Working on a multi-layered, structural transformation of „white“ institutions is a focus in Peggy Piesche’s practice. Born and raised in the GDR, the Black German literary and cultural scholar is a transcultural trainer for intersectionality, diversity inclusion, racism and power criticism as well as critical whiteness reflection in science, society, and politics. In her work she focuses on the entanglement of diaspora and translocality, the performativity of memory cultures (spatiality and coloniality of memories, postcolonial remembrance), Black Feminist Future, Critical Race as well as Whiteness Studies. Peggy Piesche has been active in the Black (German) feminist movement since 1990 and is a member of Generation ADEFRA e.V. (Black Women* in Germany) as well as being involved in the DiversifyingMatters research group. Since 2019 she has been working on decoloniality, intersectionality and diversity at the Federal Agency for Civic Education in Berlin.

The ticket is valid for the concert with Ahya Simone in Kammer 1, too.

Working across myriad disciplines, Detroit-based multidisciplinary artist, performer, filmmaker and harpist, Ahya Simone’s many pronged practice is bound by an exploration of Black identity, aesthetics, and vulnerability. Ahya’s versatile approach to harp and vocal artistry includes classical, jazz, and soul and creates an almost mesmerizing on-stage moment. As an emerging filmmaker, Simone developed “Femme Queen Chronicles,” a web-series sponsored by the Trans Sistas of Color Project and the Detroit Narrative Agency 2.0. With her performance at Kammer 1, Ahya presents “Iridescence” – a loose story of becoming – revealing even. Using her image as a main visual subject, Ahya Simone explores her universe – visually, sonically, and lyrically. Revealing herself is at her discretion. From lush harp loops and electronic sounds to silhouettes and striking shapes, she wrestles with the balance of belonging to herself and others.

The ticket is valid for "Keynote" in Kammer 1 as well.

From 2011 to 2018, curator Okwui Enwezor was the director of Haus der Kunst – with the aim of breaking open the Eurocentric art canon. He wanted to encourage visitors to critically rethink. However, as the Süddeutsche Zeitung correctly stated, the “cosmopolitan in a black tailored suit” and the Bavarian state capital remained an odd couple. True to his convictions, he stood both for a global concept of art and a critical perspective regarding the idea of the nation state. With curator and art historian Markus Müller, a close confidant of Enwezor, festival curators Julia Grosse and Julian Warner discuss the challenges of a critical curatorial practice and the possibility of a long-termed opening of art and cultural institutions.

This year’s edition of “Ritournelle” is also a special edition of the Friendly Confrontations festival. In keeping with the occasion, at the crossroads between tradition and futurism, we have invited none other than drummer legend Tony Allen to Munich. His rhythms have made music history. At Fela Kuti’s side, he invented the Afrobeat. Together with Damon Albarn he played the drums for the wonderful group The Good, The Bad & The Queen. Not forgetting his fabulous collaborations with techno legends Jeff Mills and Theo Parrish, or his part in the Moritz von Oswald Trio. Some years ago, his iconic single “Ima read” not only turned Zebra Katz into Rick Owens’ muse, but it also meant that queer rap was perceived in a whole new way. Like hardly anyone else in this field, Zebra Katz is a perfect performer for the big stage. Moor Mother is a poet, musician and activist from Philadelphia. Electronic avant-garde, spoken word poetry and an unfiltered punk attitude unfold in her songs with urgency and a rare rawness.

Klein, who grew up between London, LA and Lagos, produces a deconstructed gospel that is much more disoriented and fragile, yet just as consistent. She has brought together the best of these three worlds on her debut album Only. Between R&B, glitch electronics and celestial sounds, her music defines the pop of the future.

Line Up

Tony Allen
Zebra Katz
DJ Stingray (DJ Set)
Moor Mother
Klein
La Staab (DJ Set)

The Friendly Confrontations festival is a collaboration between the Goethe Institute and the Münchner Kammerspiele.

Burak, Saskia and Rashad are three of boxing coach Ali Cukur’s charges. Week after week they and numerous other young boxers meet in a small gym of the TSV 1860 Munich. Most of them have been through a lot. For them, Ali is a role model, a father and a lifesaver. In the ring he teaches them how to restrain their anger and maintain control. Ali transfers the annual training camp to Ghana. Faced with the tough living conditions of the boxers in the slums of Accra, the youngsters begin to see their lives in Germany from a new perspective. For them the trip to West Africa – documented in the film “Lionhearted” by filmmaker Antje Drinnenberg – thus becomes a journey to their inner selves – to their fears, their inner conflict, but also to their strength and self-esteem.

