Existing Otherwise | Anders Existieren

Environmental and epidemiological crises are challenging the viability of progress- and growth-oriented society more than ever before. But what does non-growth feel like? How can we change our accustomed, non-sustainable lifestyles? These questions are the focus of a project by the Galerie Wedding in Berlin in cooperation with the artist Ibrahim Mahama, the founder of the Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA) in Ghana, and the artist Isabel Lewis from the Berlin Institute of Embodied Creative Practices. A series of exhibitions with participatory, interdisciplinary settings and choreographies, along with experimental lectures by the “Re-Schooling Programme” curated by Mahama, Lewis and Solvej Ovesen aim to sensitise visitors to a new approach to themselves and the environment. The project will test new formats of collective movement, listening, touching, eating and cooking.

Starting in spring 2021, Galerie Wedding will host several exhibitions showcasing the participating artists. In the exhibition “The Future of Intimacy” for instance, Isabel Lewis presents a room-sized installation which explores how care and affection can be expressed in public space in a new way. The “Re-Schooling Programme” aims to artistically examine “The Future of Language” at both Berlin institutions. The project will culminate in a two-month exhibition entitled “Existing Otherwise – Future of Coexistence” at the SCCA, featuring an integrated programme of performances, workshops and listening sessions.

Artistic director: Solvej Helweg Ovesen
Curators: Ibrahim Mahama, Isabel Lewis
Artists: Hannah Anbert, Dirk Bell, Wojtek Blecharz, Nora Chipaumire, Eli Cortinas, Lou Drago, Emily Hunt, Luisa Prado, Martine Syms, Nora Turato and others

Additional Events

• June 2021 – Reschooling Part 2 with Ibrahim Mahama, Callie’s, Berlin
• Exhibition and reschooling programme, Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art, Tamale, Ghana: 21 Jan. – 27 Feb. 2022