Dear Bard College Berlin community, You are where you are today because approximately twenty-one years ago, three people had one idea. They had studied at top universities in the US or Great Britain, returned to Germany, and met while working at consulting firms. They were impressed with the education they had received abroad and expressed
TagIdentity
You are your grades – the quantified self
The Chinese government intends to create a social credit system by the year 2020. Data about the behavior of each individual from all social spheres of life shall be collected, evaluated and transformed into a personal score. Consumption, traffic offenses, activities on the internet, employment contracts, ratings at school and work, conflicts with the landlord
A Musical Poem – Translating Memories and Moments into Music
How would your life story sound as a melody? Based on a class session about songlines, a term which describes the Aboriginal Australian’s practice of finding one’s way in the land through music, I wrote an autobiographical poem with a special focus on Berlin that I guide with a variation of Yiruma’s “River Flows in
Language & Identity by the Beach
Watching the sun’s last rays glisten on the waves of the Mediterranean as its burning flame anticipates being quenched by the Sea’s cool water, I listen to Yasmine Hamdan’s raspy Lebanese dialect as she sings of Sehnsucht and heartache (watch video here) . Whether it’s a blessing or a curse, these are things I have long
[Kulturbahn #21] October 31st – November 6th
►Monday: Olympia Belgian artist David Claerbout’s multi-layered installation work reflects on time and its dimensions. Through video installations, historical photographs, reconstructed images and film footages, this exhibition traces the disintegration of the Berlin Olympic Stadium over a thousand years. While making the flow of time of a whole century become almost tangible to the audience,
Feminism: Hesitation and Refusal
Are you a feminist? In my opinion, this question is very difficult. The reason for this difficulty is somewhat simple: I don’t speak the ‘language of feminism’. I have noticed that if I say I am a feminist – or even when it is somehow naturally assumed by others given that I am an «aware»
ME Collector’s Room––The Olbricht Collection
ME Collector’s Room, located in the gallery–packed Auguststrasse, offers what might be the closest experience to a Renaissance Wunderkammer (‘cabinet of curiosities’). The Olbricht Collection, which features works from the Renaissance up to the present day, has had its permanent home here in Berlin since May 2010. For the collectors of the Renaissance era, their
I can’t just slice off an ear everyday
Berlin will always be calling, with its streets, shops, parks, bars, clubs, faces, museums, galleries, cinemas, squats, walls and under-or-above ground events. The newest inhabitants of Pankow are constantly feeling the pull of this siren´s song. As their activities in class intensify, they value every spare moment that allows them to plunge into the pulsating