peter Gercke/ The border that once divided the two Germanys - the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic – has been transformed into the German Green Belt. The biotope provides a new home for flora and fauna while testifying to its conflict-laden history.

Climate Change Carbon Compensation – a Feel-Good Solution?

Reforestation for air travel: What do carbon offset projects achieve? Photo (detail): © Adobe Carbon offset schemes promise to compensate for the emissions caused by private individuals – as air travellers, for instance – with donations to climate projects. But are they not just a way of salving guilty consciences?  

TV Series A fascination with the past

Babylon Berlin: ambitious police typist Charlotte Ritter. Photo (detail): © picture alliance/Everett Collection 102309761 German television shows tend to have a bad reputation for poor writing and cheap productions not suited for an international market and audience. Now series like “Deutschland ‘83” and “Babylon Berlin” are putting a new shine on that tarnished image. 

Digitalisation in Art “Complexity is Beauty”

What if Fred’s life had been different? At the premiere of Kay Voges’ Die Parallelwelt the audience saw two life stories at the same time – one performed live on stage, the other presented on a video screen. Photo (detail): „Die Parallelwelt“, Kay Voges © Birgit Hupfeld / Schauspiel Dortmund Virtual reality, 3D animation and robotics have long been used by theatre directors in other countries but they have yet to be embraced as tools of stagecraft in Germany. That is about to change. The new Akademie für Digitalität und Theater (Academy for Digitality and Theatre) in Dortmund is set to revolutionise the German theatrical landscape. 

Artur Brauner Films to Stop People Forgetting

The film producer Artur Brauner Photo (detail): © Ula Brunner Artur Brauner was a legendary German producer. Nobody else shaped German post-war cinema quite like he did, and he did it above all with light entertainment. However, since 1947 Brauner also delved into the Nazi era. Now he has died.

European Elections Seven websites and apps promoting digital civic courage

“Homeparliaments” is an initiative that brings European politics to the kitchen table. Photo (crop): © https://homeparliaments.eu Hate speech and fake news can massively influence public opinion. These apps and initiatives set out to counter that by strengthening political awareness and encouraging positive online discourse. 

Wanderlust Kitchen Pumpernickel meets Rēwena bread

The Magic Hour dinner in Wellington, plating the dessert © Lottie Hedley In 2018, the regional project Wanderlustküche – A Culinary Dialogue was one of the absolute highlights! Nine Goethe-Institutes in South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand participated in the project, which brought together chefs from Germany and the respective partner country under the motto “Tables without borders”. 

Film German-French Focus at Doc Edge Festival

Supported by the Franco-German Cultural Fund, the Goethe-Institut and the French Embassy this year’s Doc Edge festival brings German and French productions and film industry professionals to New Zealand.
 

Artist Residency 2019 Milan Gessner

Woods - Illustration © CitéNoir The Berlin-based illustrator, filmmaker and street artist Milan Gessner is the Goethe-Institut Artist in Residence in Wellington this year.

Karl Marx Re-reading “Das Kapital”

Karl Marx would have celebrated his 200th birthday in 2018. Photo (detail): Johann Scheibner © dpa Karl Marx would have celebrated his 200th birthday in 2018. His criticism of capitalism appears even more pertinent today amidst climate crisis, chronical unemployment and global inequality. A reason for Mathias Greffrath to look back and re-read.

Dance and Cultural Exchange Typologies of Migration

„Act and Thought“ by Mamaza in the context of Performing Architecture / International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2016 © Goethe-Institut, photo: Federico Sutera In dance migration is not a phenomenon confined to modern times. Artists were and still are “travelling people”. And in many cases this professional mobility is neither voluntarily nor casually chosen as a working basis.

Residence experience Reverberations from a spring in Berlin

Studio image Mia Straka Photo: Mia Straka © New Zealand jewelery artist Mia Straka reports on her residence experience in Berlin.
 

Generation Z on the silver screen The universal magic of youth

Furaha ya kuwa kijana: “Es war einmal Indianerland” (Hapo Zamani za Kale nchini India) ni taswira ya ujana, lakini siyo lazima iwakilishe taswira ya Kizazi Z. Picha (maelezo): © picture alliance/Camino-film/dpa Who are they and how do they live? The advertising and media world has discovered a new target group: Generation Z, fully digitalized since birth, is coming of age. But on screen they are (still) representing the lives of Millennials.

Spreading hate on the Internet “The three of us can make it seem like there are hundreds of us”

Rayk Anders and his research team for the documentary “Lösch Dich. So organisiert ist der Hate im Netz”(Delete yourself. Organised hate on the Internet) commissioned by German broadcasters (ARD/ZDF). Photo (edit): © Paul Ruben Mundthal In their documentary “Lösch Dich. So organisiert ist der Hate im Netz” (Delete yourself. Organised hate on the Internet), YouTuber Rayk Anders and his team investigate how Internet trolls use hate to promote their political aims.

