Important Dates

Critical: Hope. Exercises in Borderlands

A gathering held at the University of Bayreuth, 25th & 26th January, 2024

“To say that someone is critically hopeful means that the person is involved in a critical analysis of power relations and how they constitute one’s emotional ways of being in the world, while attempting to construct, imaginatively and materially, a different lifeworld. “ (Zembylas, 2014, p. 13)

Critical hope and spaces for such have been much discussed both in cultural spaces and academic fields lately. In times of uncertainty, crisis and change, people are finding numerous ways for enabling and creating resistance and solidarity. Often, art, aesthetic practices and curatorial methods are the moving forces. Yet, the potential of hoping and holding space for hope is constantly challenged by the surrounding political influences. Resistance against this attempted collapse of spaces for imagining otherwise forms part of the emancipatory project of many social movements. As Paolo Freire states, there is a clear interdependence of hope and struggle:  "Without a minimum of hope, we cannot so much as start the struggle, But without the struggle, hope, as an ontological need, dissipates, loses its bearings, and turns into hopelessness. And hopelessness can become tragic despair. hence the need for a kind of education in hope. (p.3)"

In the course of our sessions, be it workshops, concerts, readings groups, or walk-abouts, we will honour and investigate sites of aesthetic resistance and their challenges against despair particularly in Turkey and South Africa; not omitting the complicated role that the Erdogan empire plays in African countries. We will also take a look at the case of contemporary Germany, and what a term like ‘hope’ can mean here - or not. The aim of this comparison of different spaces and their tactics of holding on, and holding together of - often temporary - collectives is to analyse tactics of social movements in ongoing crisis, with an internationalist focus.

Alongside all these engagements, we initiated a gathering of outstanding sonic scholars on the note of critical hope - we are proud to welcome Malcolm Jiyane, Asher Gamedze, Simon-Mary Vincent, Robert Machiri and, as a special guest, Zeynep Sibel Basaran, in form of a collaboration with Haus Steingraeber/Bayreuth.

Furthermore, curators Gloria Igabe and Hawawu Sulemana will provide a digital workshop tool for teachers on critical hope in relation to Africa, the diaspora and the classroom. A reading group with teachers' union, GEW, on bell hooks' seminal work "Teaching to Transgress", has been accompanying the working group for months. Our students, Aaliyah Ayemi,Titilola Ayoola and Yasmin Nacef have been curating a series of posters for our sessions which will be on display at Iwalewahaus.

The gathering is curated and hosted by Eylem Camuroglu Cig, Serawit Debele and Katharina Fink. It is open to interested communities and the larger public. The working group is funded by the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth, and a cooperation of Iwalewahaus, Haus Steingraeber/Bayreuth, Sophiatown Arts Akademy, Artist Residency Schloss Balmoral , and the association Beyond All Borders e.V.

Programme

Workshop Venue: Iwalewahaus

Thursday, 25th of January

Accompanying the workshop: Poster exhibition by Aliyah Ayemi, Titilola Ayoola, Yasmin Nacef

13h Welcome drinks & get-together at Iwalewahaus

13.30h Introduction to the gathering: Critical: Hope Eylem Çamuroğlu Çığ & Serawit Debele & Katharina Fink

14h Hope & political analysis - facilitated by Katharina Fink - A response by Mihir Sharma

• Kudzai Vanyoro: Critical Times? A CDL Pedagogical Challenge to Critical Theory’s ‘Indoctrination’ Charge
• Eylem Çamuroğlu Çığ: Critical Hope as a Tool of Resistance

15.30h A break: Cay & Cigarettes

16h An Archive of Hope - facilitated by Serawit Debele - with a response by Malcolm Jiyane

• Sophiatown as archive & site of Critical Hope - Yavini Naidoo & Katharina Fink - Film Screening

17h Goldendean - Repair as a Strategy for Critical Hope? A Workshop

18.30h Exhibition visit Iwalewahaus

19.30h Epicureanhope. Laying the table. With Mihir Sharma, followed by music

Friday, 26th of January 2024

10h Welcome back 10.30h Hope & resistance - facilitated by Eylem Camuroglu Cig - response by Asher Gamedze

• Hakan Altun - “Longing for uncloudedness”: Politics and aesthetics of transformation “in the heart of winter” with “the people of no account”
• Valerie Hänsch - Critical Hope & the arts scene in Sudan
• Hakan Mertcan - Alevis in the Debris: Resistance and Hope

13h Lunch

14h Hope & the internationalist imagination - facilitated by Eylem Çamuroğlu Çığ & Katharina Fink

• Imagine a classroom: Philipp Schramm and Gloria Igabe in conversation with Katharina Fink
• Serdar Keskin: Umut! - online presentation
• Esengül Ayyıldız: All Exiled and Excluded Scholars in Gender Studies Around the World are In-Between

18h Apéro at Iwalewahaus with friends & joint walk to Haus Steingraeber

CONCERT VENUE: Kammermusiksaal Steingraeber & Söhne, Bayreuth

20h Critical: Hope. A sonic conversation - Malcolm Jiyane & Asher Gamedze & Zeynep Sibel Basaran & Simon-Mary Vincent & Robert Machiri# Haus Steingraeber/Bayreuth, Sophiatown Arts Akademy, Artist Residency Schloss Balmoral, and the association Beyond All Borders e.V.

• For information on the concert please visit here

• If you would like to attend please register here