A long night of programming centring queer ancestry, its historical absence, and the possibilities it opens for connection with non-human entities, Indigenous knowledges, the fluid, sensual and fantastical dynamics of myths, and the telluric manifestations of the planet and the cosmos. The programme borrows its title from a line of HIYAS (GEMS), a work by Filipina poet Jaya Jacobo, published on hkw.de. HKW’s building has long been known to many Berliners as the ‘pregnant oyster’—taking this into consideration, Joshua Serafin’s performance VOID premieres in Germany as a way of activating associations with this expectant mollusc. The talk Birds of Paradise Can Fly connects the work of drag elder Joaquin La Habana with a younger generation of gender non-conforming artists, creating lineages that transcend the limitations of space and time. The last part of the evening, Ladyboys United, a short film programme opens up space to highlight the particularities of South East Asia queer sociality. HKW stands on part of the former site of Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute of Sexology (1919–33), a space where queer people could receive support of all kinds, including gender affirming treatments. Building upon this legacy, the night further grounds queerness by echoing the qualities of a pearl: a defence mechanism, a scar, a way of connecting the inner and outer, a precious form of beauty.

 

Fri., 23.6.2023 19:30
Birds of Paradise Can Fly
Joaquín La Habana in conversation with Eike Wittrock, accompanied by Rasiel Almanza Cairo

Fri., 23.6.2023 21:00
VOID
Joshua Serafin
Performance

Fri., 23.6.2023 22:00
Ladyboys United
Short film programme, with a conversation with Ragil Huda (in English)

Free entry for all events

 

Contributing Artists:

Rasiel Almanza Cairo, Ragil Huda, Alex Zhang Huntai, Joaquín La Habana, Joshua Serafin, Sarnt Utamachote, Kei Watanabe,​​​​​​​ Eike Wittrock