Virtual Reality VR “made in Germany”

Immersion into virtual reality. Photo (detail): © Adobe Ten German virtual reality and 360-degree video projects you should know about.

Museum and Curating Practices in Southeast Asia The Museum as a Sounding Board

The performance Sweet Dreams Sweet right after the symposium Photo: Marcel Runge European and Southeast Asian curators and museum directors met in Berlin on the invitation of the Goethe-Institut Jakarta. In a panel discussion, they exchanged views on the changes in exhibition practices.

Artist Residency 2018 Hanno Leichtmann

Hanno Leichtmann © Stini Roehrs Music producer and sound artist Hanno Leichtmann is the Goethe-Institut Artist in Residence in Wellington this year.

German Indie Games Board game

Maschinen-Mensch Photo: Jan Bojaryn Riad Djemili left one of Germany’s top studios to co-develop a digital board game together with a friend. "The Curious Expedition" was a surprise hit. Now there is a sequel.

Artist Residency Christchurch 2017/18 Volker Strübing

Volker Strübing Volker Strübing Poetry-Slammer Volker Strübing is the Goethe-Institut Artist in Residence in Christchurch this year.

PASCH Alumni Conference in Jakarta

Initiative „Schulen: Partner der Zukunft” © Kai Uwe Oesterhellweg In October 2017 the region Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand will hold its first conference for PASCH alumni in Jakarta. Two alumnae from New Zealand will be there.

Asia-Pacific German Olympics "The best week of my life"

The students get to know each other in various competitions. Photo: Noah Shahar Getting to know and learn from one another in German, 8,000 kilometres from Germany. Seventy-seven pupils from ten countries met in Thailand for the first Asia-Pacific German Olympics.

Asia Pacific German Language Olympics

Participants of the Asia-Pacific German Olympics are sitting on the edge of a swimming pool and smile into the camera. © Chris Durrant  Ten countries, one language. International encounters in German. Read about Chris Durrant's experience here.

#mywishforeurope Wishes for Europe

#mywishforeurope © Goethe-Institut 2017 is Europe’s super election year. We have asked people in and outside of Europe: what do you wish for Europe in 2017? We sent their wishes out into the world under #mywishforeurope – on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and goethe.de.

Artist Residency 2017 Janine Eisenächer

Janine Eisenächer Performance © Brian McCorkle Performance artist Janine Eisenächer is the Goethe-Institut Artist in Residence this year.

CONGRESS New Zealand’s Co-Production Summit with a focus on German feature films

New Zealand’s Co-Production Summit © WIFT NZ The third annual co-production summit takes place in Auckland. This year the three day summit focuses on German/New Zealand co-productions. For this reason several German film-makers have been invited to speak.

Migration The city as an engine of tolerance

Karachi Foto (detail): Tentative Collective Major cities are cultural contact zones and transit spaces, places of uncertainty and the foreign. The dynamism of change arising from this constitutes the essence of urbanity and is what lends metropolises their stability and attractiveness in the first place.

Composition Live Cinema: VARIETY

Variety © New Zealand International Film Festival The New Zealand International Film Festival and the Goethe-Institut have commissioned Johannes Contag to compose an accompanying film score for the screening of the 1920s film classic "Variety".

DEFA: 70 Year Anniversary DEFA-Film Series at Auckland Art Gallery

A native American holds a rifle Copyright: DEFA-Stiftung/Waltraut Pathenheimer To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the DEFA Studio in East Germany, the Goethe-Institut New Zealand presents in its Winter Film Series at the Auckland Art Gallery a film programme highlighting different themes and genres that were important to the DEFA.

International short film festival in New Zealand Show Me Shorts celebrates filmmaking talents

Each year, from over 1,500 entries from around the world, the 40 best short films and six best music videos are selected. The resulting programme of short films will be shown in more than 25 cinemas nationwide.

Book Exchange Book Crossing

Book Crossing Logo ©Book Crossing ‚If you love your books – let them go’. This is how the New York Times described the project ‘BookCrossing’, which dates from April 2001. The Goethe-Institut New Zealand is now part of this exciting project.
 
 

Physical Dramaturgy A (New) Trend?

Jennifer Lacey and Nadia Lauro „Les assistantes“ (2008); Photo (detail): Laurent Philippe Dramaturgy in contemporary dance is a hot topic, in a positive sense. Ideally, when preparing a piece, dramaturges are the choreographers’ best friends.