In his 1952 Bildungsroman “Invisible Man”, Ralph Ellison describes the rise and disappearance of a Black intellectual. The novel begins with the young protagonist being invited to the local Rotary Club, where he is supposed to talk about humility and receive a scholarship. But first he must compete against other Black youths in a boxing match held before the greedy eyes of the old white men. This novel exposition provides a worthwhile level of understanding for one of the ways the spectacle “boxing match” functions when it is transferred to the theatre space. However, the match between the boxing unit of TSV 1860 Munich, the Attoh Quashie Boxing Gym and the Ghanaian Charles Quartey Boxing Foundation could mean a lot more. It celebrates an intercontinental sports friendship that was recently documented in the film “Lionhearted” (2019). When the boxers step into the ring, it’s about migration, class, structural exclusion – and ultimately about representing a different possible audience at Münchner Kammerspiele. Under the direction of the two charismatic coaches Ali Cukur (Munich) and Charles Quartey (Accra), a re-encounter and therefore Round Two for the athletes and film protagonists will take place as part of the festival “Friendly Confrontations”.

“Operation Sunken Sea” proposes a large-scale infrastructural intervention to drain and relocate the Mediterranean Sea within the African continent. Referencing and expanding upon early twentieth century techno-utopian visions, the ongoing research project is an intervention by Heba Y. Amin that investigates significant transformations in territorial constructs and their impact on new geopolitical alliances and global politics.

Pink people wanna know if other pink people like hip-hop
how can it still be hip-hop?
That’s like asking, if Black people like
Dirty Harry
is he still Clint Eastwood?
(Greg Tate)

Gangstas, Pimps und Hoes: The US rap world is imbued with images of exaggerated masculinity. When Black artists such as Cam’ron and Kanye West launched a fashion trend of pink plush, fur and velour in the early 2000s, they proved that even Barbie’s favorite colour could not damage their image of heterosexual hypermasculinity. Joana Tischkau draws on this occasion to reveal the fragility of social constructions such as race and gender: To what extent are bodies of the „other“ used to consolidate the structural power of white Cis masculinity?

Concept and Choreography Joana Tischkau Performance Rudi Äneas Natterer Dramaturgy and Artistic support Nuray Demir, Elisabeth Hampe Sound Design Frieder Blume Stage Inga Danysz Light Juri Rendler Costumes Nadine Bakota Production Lisa Gehring

"Judas" is about a man whose name is synonymous with betrayal; a man who has been universally vilified for centuries. But without this man and without his Judas’ kiss, Christianity would never have become one of the great religions in the world. Every age has speculated about Judas and his motives. After two thousand years it is about time for Judas to have his own say: He stages a last effort to reduce his act to a human level and to take the audience where they rather would not be: to the Judas in themselves.

„I think we take a unilateral direction of our view of heroes, of what we consider to be greater and higher and better than we are ourselves. We love to adore as much as we love to be adored. But in either case we abdicate our power to somebody else. Judas is scorned by people so that they can exculpate their own souls. It is striking that the portraits that have been created in the course of the centuries have depicted Judas in an increasingly ugly and vile fashion.“ (Lot Vekemans)

One’s home country is an important point of reference for many people. But what if it causes inner conflict? In this group therapy performance, the Israeli artist Nofar Sela, together with the audience, takes a new approach to her country. Using her body to symbolise Israel, she invites the spectators to refill the map with their bodies and hearts. Creating an intimate atmosphere, she draws a new map in charcoal on an enormous piece of paper and asks: Do you love me? Would you still love me if I did something forbidden? A performance about relationship statuses: it’s complicated.

It takes the work of critical activists, artists and scientists to reform the structures and programmes of German art and cultural institutions. Instead of reflecting “white monoculture”, the experience of all communities should be represented by these institutions. Professor emeritus Gloria Wekker (Gender and Ethnic Studies), Peggy Piesche (Federal Centre for Political Education), Bahareh Sharifi (Diversity Arts Culture) and Max Czollek (author and publicist) will discuss the history and present state of the struggle for institutional participation.

Moderation: Nadja Ofuatey-Alazard

One’s home country is an important point of reference for many people. But what if it causes inner conflict? In this group therapy performance, the Israeli artist Nofar Sela, together with the audience, takes a new approach to her country. Using her body to symbolise Israel, she invites the spectators to refill the map with their bodies and hearts. Creating an intimate atmosphere, she draws a new map in charcoal on an enormous piece of paper and asks: Do you love me? Would you still love me if I did something forbidden? A performance about relationship statuses: it’s complicated.

Pink people wanna know if other pink people like hip-hop
how can it still be hip-hop?
That’s like asking, if Black people like
Dirty Harry
is he still Clint Eastwood?
(Greg Tate)

Gangstas, Pimps und Hoes: The US rap world is imbued with images of exaggerated masculinity. When Black artists such as Cam’ron and Kanye West launched a fashion trend of pink plush, fur and velour in the early 2000s, they proved that even Barbie’s favorite colour could not damage their image of heterosexual hypermasculinity. Joana Tischkau draws on this occasion to reveal the fragility of social constructions such as race and gender: To what extent are bodies of the „other“ used to consolidate the structural power of white Cis masculinity?

Concept and Choreography Joana Tischkau Performance Rudi Äneas Natterer Dramaturgy and Artistic support Nuray Demir, Elisabeth Hampe Sound Design Frieder Blume Stage Inga Danysz Light Juri Rendler Costumes Nadine Bakota Production Lisa Gehring