WIR SIND ALLE BERLINER: 1884-2014 / A Commemoration of the Berlin Congo Conference

November 2014 marks the 130th anniversary of the Berlin Congo Conference and the official partitioning of Africa by Western (European, North American and Ottoman) colonial forces – in absence of African representatives. It is against this backdrop that the exhibition WIR SIND ALLE BERLINER: 1884-2014 reminisces this determining moment in world and its severe and ongoing repercussions and history and reflects upon Berlin’s historical and contemporary bond to Africa.
The exhibition, curated by Simon Njami, proposes a space for deliberation on the repercussions of this conference on past and current socio-political and economic phenomena in a Europe of flourishing nationalism and racism, as it deals with issues like migration flow or border and identity politics. The exhibition title “Wir sind alle Berliner” can be read as a humanistic statement following Kennedy's “Ich bin ein Berliner”, a reminder of a shared history or a call to overcome purported differences (full concept below).
SAVVY Contemporary is pleased to present on this occasion the participatory research project Colonial Neighbours: Colonial Neighbours investigates Germany's colonial past, and its ongoing impact upon the present by creating a public and living archive that consists of stories, objects, and other traces connected to German colonialism. Further details under: colonialneighbours.tumblr.com
This exhibition is dedicated to Thabiso Sekgala (1981-2014).
Participating artists: Kader Attia, Sammy Baloji, Bili Bidjocka, Filipa César, Theo Eshetu, Satch Hoyt, Cyrill Lachauer, Nadia Kaabi Linke, Henrike Nauman, Thabiso Sekgala, Katarina Zdjelar
Opening: Saturday, 15th November 2014, 7pm
www.savvy-contemporary.com