Afghanistan

Goethe-Institut Afghanistan © Bernhard Ludewig

Reopened in 2003, the Goethe-Institut Afghanistan supported the then still existing cultural scene in its reconstruction and promoted the emergence of new cultural practices. The institute was severely damaged by an attack in 2017 and subsequently had to cease operations. Since the Taliban took power in 2021, the current situation in Afghanistan is extremely difficult: the country is isolated and women are largely banned from public life. The return of the Taliban has also been devastating for artists.

Images of Taliban fighters burning musical instruments and artists destroying their own artwork out of fear went around the world. Cultural practitioners in Afghanistan and in the diaspora continue to try to be artistically active. While some cultural workers have managed to leave the country, others are still waiting for the opportunity to flee.

The Goethe-Institut Afghanistan

Facade of the former Goethe-Instituts in Kabul © Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut Kabul, founded in 1965, had to cease its activities in 1991 before the invasion of the Mujahideen. Until its closure, the Goethe-Institut Kabul was a well-known and popular place for meetings, exchange and cultural events.
Inner courtyard Goethe-Institut Afghanistan © Masoud Hotak
After the end of the first Taliban regime in 2001, the first on-site research for the resumption of work began in February 2002. In September 2003, the Institute was reopened in the former residence of the then GDR Embassy. With the occupation of its own building and the secondment of additional staff, the Institute resumed its activities in all areas o

Workshop © Masoud Hotak The Goethe-Institut Afghanistan supported the then still existing cultural scene in its reconstruction and also promoted the emergence of new cultural practices – for example, the fields of contemporary literature, animated films and puppet theatre.

The institute was located on the grounds of the German Embassy. In an attack on it in 2017, the institute was severely damaged and had to stop work as a result. The Taliban have been in power again since 15 August 2021.

Programme insights

Get an insight into selected programme contents of our country focus Afghanistan here!

Afghanistan Festival

The three-day opening festival (30 June – 2 July 2023) of the Afghanistan country focus offered an interdisciplinary programme. Elements of traditional and contemporary culture were presented as well as current discourses of the diaspora. One focus was the visualization of Afghanistan's diverse female and diverse art and cultural production.

Elaha Soroor & Band © Ksenia Yanko © Ksenia Yanko

“currently, culture lives on only in the cage of ideology”

Interview with Ibrahim Hotak

Ibrahim Hotak was the last director of the Goethe-Institut Afghanistan and now works at the Goethe-Institut in Berlin. In 2005, he was living in Germany when an old acquaintance asked him why he had not returned to Afghanistan long ago to help build up the country. After the fall of the Taliban, there had been a spirit of optimism in Afghanistan since 2001, and so he too decided to move back to Afghanistan.

What did Afghanistan’s cultural landscape look like after more than 20 years of war? Ibrahim Hotak provides insights into the cultural work of the Goethe-Institut during these years of change.

Exhibition review

Invisible Power – Striving for Femininity and Identity

From 8 December 2023 – 14 January 2024, the exhibition Invisible Power – Striving for Femininity and Identity, curated by Sara Nabil, was on display at the ACUD Galerie in Berlin. Take a look at the works by the artists Rada Akbar, Leila Mousavi and Mohsin Taasha.

Find out more about the exhibition here.