THE EXHIBITION HAS NOT OPENED Thursday, August 22nd at 7 pm,
Introduction by Senem Aytac (film critic, editor) and Christa Fülbier (Co-Artistic Direction, HUJ:C) with a Performance by Kiezchor Lauratibor
To love is human nature, an instinct that guides our reactions and decisions. As the rights and freedoms of people continue to be violated around the world and our environments suffer from human-caused devastation, we are moved to respond to the state of the world. “OF LOVE” centers on acts of compassion in society and nature—actions born of love that demonstrate care for humankind and the desire to shape a world one wants to live in.
Acts of love appear within a wide scope of contexts over varying amounts of time; they can be performed as individuals and as communities; they can take place in our everyday lives or on occasion in the public eye; they can transpire as brief interactions or life-long commitments. In “OF LOVE,” artists identify lived experiences that deserve acknowledgement, preservation, or celebration. The works offer an opportunity to reflect on what is important, what should be protected, and where we must incite change moving forward.
“OF LOVE” presents new work by fourteen artists of HIER&JETZT: Connections, a transcultural network based in Berlin Lichtenberg that has been collaborating on events and exhibitions since 2017. The network consists of alumni from the HUJ:C residency program and contributors from over 20 countries.
EXHIBITION PROGRAM
LANGE NACHT DER BILDER Friday, Sept. 06th / 6 pm-12 am
Exhibition Tours in English and German
FAMILY MEAL Tuesday, Oct. 1st / 6:30 pm
A participatory installation and shared meal hosted by/with Uli Westphal & Bora Yediel
Sharing a meal is a quintessential human experience, a common practice between family and friends. Amongst the artists of this exhibition, it has been an important tool for creating togetherness, a chance to wind down, to hear from each other. We would like to expand our table to invite visitors of the exhibition.
Family Meal is a participatory sculpture/performance/installation by Bora Yediel and Uli Westphal. It centers around a custom-built circular table that can seat 30 guests. The artists will explore the concept of the exhibition through the collective experience of a choreographed meal.
Guests can sign up for the free event at rk-Galerie. Family Meal will take place in the exhibition space on October 1st between 6:30 PM and 9 PM.
ARTIST TALK Thursday, Oct. 24th / 6:30 pm
Artists Zoltan Kunckel, Ruba Salameh, and Özlem Sarıyıldız will discuss their works in “OF LOVE” and select past projects.
Zoltan Kunckel / KuZo is a visual artist from Venezuela. He studied photography and sculpture at Moholy-Nagy University in Budapest, and art in context at the UdK-Berlin. The experiences, inspirations, and motivations stemming from his multicultural background are explored simultaneously with the creative potential of diverse media and materials, leading to a body of work that transcends traditional narratives. His work ranges from interactive installations, sculptures, photography, video art, and performance pieces that reflect on national and cultural identity, migration and displacement, human rights, and the emergence of structures of power. In addition to his work as a sculptor and audiovisual artist, he has been a guest curator at the VÈM-Museum in Veszprém, Hungary since 2022. Within the framework of cultural education, he is an active and founding member of Trickmisch e.V.
Ruba Salameh is a visual artist whose work explores notions of land, geography, and displacement. She works in a variety of media, including painting, video, photography, collage and installations. Salameh has taught as a lecturer in the History of Art, painting, and practical classical painting. She has also conducted short-term workshops at the Bezalel Academy in Haifa. She moved to Berlin in 2020 where she currently resides and works.
Özlem Sarıyıldız is an award-winning visual artist, documentary filmmaker, and editor with over two decades of hands-on experience. Her work has garnered international recognition, being showcased in numerous prestigious exhibitions and festivals worldwide. She studied Industrial Design (BA), and Media and Cultural Studies (MS) at Middle East Technical University in Turkey and worked as a research assistant at University McGill in Montréal under the Jeanne Sauvé scholarship. Currently, she is the artistic co-director of Hier&Jetzt: Connections-Berlin Artist Residency Program. Primarily utilizing audio-visual materials and focusing on themes of gender, displacement, and the commons, her work uncovers the mechanisms underlying power dynamics and aligns with the determined voices seeking to reshape the course of history
FILM SCREENING & TALK Thursday, Nov. 7th / 6.30 pm
Screening of “Talking About Trees” directed by Suhaib Gasmelbari (90 min., Arabic, Russian, English with English Subtitles)
Talk moderated by Senem Aytaç
What kind of times are these, when
To talk about trees is almost a crime
Because it implies silence about so many horrors?
Bertolt Brecht
In his first feature length documentary, Suhaib Gasmelbari joins a group of filmmakers on a mission to revive cinema in Sudan, where film production and screenings were banned for years. Ibrahim Shaddad, Suliman Ibrahim, Eltayeb Mahdi and Manar Al-Hilo —members of Sudan Film Group, founded in 1989— reunite to repair an old open-air movie theater and organize a public screening, against all odds. These four veterans, friends for 45 years, never give up on hope and dare to ‘talk about trees’ in ‘times like these’. Transcending the trivial definitions of love, Talking About Trees restores a profound meaning of ‘love as action’ through its portrayal of affection, resilience, passion, and comradeship. The screening will be followed by a talk moderated by Senem Aytaç.
Ibrahim, Soliman, Manar and Altayeb, filmmakers and friends for more than 45 years, idealists and intensely humane. They were reunited again, after long years of distance and exile, to bring life back to their old dream: make cinema a reality in Sudan.
Suhaib Gasmelbari was born in Sudan in 1979, where he lived until he was 16. He later studied film at the Univérsité Paris 8 in France. In addition to his work as a cinematographer, editor, scriptwriter and director, he worked to preserve and digitise the Sudanese film archive. Talking About Trees is his documentary feature debut, with which he won the Glashütte Original Documentary Award and the Audience Award at the Berlinale 2019.
Senem Aytaç is a film critic, editor, and curator. She has been a member of the editorial board of the acclaimed independent Turkish film magazine Altyazı since 2004 and served as one of the chief editors for over a decade. In 2019, she co-founded the Altyazı Cinema Association, where she also worked as the project manager for three years. She serves on the advisory board of Altyazı Fasikül, a subdivision of the association that primarily focuses on issues related to censorship and the freedom of artistic expression in Turkey. Senem is currently based in Berlin, working as a freelance professional.
FINISSAGE Wednesday, Nov. 13th / 6 pm
with the performance “landscape or land escape” by Zahra Moein
On this occasion of Zahra Moein’s ever-evolving performance “landscape or land escape,” she delves into the intertwining of memory and love in a diaristic form, echoing its elusive and unpredictable nature. Inspired by the work of Chantal Akerman, the artist shares glimpses of her life since leaving Iran, weaving personal narratives that explore migration and memory’s profound influence on identity and storytelling. The work transitions from the intimacy of daily life to scenes where the personal meets a broader political consciousness.
rk-Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst im Ratskeller
Möllendorffstr. 6, 10367 Berlin
rk-Galerie Open hours
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Closed on public holidays.