Pop-Kultur 2021

The Pop-Kultur festival is starting!

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Pop-Kultur 2021

It’s happening! This week, the seventh Pop-Kultur festival is taking place in Berlin from the 25th to the 28th of August, 2021. And it’s happening live with an audience and 120+ slots in the familiar and beloved indoor venues of the Kulturbrauerei as well as the creatively designed open-air spaces and stages.

Along with concerts by artists such as Ata Canani & Karaba, Eunique and Erika de Casier, commissioned works by acts like All diese Gewalt, Natalie Greffel and Tara Nome Doyle as well as Berlin collectives including Freak de l’Afrique and SEXES, talks on various topics related to pop, culture and politics, films and installations, a highlight of the festival will be the communal experience.

The outdoor areas of the festival grounds invite visitors to relax and enjoy art through the commissioned work by Berlin studio wkc in collaboration with the Ikebana artist and floral designer Han Le Han. These pieces will flourish in the form of a botanical intervention meant as a feminist commentary as well as a questioning of supposed norms and standards of the collective space.

Our goal of being a safer space free of discrimination also includes, of course, a health policy. The safety of all participants, along with the art, is top priority. We have taken a very conscious, sensitive approach towards hosting a festival in times of pandemic. A common, careful approach to one another will ensure that the festival is an enjoyable experience for everyone present.

Detailed information about the applicable measures – such as the obligatory regulation of being vaccinated, recovered or tested – as well as personalised tickets and the admission procedure, can be found online!

Due to the pandemic-related distancing rules, Pop-Kultur will take place with a significantly reduced capacity. We will welcome you in the seated indoor venues as well as the outdoor areas. Masks are required in all indoor spaces. Our mobile awareness team will be present on site to ensure compliance with distancing and the other health regulations. If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the Corona rules, please do not hesitate to contact our safety and security staff.

It is recommended to arrive at individual events on time. This is because some indoor venues may quickly fill their limited capacity, restricting further access. But don’t worry: there will be a wide selection of events at all times, and furthermore, the Kesselhaus programme will be broadcast by ALEX Berlin in the courtyard of the Kulturbrauerei on an LED screen – plus surprises. This year’s programme will be even stronger than previous editions, thanks to the multifaceted nature of its events. So it is always worth checking out the various indoor and outdoor areas of the Kulturbrauerei.

The full 2021 timetable can be viewed online!

Once again this year, Pop-Kultur is bringing a focus on Canadian pop culture. Sponsored by FACTOR Canada and the Government of Canada, there will be world premieres of two digital works: »Persona & Other Friends« by Marie Davidson & L’Œil Nu is an audiovisual triptych, a hybrid between live concert and music video. »Farrago,« a collaboration between Paradis Artificiel and Charlton Diaz, offers a dive into psychedelia. This programme is part of Canada’s cultural programme as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2020/2021.

Is that it? That’s it. For today, at least. And on Wednesday, it gets going. We’re looking forward to your presence!

Call for Concepts: Pop-Kultur lokal

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Pop-Kultur Lokal 2021

Applications for this year’s edition are open until the 20th of April at 11 o’ clock.

If there’s nothing happening, then people need to make things happen. That’s easier said than done, especially in 2021, but Berlin has a rich history of bringing things to life by making the best of what’s around, even under the most adverse circumstances. Without the various people organising concerts, club nights, interdisciplinary formats and discursive events, the sound of the city would be little more than static. And this isn’t going to change anytime soon.

Just as the city depends on them, local organisers need access to open and independent spaces now more than ever to turn their ideas into cultural and social realities. As a festival, we want to work together in close collaboration with them to help make this happen.

Starting in 2018, in the months leading up to the festival, together with Anton Teichmann, Dominique Schweizer and Michael Aniser Pop-Kultur has presented four events selected by an independent jury, open to the public and with free admission. The Pop-Kultur lokal programme will continue in 2021, with new events taking place from June to August.

Through the 20th of April 11 a.m., organisers can apply with their projects – ideally intended to take place outdoors and with appropriate sanitary precautions, along with a backup plan for the event to take place online, in case changing regulations prevent it from happening in person.

Musicians living in Berlin should be the main focus. This can be combined with DJ sets or talks, provided that the participants are likewise based in the city. In the curation, there should be consideration to ensure that women make up at least 50% of the booked artists and that people with disability are represented in the line-up. Likewise, the event should be designed to be as accessible as possible. Applications that reflect diversity will be given preference.

