"Von allgemeinem Interesse". Maaza Mengistes multimediale Erzählung über einen Krönungsmantel aus Äthiopien

For the series Objects contradict, the Ethiopian writer Maaza Mengiste was inspired by the British Ethiopian expedition of 1868 and the burning of the mountain fortress of Magdala. This resulted in the multimedia story "Of General Interest".

Maaza Mengiste uses photography, words and sound to recreate the journey of a magnificent and intricately crafted royal cloak from Ethiopia. A way out of the turmoil of battle, a way through fire, a way over the mountains, over the water - all the way to Berlin.

The work of Ethiopian writer and photographer Maaza Mengiste, who currently lives in New York, includes voices and stories that have been left out. It deals with gaps that seem inexplicable. Mengiste brings together images, objects and places that are permeated by an unresolved past. Mengiste came to Berlin to explore the African collections of the Ethnologisches Museum and ended up in the depot. With her extraordinary new work for the Humboldt Forum, she opens up a dynamic space of encounters, rich, shimmering and impressive like the golden silver threads of the cloak.

After her presentation, Maaza Mengiste will be in conversation with Priya Basil.

Parts of the Ethiopian collection are on display in the Schaumagazin on the 2nd floor, room 214. The exhibitions can be viewed free of charge until 18:30.

Maaza Mengiste will be happy to sign her books after the event. Her latest work "The Shadow King" will be on sale at the event.

PARTICIPANTS

Maaza Men giste is a novelist, essayist and photographer. She is the author of the novel The Shadow King, which was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize and was a finalist for the 2020 LA Times Book Prize Fiction. It was named best book of the year by the New York Times, NPR, Elle, Time and others. Her debut novel Beneath the Lion's Gaze was named one of the ten best contemporary African books by the Guardian and one of the best books of 2010 by the Christian Science Monitor, Boston Globe and other publications. Her story "Dust, Ash, Flight", published in Addis Ababa Noir, edited by Maaza Mengiste herself, won the 2021 Edgar Award for Best Short Story. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, a DAAD Berlin Artists-in-Residence Program Fellowship, a Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers Fellowship, the Premio von Rezzori, the Premio il ponte, a Fulbright Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Award and a Creative Capital Award. Her work can be found in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Granta, The Guardian, The New York Times, Esquire, Rolling Stone and BBC, among others. She has taught at New York University, Princeton University, Northwestern University, and Queens College/CUNY, and is a professor of English at Wesleyan University. She is currently working on her third novel.

Priya Basil is the author and curator of the Humboldt Forum series Objects Contradict. In her book Be My Guest (2019), she combines memoir, philosophy, food and politics to reflect on hospitality in the broadest sense. Her most recent book Im Wir und Jetzt: Feministin Werden (2021) combines politics with the personal, as does her film essay on memory culture and belonging, Eingeschlossen / Ausgeschlossen (2020), which can be viewed online. She is a co-founder and board member of WIR MACHEN DAS, an NGO that works with refugees and migrants for a more inclusive society. Priya is also a member of the advisory board of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. She has conceptualized and curated projects for various institutions, including the Goethe Institute and the Berlin International Literature Festival. From 2021 to 2023, Priya was International Writer in Residence for Mindscapes, a Wellcome Trust UK project that aims to change the way we understand, talk about and treat psycho-social health. As part of this project, Priya undertook a multi-year research journey across six continents to learn about different understandings of wellbeing and healing practices. In 2024, Priya is Writer in Residence on Wellcome's next project, Climate and Health. She is currently working on a new book based on her research and travels.

- 8,00 EUR, reduced 4,00 EUR

- Please book your ticket in advance online or at the box office in the foyer.

- Languages: English with translation into German

- Duration: 120 min

- Mechanical arena in the foyer

- Part of: Objects contradict