Artistic Freedom & Mobility: Learnings From the Pandemic

Artistic freedom and international exchange beyond COVID-19

14:00 – 15.30

The pandemic has hit the creative and cultural sectors hard and restricts the mobility and opportunities of artists worldwide. What learnings come from the pandemic about how to support artists and cultural activists in situations of political, social and economic threat? What coping strategies and best practices evolved for the future work of protection programmes? What innovative and creative formats have been developed and tested and can help support artists in the future?

Welcoming address
Claudia Roth (Vice-President of the German Bundestag)

Panelists

• Khaled Barakeh: artist and cultural activist, founder of coculture (Berlin) and partner of 'Beyond the Now: Social Art Practice for a post-Pandemic World'
• MC Manmeet Kaur: India's pioneer female MC, beatmaker, improvisational poet and singer; former MRI scholarship holder as artist-in-residence at SAVVY Contemporary in Berlin (Dec 2019 – Feb 2021)
• António Pedro Mendes: curatorial assistant, coordinator of 'Colonial Neighbours' project and of projects of artistic collaboration at SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin

Moderation

• Dr. Lisa Bogerts (MRI research coordinator)
• Maik Müller (head of MRI)

Findings and recommendations on how to maintain spaces of artistic freedom beyond the crisis

16:00 – 17:30

Workshop (limited to max. 30 participants) which aims to discuss the interim findings of MRI's ongoing research project on artistic freedom and mobility with a focus on Turkey and the Middle East.

Input and discussion

• Pelin Çakır (researcher and author of a forthcoming study on relocation and learnings from the pandemic)
• Dr Ezgi Bakçay (researcher and curator, co-director of Karsi Sanat (independent art space in Istanbul, Turkey)

Moderation

• Dr. Lisa Bogerts (MRI research coordinator)
• Maik Müller (head of MRI)