September 29
Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus: Keinheimisch. Kindheit in Israel, Leben in Deutschland
In Hebrew, “sabres” refers to cactus fruits, which are prickly on the outside but surprise you with their sweet flesh on the inside. This is exactly how many Jews born in Israel see themselves: they believe that their ancestors not only settled the desert of Palestine, but also cultivated the land. But this image has darkened. What is it like to grow up in a country where Jewish hegemony displaces, excludes, and silences the Arab population? And where can a Jew feel at home today—in Israel, Palestine, Germany?
Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus writes about his family’s history, overshadowed by the Holocaust, while also questioning the founding history of Israel. His grandfather participated in the Nakba, but the expulsion of the Palestinians was later described as “liberation.” What role did his grandfather really play in 1948? In Keinheimisch, childhood memories merge with reflections on history, literature, and politics. A touching story about narratives and the question of how much they can be trusted.
Moderated by Vanessa Vu.
(DE)
8 pm | Pfefferberg Theater, Schönhauser Allee 176
September 30
Filling in the Blanks: Meret Weber
There is a set of words, a handful of sentences, some recurring ways in which I’ll talk to you: about an ache, about a certain pain, a nuisance, a bother. There is a list of vocabularies I always come back to, so often, that I can’t help but to forget its origin, do you know, what I mean?
In this reading group we will gather once a month to discuss crucial texts that underlie the thing we call the current discourse. We will try a close reading of some of the fundamental texts of (post-)colonial, abolitionist, Queer and Feminist studies. Are we sure we mean the same thing when we use the same words, or does it help to come together and share our different readings and interpretations, filling in the blanks, the gaps in our understanding.
Each session will be accompanied by an artist, activist or researcher who will present a text, a poem, or a chapter in a book, set their own focus and give impulses to the discussion.Together, we shape tangible terms from our shared reading and discussion experiences—a New Glossary for the journey ahead.
Our guest in the third session is Meret Weber, an expert in African and political studies, author, and journalist.
The texts will be part of a reader that will be accessible to everyone who signs up to the reading group - reading the text is not necessary for taking part in the group, though it is encouraged to do it, so we have a mutual basis on which we can discuss.
The reading group is curated and moderated by Ameena Quansah and Tanasgol Sabbagh.
Free Registration
(EN, DE)
6 pm | ACUD Studio, Veteranenstr. 21
October 4
Ghayat Almadoun: I have brought you a severed hand
Fluid and unselfconscious, Ghayath Almadhoun writes love poems in the shape of nightmares: I HAVE BROUGHT YOU A SEVERED HAND is a surreal mix of absurd humour, heteroerotic lust and dead seriousness. Caught between two exiles, the one inherited from his Palestinian father and the one he chose and lives, Almadhoun attempts to explain water and tame hope.
Ghayath Almadhoun (born 1979, Damascus) is a Syrian-Palestinian poet who moved to Sweden in 2008. He has published five collections of poetry in Arabic, the latest being Adrenalin (Almutawassit, 2017) and I have brought you a severed hand (Almutawassit, 2024). Almadhoun currently lives between Berlin and Stockholm. His work has been translated into nearly thirty languages.
(EN, AR, DE)
from 6:30 pm | Spore Initiative,
October 5
COORDINATES: Voyage along the margins
COORDINATES is a growing network of art residencies and spaces operating in remote or peripheral locations across Europe. For the launch of the initiative, Kemmler Foundation and Plaisir d’offrir, invite you to join them at Floating University for an afternoon of exploration along our physical and imaginary confines.
With contributions by Philipp Modersohn, Rosario Talevi, Elektra Wagenrad, Nikolai Sivertsen and Lily Matras. Vegan Borscht is served all afternoon by the Ukrainian collective Monday Kitchen.
3 pm | Floating University, Lilienthalstraße 32,