Today we will explain what Pop-Kultur is.
Pop-Kultur is an international festival.
International means that artists from many different countries will take part.
In 2021, the festival is taking place for the 7th time. It takes place in Berlin, Germany, at a location called the Kulturbrauerei.
The festival is made by a company called Musicboard Berlin.
This year, it takes place from the 25th to the 28th of August.
Pop-Kultur has 5 parts:
- Concerts
- Digital Works
- Commissioned Works
- Nachwuchs, Netzwerk and Lokal
- Studio 21
What does that mean?
Musicians get together to make a concert.
They are a band.
They play music together on stage.
The music is live.
It is not a recording.
Various musicians make music.
Where they live and work.
The music is recorded in different places around the world.
It is put together for Pop-Kultur.
You can then watch and listen to them on the internet.
A commissioned work can be a concert.
An exhibition.
An installation. In other words, a work of art in a certain place.
A conversation.
Or a film.
It means that the work is made especially for the festival.
The makers try out something new together.
They can decide freely.
They don’t have to think about costs.
Or about whether the art can be sold.
This is how exciting new works of art are created for Pop-Kultur.
There you can also hear and experience them for the first time.
That’s called a world premiere.
Nachwuchs, Netzwerk und Lokal
Nachwuchs is a German word that means “young talent”.
It’s about music by young musicians.
They can take part in training courses.
They can learn something new.
They can meet people from the business world.
[Business is everything people do with money.]
Or politicians and policy makers.
Or people who work as professionals in the field of music.
Netzwerk is the German word for “network”.
It’s about different musicians working together.
They can meet and share ideas.
Not only musicians from Berlin.
Musicians from the rest of Germany, too.
And from many other different countries in the world.
And Lokal is the German word for “local”.
It’s about music from Berlin.
Pop-Kultur lokal supports music projects in Berlin.
They are exciting music events.
They have a new and exciting take on music.
A jury decides, which projects get funding?
Funding means they get money for the costs of the event.
And, which of the projects can be part of the Pop-Kultur festival?
Studio 21
Studio 21 is a small festival within a big festival.
It is made by the RambaZamba Theater.
The theatre’s team works together with Pop-Kultur.
There are performances by inclusive bands.
That means there are musicians with and without disabilities.
There are also inclusive theatre performances.
And music workshops.
These bands will perform:
- 21 Downbeat
- FHEELS
- blind & lame
- Choolers Division
- Dain Fadinzt
- Station 17
- Stille Vann
- Wild Classical Music Ensemble
The Studio 21 festival takes place in the Studio 21 club.
Only people with disabilities work there.
As bouncers.
As DJs.
And at the bar.
This has never happened before in Berlin!
Studio 21 makes a point:
Music can create new opportunities.
For more inclusion.
Who can take part in Pop-Kultur?
Everyone can take part in Pop-Kultur:
- The team of festival-makers
- Artists
- The audience
They can share their thoughts and ideas.
Ideas on different topics.
Thoughts about living and working together.
Thoughts about music.
And thoughts about the future.
That’s what we want to share.
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That was a translation of writing in Leichte Sprache (»Easy Language«), which aims to make complex issues understandable for people with learning or reading difficulties.
We would like to draw your attention to the parts of this year’s programme that include artists with disabilities while also providing an overview of the services for our guests with mobility, reading, hearing or visual impairments.
Our understanding of an inclusive festival means that many multi-faceted people meet onstage, facing the stage or backstage. This is exactly what is happening at Pop-Kultur this year.
The collaboration among people with and without disabilities is not only a matter of course at Pop-Kultur, but also a quality criterion for our inclusive festival format. Never before have we had so many players with disabilities in the spotlight and behind the scenes.
In cooperation with the RambaZamba Theater, »Studio 21« will take place for the first time as a festival-within-a-festival. With 13 outstanding live acts, the diversity of inclusive bands will be presented, giving both well-known and lesser-known musicians with disabilities a platform.
Perhaps one of the most famous formations in Germany is Station 17, who always make us happy with their unmistakable mix of electronics, krautrock, disco, noise and pop. Also from Hamburg, but much more rock-oriented, are FHEELS. The still relatively new band led by striking singer Felix Brückner will thrill us with their mixture of blues and rock with psychedelic moments. Travelling from the South will be Munich duo blind & lame, aka Lucy and Gika Wilke, enchanting musicians who happen to be mother and daughter. Fans of rumba, swing and guitar pop should definitely take note.
The heart of Studio 21 is the »Immersive Club« in the Soda Club. All key roles – from management, bouncers, DJs to bar staff – are filled by players from Berlin’s inclusive arts scene. A club the likes of which even Berlin has never seen.
We are particularly proud of one the productions in new programme section »Deaf Performance.« In cooperation with the German Deaf Association, the duo JONU was selected from a nationwide call for entries to represent a new interpretation of music with sign-language art at Pop-Kultur. More will be revealed at the video premiere, followed by a talk with JONU and the cultural advisor of the German Association for the Deaf, Elisabeth Kaufmann.
There will also be two further talks highlighting the perspectives of artists with disabilities: In cooperation with the Berlin-based inclusion association Handiclapped e. V., we will explore how artistic success is measured and which factors – especially for actors with disabilities – (should) play a role in this.
We are also very pleased to welcome young, deaf actor Ben Kermer, who plays the lead role in the short film »Tremolo«. All talks will be interpreted with German Sign Language.
Due to their popularity in 2020, we are again providing videos with German-language audio descriptions in our media library for blind and visually impaired people. These were developed by blind musician Jonas Hauer in collaboration with Tania Eichler.
Our mobile awareness team will be on duty at the festival, especially for our guests with disabilities. Whether it’s taxi pick-up service, mobility assistance from one club to the next or providing information in German Sign Language or Leichte Sprache, the team of experts in their own right will be on duty on all festival days from 16:00 to 1:00 and can be found at the »Meeting Point.«
An overview of all accessibility measures at Pop-Kultur and contact details for the awareness team can be found here.
We are happy to receive questions and comments via inklusion@pop-kultur.berlin or by SMS/WhatsApp at +49 1573 879 5555.
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(Photo by Andi Weiland)
All of our venues are well to very well accessible for wheelchair users
A barrier-free floor system facilitates mobility on the cobblestone terrain.
Assistance dogs are welcome.
Many of our programme elements are accompanied by sign-language interpreters. Information at the »Treffpunkt.«
Our mobile inclusion team is available to guests with disabilities via the service number