Alle gegen Alles.
Punk@50
Punk's not dead—it just smells funny.
Fifty years ago, punk declared itself against everything and everyone. This fall, eight Goethe-Instituts across the US and Mexico mark the anniversary with three months of exhibitions, films, concerts, and conversations — a transatlantic answer to one question: what does punk mean now?
At a Glance
8 cities: Major North American Cities
3 months: September through November 2026
1 movement, two continents: Exhibitions, concerts, films, and talks, locally curated and globally connected
Fifty years ago, punk declared itself against everything and everyone. This fall, eight Goethe-Instituts across the US and Mexico mark the anniversary with three months of exhibitions, films, concerts, and conversations — a transatlantic answer to one question: what does punk mean now?
At a Glance
8 cities: Major North American Cities
3 months: September through November 2026
1 movement, two continents: Exhibitions, concerts, films, and talks, locally curated and globally connected
Fifty Years of Noise
Punk is a sound, an aesthetic, and an attitude built on self-expression, nonconformity, and refusal to fit in. It shaped culture on both sides of the Atlantic. American punk influenced Germany's scene, German punk left its mark right back (ask the Dead Kennedys), and in Mexico, punk became a voice for the marginalized.Fifty years on, we're asking what's left of that spirit, and what subcultures still mean in societies as volatile as today's. Eight Goethe-Instituts, one project, one shared question.
Exhibitions, Films, Music, and More
Three months, eight cities, one shared spirit, as loud and varied as punk itself.Exhibitions: Tequila Mockingbird's Punk Museum pops up in LA. San Francisco spotlights punk from sister city Kiel and the band NO MORE. New York honors ZickZack label founder Alfred Hilsberg. Chicago traces punk's ties to outsider art. Mexico City partners with Museo Universitario del Chopo.
Films: Punk on screen at the German Currents Film Festival (LA), the German Film Festival (Mexico), and Goethe-Institut locations nationwide, plus an online series on Goethe-on-Demand.
Music: Berlin's CAVA brings their raw, feminist-informed garage punk on tour across the US and Mexico.
Talks & More: Journalist Thomas Venker, filmmaker Bernd Sahling, and punk musicians Andy Schwarz and Tina Sanudakura explore punk's past and present.
www.goethe.de/usa/punk50
Punk@50
Contact
If you have questions about the project, please contact:
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Luisa Rath-John
Director Goethe-Institut Los Angeles
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Dr. Alexander Behrmann
Director Goethe-Institut San Francisco
