Performing Exiles

The second edition of Performing Exiles explores the question of what the term exile means today. The festival presents works by internationally renowned artists as well as artists who are still at the beginning of their careers.

As part of Performing Exiles there will be a Summer School from 16 to 28 June 2025. This will offer workshops, seminars and mentoring. The participants will see the performances and guest productions in the festival programme and visit artistic initiatives and cultural institutions in Berlin that operate across a wide range of disciplines and contexts. A public presentation of the participants’ current work and research at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele will complete the programme.

In terms of theme, the Summer School’s collective thinking, discussion and work will be focussed around the concept of “freedom”. On one hand, this is essential to maintaining any kind of democracy. At the same time, it has been instrumentalised by populist and neofascist forces for explicitly anti-democratic purposes – especially in the last decade.

Twelve Berlin residents plus eight more artists and cultural creatives who are resident abroad will be selected by the Performing Exiles and Summer School team through an open call.

Participants will be selected according to the relevance of their work for the topics of the Summer School on the basis of their completed works and planned projects.  

Artists and cultural workers are invited to apply regardless of age, heritage or nationality. Applicants must be in a position to commit to attending for the full duration of the two-week series of events. The working language is English.

100° Diaspora plans to highlight the broad spectrum of Berlin-based diaspora working in the arts and make this its programme. The stage marathon will be held as part of Performing Exiles from 26 to  28 June 2025 on five stages at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. 45 artists and groups from the performing arts who are based in Berlin and identify as diasporic will be invited to take part. What’s special about it: the programme for 100° Diaspora is not curated, instead it will present the first 45 applications in response to the open call on a first come, first served basis, provided proposals can be realised.  

Curatorial director and dramaturgy Matthias Lilienthal
Curatorial assistant Sophie Blomen

Artistic Production Management Claudia Peters
Production assisstant Luisa Kleemann
Organisation assistant Sophie Beck

Technical Director Maria Kusche
Communications and public relations Leonard Pelz

Sponsors

Performing Exiles is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. The project’s education and discourse programme is supported by the Federal Agency for Civic Education.

Cooperation Partner