Berlin Stories | 18-25 April

Protests, parties, panels and more.

Palestine fundraiser: Head to Spore Initiative on Thursday 18 April for Let It Be A Tale, a fundraising event for humanitarian relief in Gaza. The evening will include a market, music, poetry, art, a film screening and a panel discussion with Palestinian poet Ghayath Almadoun and Jüdische Stimme’s Udi Raz, moderated by Nicky Böhm.

Lecture & performance: On 18 April, Afropolitan Berlin is hosting an evening of artists and speakers giving artistic input and a lecture titled “A Brief History of AfroFuturism Now”. Guests include DJ Adyam Tesfamariam, dancer and multidisciplinary artist Natisa Exocé Kasongo, and performer and experimental rapper Astan Ka. The event starts at 19:00 at Forum Brasil.

Earthquake commemoration event: More than one year has passed since the earthquake that devastated parts of Turkey, Kurdistan and Syria, killing more than 40.000 people. On 19 April, Stadtteilkomitee Wedding is hosting a commemoration event with a panel talk and food starting at 19:00 at Rote Ella.

Protest & occupation: On Saturday 20 April there will be a demonstration to demand that German weapons manufacturers stop arming Israel. The demo starts at Potsdamer Platz at 14:00. Despite police raids and arrests, the pro-Palestine protest camp Besetzung gegen Besatzung is still in place until the end of the week. Visitors are welcome – follow organisers on IG or Telegram to keep up to date with their programme of events.

Demo: This Saturday 20 April, we march in solidarity with queer Africans. Uganda recently upheld the "anti-homosexuality" bill signed in 2023, while Ghana, Kenya and Namibia have introduced similar bills criminalizing queerness under their guise of protecting “family values”. Head to Zimmerstraße 79/80 to demand queer African liberation now. Listen back to Angel Maxine and Mo discussing the colonial dimensions of homophobia in Africa below.

Hang out: Nomansland co-founder Kallaloo brings his Refuge Worldwide residency Hang Jack to Orangerie in Neukölln this Saturday 20 April. Music will be provided by Kallaloo, Janna N and mate in nine.

Queer Spring market: On 21 April, Qweer Market is back with its spring edition. The event features 80+ stands by LGBTQIA+ artists, plus performances, food and an exhibition. Taking place at Manifesto Market, the event closes with a special performance at Tipsy Bear.

Symposium on Armenia: On 21 April Ararat Berlin is teaming up with Café Arakil for a symposium titled “The Ongoing Armenian Resistance: Artsakh, Rojava and the Diaspora”. The hybrid-panel features the introduction of the new film Lusine about revolutionary Armenians in Rojava, plus a Q&A with the filmmakers.

Grant writing workshop: Next Tuesday we are village / queer matters are hosting a free art grant writing workshop led by funding specialist Ece Pazarbasi. The workshop will be held in English and priority for places will be given to queer and migrant artists – register via events@wearevillage.org.

Film Festival: Berlin’s Arab Film Festival AL.Film Fest will hold its 15th edition from 24-30 April. The festival curation includes a selection of shorts, features, talks and interdisciplinary events highlighting the beauty and diversity of Arab cinema. The opening film “Bye Bye Tiberias” is screening on Wednesday 24 April at Kino Arsenal. Check out the full program here.  

Event series: Next Thursday 25 April the Berlin-based artist agency setten launches a new event series. setten #1 takes place at 90mil from 19:00-01:00 and features live sets from Rashad Becker, KAKUHAN and Extended Constellations – an ensemble featuring Astan Ka, Nancy Naser Al Deen, El Congo Allen and Ayham Allouch. Falyakon will be DJing to open and close the event. Join the 90mil Telegram group for more details.

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Header image: Astan Ka.