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“Becoming Alman” was an exploration of identity and nationality through performance and visual art. It featured a documented intervention from jô osbórnia, visual artwork from Elif Çelik and a performance led by Lora Krasteva.
Becoming Alman was the third of a series of creative residencies interrogating ideas behind national identities and belonging from the perspective of local migrant artists and communities after Becoming Czech in March 2022, Becoming Romanian in April & Becoming British in June.
The works presented explored the gaze as a powerful sensorial mechanism of othering asking the question how can we shift from a gaze of judgment to one that embraces multiple perspectives and positionalities — one that really sees us for who we are?
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The exhibition ran for 2 days, there were two performative interventions in the city and two performances. There was also a post sharing discussion with the participants & Becoming [...] team.
Curated by Lora Krasteva, in collaboration with jô osbórnia, Elif Çelik & Jingyun Li
With contributions from 11 migrant participants.
Produced by Claire Gilbert
With contributions by Eda Özkan, Ezzio Dante Debernardi Pizarro, Antonia Giesen, Sabir Maharramov, Fortuna Hernández, Mubaraka Farahmand, Shamayel Shalizi, Franco Fernando Toledo Flores, sondos shabayek, Murad Yuzbashov, Jota Ramos, Helga Elsner Torres
Produced by Claire Gilbert
With thanks to Beyza Yavuzradas, Aija, Harkiran Kelsi, Cafe Bulbul, Sunny and the interviewees who wished to remain anonymous.
#BecomingAlman | @LoraKrasteva
Listen to the Podcast
As part of the residency we were interviewed as part of OyoUniverse, the podcast produced by Oyoun! In this episode, they welcomed me, Lora Krasteva – cultural producer, activist and lead artist of Becoming Alman – as well as the producer of the project Claire Gilbert. Together, we talk about how I found my way into the arts, what it's like to be a migrant artist, criticism and Belonging.
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About the artists
jô osbórnia
... is a poet, performer and translator. In her work, she‘s interested in questions of gender and colonialism. More specifically, she tries to reflect, from her position as a travestimigrant in europe, on poetic and performative languages that might be implied by an anti-colonial thought/attitude inside the metropolis. Her writing is mostly in Portuguese/Brazilian and German.
Jingyun Li
... studied Media Studies (Bachelor) with a minor in Chinese Languages and Literature at Fudan University (China), Duke University and the University of California, Santa Barbara (USA) as well as International Dramaturgy (Master) at the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands). After stints as a dramaturg at Opera Forward Festival 2019 at Dutch National Opera and Holland Festival, she came to Germany in 2019, where she interned at Komische Oper Berlin and jtw spandau. Her own projects thematically focus on sexuality, cultures, and languages, and are therefore interdisciplinary and multilingual. Li currently co-curates the international programme of Stadttheater Spandau GbR and works at APAL@AmnAsian and the Performing Arts Festival.
Elif Çelik
... was born in Ulm in 1997 and has been studying fine arts at the Stuttgart Art Academy since 2016. She is currently attending the class of Alisa Margolis. In her work she shows how extrinsic conditions of her social environment unbalance or manipulate the orientation process of her German-Turkish identity. As a Muslim woman, she tries to open a discourse with her painting. She wants to confront the viewers with the fact that she and other people in Germany are exposed to constant observation because they do not fit the norm of the majority society.
These presentations are happening with the support of Perform Europe as part of the Becoming [...] project.
This is the third Becoming [...] after Czech Republic at Teren (March), Romania at Replika (April) and ahead of Britain at Bloc Projects (June).
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Perform Europe is an EU-funded project aimed to rethink how performing arts works are presented across borders in a more inclusive, sustainable and balanced way by testing new touring and distribution practices and providing policy recommendations for a future EU support scheme. This 18-month journey includes a research phase, launching a digital platform, testing a support scheme, and designing policy recommendations.
Perform Europe is funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union and co-managed by a Consortium of 5 organisations: IETM – International network for contemporary performing arts, the European Festivals Association (EFA), Circostrada, EDN – European Dancehouse Network, and IDEA Consult.