Transmutations of Ankhs, Pixels and Wood

Every delay has its benefit. Wise words indeed.

After so many hints, it is finally time for some reveal, as two projects we set in motion at the beginning of the year finally culminate into programme. 

First, a couple of words on the we of things: We are, in this case, Spring Lessons, an international group that defines itself thus:

"The Spring Lessons Initiative is an international forum for artistic research. It follows and presents current creative developments and cultural projects, explores new forms of civil self-organisation and creates spaces for dialogue and cultural education."

What this means in practice is that we have been putting on a series of Events since the end of 2011. We have been very lucky to be able to collaborate with the likes of the MAD couple, AlFilm, Eka3, From Here To Fame and many more. 

We approached this year with the goal of putting on one event a month, exploring, amongst other things, the revolutionary aspects of Street Art, the cultural production of Muslims in South- East Asia and the MENA region, music videos produced by Arabs and the dramatisation of 18 days of revolution. We have also helped with the inception of an exploration of the words house and home by Razia Mizrachi in Albait and held a workshop on the the representation of women in public urban spaces in Cairo.

So many breathless self-inflicted pats on the back. And while 2012 has been a year of explorations and  experimentation, 2013 is shaping up to be an eventful year indeed. There are plans, once again.

This brings us back to the best-laid plans of mice and men: Transmutations was originally planned for March, a rainy month, in which the gods of funding did not shower us with their benevolence. We have, in the meantime learned not to await the rain and instead create our own thunder. Sometimes even lightning.

We describe the first spark thus:

" We would like to offer a platform for physical and intellectual change and exchange. Activists, Artists and youth are invited to the Theater Aufbau Kreuzberg to discover cultural similarities and explore them in depth in this month of workshops centered around collaborative processes. Three one-week workshops of Choral Singing, Street Art and instrument building. "

The idea for a Choir Project in Berlin was conceived in Munich, during freisprechanlage, and later enforced by watching Mashrou3 Choral perform in Cairo, with emotion and impact. On the one hand, it may prove to be a useful outlet to the Egyptian Community in Berlin, who have much to say on the current situation in Egypt. On the other, it will prove to be a meeting point of cultures, an opportunity to discover common points of complaint and areas of co-operation. It didn't happen in March, so, with apologies for the delay, here comes September. 03. — 09. to be precise.

The second workshop, and one I am looking forwards to, is Bassem Yousris' "Drawing Revelations" Based, loosely, on Sa'adallah Wannus "Revelations", a play we will be performing at the Theater Aufbau Kreuzberg in November and December, we hope to explore the various symbols associated with the play and realise them murally on a freshly- built wall- as if it was put there just for that workshop, which takes place from September 16—23rd.

The third workshop is possibly the most intruiging of the three. Ahmad AlSawy is a Oud player and composer from Egypt with many years of experience in making and producing music from unexpected objects for unexpected recepients, including, most recently the Royal Court Theatre in London. He will take us on a journey of instrumental discovery, as we reshape trash and recyling materials into new instruments from September 23— October 2nd.  

We think there's a lot of goodness in those workshops and hope that many will attend and enjoy the revels as they happen. They are made possible by the Goethe Institute and the Theresia Zander Foundation, both of which are generously contributing to this programme. And the help of Sara-Duana, who is currently taking care of business on the Cairo end.

Accentuating these developments, ten stalwart figures from Egyptian mythology, described, this time around, with

" The Ankhs were created in a workshop in Berlin in February 2012. The sculptural figures were shaped by Egyptian Artists such as Ibrahim Eslam, Hany Rashed, Aya Tarek, and Bassem Yousri. Until the commemoration day of the Egyptian Uprising in 2013, the pharaonic keys of life will send their signal as symbols of resistance in the Aufbau Haus." 

Again, an exhibition only made possible by perseverance, patience and two men in particular, Moritz Pankok, artist plenipotentiary and partner in Ankh transportation and artistic director of the TAK and Don Karl of From Here to Fame fame. One of them made sure we were kept appraised of developments and exhibition schedules and the other did the main work in transporting the Ankhs back from the remains of the Tut-Ankh-Amun Exhibition in Frankfurt to their new, temporary home in the Aufbau Haus. 

We turn the keys of life on September 20. 

In the middle of all this Iraq. The Aufbau Haus is also going to host two Events related to the celebration of Iraqi culture and its position in Berlin. More details on that as they happen. The dates: September 15.—17. and 29. and 30.

Also be sure to check in on the Spring Lessons Blog, which we will be taking into full swing, in September. 

To end this post on a familiar note: more to come!