Berlin Symposium
BGHRA in Berlin: Transnational Collaboration across the Arts
September 1-11, 2023
For the past two years, the Black German Heritage and Research Association (BGHRA) in Africana Studies at Rutgers University-Camden, together with students from Davidson College, have hosted conversations with artists, activists, scholars, and community leaders in the Black European Diaspora, building a substantial archive featuring a multitude of voices, perspectives, and insights into topics ranging from the relationship between art and resistance, to the intersections of migration, activism, and artistic expression. This fall, in collaboration with Each One, Teach One (EOTO), the Fountainhead Tanz Theatre, and numerous independent Germany-based artists and activists, we will host our first ever Berlin Symposium from September 1-11, 2023. BGHRA in Berlin: Transnational Collaboration across the Arts will bring together US-based scholars in the fields of German Studies at Davidson College, Africana Studies and Childhood Studies at Rutgers University-Camden, and African American Studies at Colby College with the Black creative community in Berlin (and beyond) to explore the possibilities for extended transnational collaboration based in the arts.
- What kind of possibilities are there for transnational exchange and/or study abroad programs for U.S.-based students interested in pursuing questions around art, activism, kinship, transnational and transracial adoption, and migration, among others?
- What might a study trip sponsored by the BGHRA and in collaboration with organizations in Berlin look like?
- How can the BGHRA—a U.S.-based heritage organization with affiliates located at several universities and colleges—support the work of artists and activists in the Black European Diaspora?
- Can we establish an exchange between U.S.-based institutions interested in hosting an artist-in-residence program and Black and BIPoC Germany-based artists interested in working in the U.S.?
- How can we establish sustained funding streams to support our work together?
- What opportunities exist for cross-archival collaboration and research, considering both the BGHRA’s own growing archive, and established archives in Germany?
- What can a BGHRA-sponsored Black Arts in Berlin tour include?
Our nine-day (with two days of travel) symposium will include a variety of more formalized engagement with each other in the form of a variety of lectures and roundtables, as well as opportunities for more informal meet-ups and planned excursions. Several days will be spent exploring the EOTO and Berlin Dekolonial archives.
An itinerary will be provided for all participants in early August, when final arrangements can be made.