10th October 2025, Humboldt University Berlin, Institute of Asian and African Studies
Join us for this hybrid event (in person in Berlin) and online. Register here: https://shorturl.at/3GMj6
In this hybrid ReCrea[1] workshop funded by Circle U.[2], we look at the significance of festivals as major events that foster the distribution and visibility of arts and crafts in African and Afrodiasporic contexts. The one-day workshop is designed as a meeting place between academics and practitioners in the field and will encompass roundtable interviews with festival makers and artists as well as analytical papers by scholars from fields such as media studies, literary and cultural studies, as well as economics, anthropology and sociology.
In today’s digital era, when content is accessible through online platforms almost anytime and anywhere, why do festivals still matter—and why do they continue to flourish? How does the live, face-to-face encounter between artists (writers, filmmakers, fashion designers, musicians, etc.) and their audiences stimulate both creative and economic output? What role do mediators such as cultural managers, publishing houses, production companies, journalists, and moderators play in this process?
While we seek to explore the celebratory dimensions of festival enthusiasm, we also aim to confront more critical questions: for instance, the implications of the festivalisation of censored or poorly distributed African cinemas, or the risks of cultural folklorisation when formerly sacred rituals are staged for festival audiences. Who has access to which African and Afrodiasporic festivals? Which expectations shape the festival space? And what does this mean for the interplay between cultural production, political activism embedded in engaged narratives, and the economic structures that are often framed within neoliberal capitalist realities?”
[1] A collaborative format linking Roberta Comunian, King’s College London, Teke Jacob Ngomba, Aarhus University and Susanne Gehrmann, HU-Berlin.
[2] A seed funding programme that encourages intra-European collaborations.