Media Credibility Crisis “Re-thinking Our Role”

Lying press? Photo (detail): © mitrija - Fotolia.com Cronyism with elites, one-sided reporting, abuse of power – many Germans are dissatisfied with the media. How warranted are their charges?

Bikinihaus Berlin Freedom in architectural form

Bikini Berlin Photo: Franz Brück Revitalising West Berlin’s name in the field of architecture.

David Bowie and German Pop Music Hero for a Day

David Bowie 2015 Photo (fragment): Sony / Jimmy Katz For just under two years, Berlin was for David Bowie a retreat and an inspiration. This was enough to give a formative impulse to German Pop music.

Building Groups Models for Joint Planning, Building and Living

Building Group “Upper Eastside“, Braunschweig, AHADArchitekten Photo (detail): A. Schulz Today, joint residential models are experiencing a renaissance, whether as building groups, owners’ associations or joint building ventures.

Film portraits Series: Arch-Lab (1–5)

Drawing Perrault Picture (detail): © ARCHlab/Weblab We will be presenting one building in each of our 30 film portraits and hearing from its architects. The first five films in the series can be seen here.

Participatory Art A Village Gets Going

Barbara Caveng, KunstKiosk. 2013 Photo (detail): Caveng © karin.hossfeld Interesting participatory projects are emerging far away from metropolitan areas. Two cases.

young talent promotion in Germany Young Documentary Photography and Photojournalism

Fara Phoebe Zetzsche, „Stray Kids“, Lumix-Festival 2014 Photo (detail): © Fara Phoebe Zetzsche Due to the picture overkill on the internet young generation photography is finding it hard to stand out and impress. A look at young talent promotion activities gives an insight on development trends.

August Sander Staging of the German past

August Sander, Family Generation, 1912, Collection Lothar Schirmer, Munich Photo (detail): © Die Photographische Sammlung /SK Stiftung Kultur – August Sander Archiv, Köln, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2014 On the 50th anniversary of the death of the photographer August Sander (1876-1964) in 2014, three exhibitions, in Cologne, Bonn and Munich, commemorated his portrait cycle “People of the Twentieth Century”.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder “I Would Like to Build a House with my Films”

Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Real Fiction Photo (detail): © Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation Some considered him to be a “problem child”, others recognized that he was a genius. Regardless of what one might think about him, he will forever have a place in German cinema.

Zero Hour in Film Rubble, Utopia, New Beginnings

“The Murderers Are Among Us” by Wolfgang Staudte Photo (detail): © Deutsches Filminstitut, Frankfurt From The Murderers Are Among Us to Phoenix – the period immediately after the war has been dealt with time and again in cinema, such films always reflecting the way in which Germans view themselves.

Artist in Residence 2015 Uta Plate

Artist in Residence 2015: Uta Plate Photo (detail): © Uta Plate The Goethe-Institut artist in residence this year is internationally renowned theatre practitioner Uta Plate. She will be based in Wellington from February until April 2015.

German Mumblecore Making Films, Just Like That

“Love Steaks” by Jakob Lass Photo (detail): © Daredo Media German Mumblecore focuses the spotlight on a variety of German cinema which relies on a great deal of improvisation. But what are the inherent characteristics of German a mumblecore film?

Second Hand Spaces Temporary Use of Property

Behind each red spot lies in fact a vacant building (Screenshot: leerstandsmelder.de) Screenshot (detail) © leerstandsmelder.de More and more people want to use urban space for their own projects. At the same time, many buildings stand vacant. Interim use agencies seek to broker between owners and interested parties. It is not always easy.

Throwaway Society No Heart for Things

With mobile phones, for many users it has to be the latest model. Photo (detail): © fotolia What doesn’t work is quickly replaced instead of repaired. But resistance is stirring.

Private refugee initiatives Living together under one roof

The initiators of “Flüchtlinge Willkommen”; Photo (detail): © Jean-Paul Pastor Guzman/Flüchtlinge Willkommen More and more refugees from all over the world are seeking refuge in Germany. Numerous private initiatives are actively supporting asylum seekers and providing them with a new home.

Welcoming Culture The Benefits of Diversity

Public authorities too are working on their own “welcoming culture”. Photo (detail): © Thinkstock Universities, businesses and local governments want to step up their efforts to make immigrants feel at home in Germany.

Kraftwerk Music for the future

Kraftwerk Photo (detail): Peter Bottcher That a pop band should turn 40 is an event. All the more so when this band is called Kraftwerk and is the most influential German musical group.

Mobile Cinema Mobile Cinema in Germany

Screening in Hamburg-Hammerbrook Photo (detail): © A Wall is a Screen Cinema does not necessarily need a movie theatre. In cities like Hamburg films are projected onto the facades of buildings. These mobile film performances have opened up new perspectives in the way public space can be used.

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