BIGSAS

Hosted by the University of Bayreuth, this festival aimed to generate greater awareness of African literature which continues to receive only limited public attention in Germany. Based on the motto “Intertextualities – Dialogues in Motion”, the festival has cross-referenced literary texts and investigated the discourse between various literary works.
The Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS) has combined readings, plays and performances with scientific formats and an accompanying musical programme. The participating writers, artists and researchers from Africa, the US and Europe presented their views and interpretation of transcultural encounters with people and texts. They demonstrated how these are interwoven in and through the literature of Africa and its diasporas. In addition to focusing on issues related to colonialism and slavery, the participants discussed current processes of migration in order to culturally and politically reassess transcultural encounters on a global scale in both cultural and political terms.

Festival director: Susan Arndt
Artistic director: Nadja Ofuatey-Alazard
Research assistant / coordination: Tina Heinze
Artists: Bernadine Evaristo (GB), Patrice Naiambana (SL), Qunisy Gario (NL), Mercedes & Elias Mercedes Zandwijken (SR/NL), Gina Dorcely (HAT/US) and others