The selection of the four events to receive a grant of 2,500€ – including 500€ for the implementation of hygienic measures – will be made by a jury of six: DENA (musician), Michael Aniser (Off-Kultur), Dominique Schweizer (Amiont), Anton Teichmann (Off-Kultur), Ella Zwietnig (musician, UMA) and Lisa Herzog (Pop-Kultur).

The official announcement as PDF can be found here.

Applications can be submitted directly via the online form or sent via the application form as PDF to info@pop-kultur.berlin.

Who, what, where, why, when? Pop-Kultur 2021 – it’s happening!

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Das neue Logo von Pop-Kultur

First, the good news: Pop-Kultur is happening. Why? Because it’s needed. We’ve all been missing live culture, or any kind of social experience at all. But now to the more pressing questions.

When? We kindly request you not to schedule any Zoom meetings between the 25th and 28th of August. Thank you!

Where? A good, fair, tough question. You know just as well as we do, there’s no easy answer. But we’ll do our best to make sure that the festival can take place live on the grounds of the Kulturbrauerei in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg. Should that not be possible, we still have a few aces up our sleeves. As you may recall, last year we were able to pull off quite a lot, despite, you know, everything.

What? That’s also something we can’t really reveal at present time. But we can tell you this much: we’re going for fusion over seclusion, solidarity over solipsism. In other words, we’re focusing on networks, collectives and new concepts that allow as much interaction as possible. Putting the »party« in »participation.« That probably sounds quite vague but everything will become clear in due time. Promise.

Who? You, of course. And artists from pretty much all over the world, who will develop the usual, unusual concepts for their Commissioned Works, perform live onstage (and hopefully with an audience physically present), appearing in every conceivable (or inconceivable) way. And all of the bright minds bringing themselves and their experiences to the Pop-Kultur Nachwuchs programme.

Plus, we’ve expanded our programming team: joining Christian Morin will be Leyla Yenirce, Pamela Owusu-Brenyah and Yeşim Duman, sharing the responsibility of the festival’s content and conceptual direction, while Nadine Moser will oversee cooperation with various collectives, which will play a bigger role at Pop-Kultur 2021 than ever before.

At his own request, Martin Hossbach has decided to step down from his position as co-curator. Musicboard Berlin GmbH and Pop-Kultur would like to thank him for six years of outstandingly successful collaboration and his commitment to continuously developing the festival.

By the way, these four additions to the team aren’t newcomers by any means: they’ve each already worked in depth with Pop-Kultur. Did One Mother‘s set in 2019 get you moving? Then you already know Leyla. Did you catch last year’s talk on African Music Festivals? Then you remember Pamela. Did you stop by the »Çaystube« of Pop-Hayat? That was Yeşim’s thing. And Nadine has been taking care of the Goethe Talents for some time now. And these are just a few examples of what they’ve all contributed to the festival over the years.

So, rest assured, with our forces united, a lot of good things are coming your way. In the end, that’s our business – and it’s a pleasure.

Was that it? Of course not!

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What this alleged new normal is supposed to be, we still don’t know. But one thing’s for sure: under other circumstances, back then™, it was fairly easy to quantify the success of a festival edition once it ended: Tallying attendees, adding up ticket sales – that’s all it really takes, and then everyone knows where the whole thing stands. And how it was qualitatively, that’s something the press knows, besides everyone else who was there in person. That’s more or less what »normal« used to be.

But that’s not how it is in 2020, because the end of this year’s edition actually marks its beginning. The Show trifecta, which we presented over the course of the 26th to the 28th of August, was conceived primarily as a springboard, intended to offer just a taste of the various acts and their visions as well as to arouse curiosity about the talks taking place as part of Pop-Kultur 2020. From here on out, the three dozen audio-visual works are permanently available in our mediatheque, and we’re happy every time someone checks them out or leaves feedback on our YouTube channel. In the end, we’re not just interested in how Pop-Kultur 2020 will grow and flourish as a permanent online festival in terms of statistics, but also whether it’s been a convincing venture in light of the new abnormal. So, what did you think?

Just as we’re eagerly awaiting your answers to this question, we can settle a few others: Pop-Kultur will take place next year as well, from the 25th to the 27th of August. How exactly? Well, that depends on what the new normal will be then, but we can promise that we’re not losing any momentum in getting started with the 2021 edition. We’re already putting our heads together – with proper distance, of course.