Friday October 7, 8pm
Jakob Schäfer
Torstraße 220
10115 Berlin
In Germany today, public space is an arena for competing memories. There are continuous debates about the cultural heritage of the DDR, as well as the rehabilitation of Prussian heritage. In this event, Judith Prokasky, Philipp Oswalt and Esper Postma will discuss what is at stake in these debates. In doing so, they will consider buildings as unstable, living structures that are constantly renegotiated. What is the potential role of art in keeping the discussion on monuments alive?
Judith Prokasky is a cultural scientist, curator and writer. She currently leads the program “The Palace of the Republic is Present” at the Humboldt Forum. Formerly, she was curator of the department “History of the Site” in the same institution. Prokasky is the author of numerous books, such as “Mythos der Revolution: Karl Liebknecht, das Berliner Schloss und der 9. November 1918”.
Philipp Oswalt is an architect and scholar. He is known as a public voice in debates about architecture and public space. For instance, as the founder and editor of the online fora schlossdebatte.de and lernort-garnisonkirche.de. Oswalt is a professor of Architectural theory at the Kassel University.
Esper Postma is a visual artist. His current exhibition Doppelgängers at EIGEN + ART Lab, comprehends two large scale installations dealing with the contemporary debates on public space. His works observe how every building and each monument in Berlin has an embedded alter ego that is struggling for attention.