November 1st-5th 2023, Berlin

Moderation : Nadja Ofuatey-Alazard and Yannick Useni Sikuzani

GROUP50:50 has been developing music theater pieces and discourse formats in transcontinental collaborations for several years. Artists from different disciplines and with diverse backgrounds come together for this purpose. They embark on research journeys and long rehearsal processes, go on tour internationally and overcome the challenges of working on two continents. Time and again, their perspectives and needs – stemming from personal experiences and influenced by a strong disparity in resources – clash. The production possibilities for theater in African countries differ fundamentally from those in European countries. When you try to build bridges, these differences become particularly visible. Because busy tour schedules and routine processes leave little room for exchange and reflection, the members of GROUP50:50 met for a week in Berlin in November 2023 to talk. Conflicts, misunderstandings and injuries were discussed, organizational complications analyzed, structural and artistic visions developed. Yannick Useni Sikuzani (professor at the University of Lubumbahsi) and Nadja Ofuatey-Alazard (activist, curator and publicist from Berlin) acted as mediators for the group. During this insightful, painful and inspiring week, it became clear once again that development can only come about through friction. In order to make the processes of collaboration more transparent, a compilation of short interviews conducted with members of the group during the week of reflection has been published here.

This retreat was made possible with the support of m2act / Migros Kulturprozent

with

Nadja Ofuatey-Alazard
Curator, Journaliste, Berlin

Prof. Yannick Useni Sikuzani
Professor of Ecology, Lubumbashi

Eva-Maria Bertschy
Member of GROUP50:50, Berlin / Palermo

Patrick Mudekereza
Member of GROUP50:50, Lubumbashi

Elia Rediger
Member of GROUP50:50, Berlin

Kojack Kossakamvwe
Member of GROUP50:50, Kinshasa

Christiana Tabaro
Member of GROUP50:50, Kinshasa

Michael Disanka
Member of GROUP50:50, Kinshasa

Frank Moka
Member of GROUP50:50, Kisangani

Merveil Mukadi,
Member of GROUP50:50, Lubumbashi

Ruth Kemna
Member of GROUP50:50, Palermo

Huguette Tolinga
Membre GROUP50:50, Kinshasa

Sylvain Faye
Member of GROUP50:50, Berlin

Joseph Kasau
Member of GROUP50:50, Berlin

Isaac Yenga
Member of GROUP50:50, Kisangani

Luca Maier
Member of GROUP50:50, Berlin