Festival

A festival at the Goethe-Institut in Exile by and with fellows of the Martin Roth-Initiative.

Departures – Of Roots and Wings

Pupils from grade 6 to 13 at the Fritz-Karsen-Schule are developing their own pop-up exhibition as part of a project week.

Curators Tour

On 15 May, from 18:00 – 19:00 there will be a guided tour of the exhibition Once We Were Trees, Now We Are Birds with the curatorial team.

Exhibition booklet: Once We Were Trees, Now We Are Birds

An exhibition at ifa Gallery Berlin and a festival at Goethe-Institut in Exile, curated by and featuring the Martin Roth-Initiative’s scholarship holders

The Martin Roth-Initiative is one of the largest worldwide protection programmes for at risk artists and cultural actors. From 21 February to 8 June 2025, a joint exhibition showcases for the first time the work of almost 50 scholarship holders who have found refuge in Germany and were able to continue and further develop their artistic practice with the help of the programme. The exhibition Once We Were Trees, Now We Are Birds, housed at ifa Gallery Berlin, and the festival, at Goethe-Institut in Exile, are curated by former scholarship holders.

Here you can read the entire projet booklet.

Project booklet_Once We Were Trees, Now We Are BirdsDownload

Once We Were Trees, Now We Are Birds

An exhibition at ifa Gallery Berlin and a festival at Goethe-Institut in Exile, curated by and featuring the Martin Roth-Initiative’s scholarship holders.

Opening: Once We Were Trees, Now We Are Birds

An exhibition at ifa Gallery Berlin and a festival at Goethe-Institut in Exile, curated by and featuring the Martin Roth-Initiative’s scholarship holders   The Martin Roth-Initiative is one of the largest worldwide protection programmes for at risk artists and cultural actors.

Artist Talk with Katia Kameli and curator Valerie Chartrain

In the framework of the exhibition The Canticle of the Birds, a talk with artist Katia Kameli and the curator of the exhibition Valerie Chartrain took place on 13 May 2023.

The work is inspired by The Conference of the Birds, an epic poem by the Sufi poet Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār, who lived in 12th century Persia. It follows the initial migratory voyage of thousands of birds in search of the mythical winged creature Simorgh. In reference to the title of a new French translation of the work, with Das The Canticle of the Birds Katia Kameli presents her very own translation of the epic poem, appropriating various narrative elements in novel forms and combinations while simultaneously adding layers of music, dance and geography.

The exhibition combines Katia Kameli’s ceramic sculptures, watercolors, silk paintings, her sketches, and the film into one poetic whole. Kameli invites visitors on an inner journey imbued with spirituality and beauty, a reflection on our own quests and identities. What are we if not the sum of all the stories that came before us? 

Birds Activation and Concert

Katia Kameli invites flutists Carolin Daub, Susanne Fröhlich and Marita Gehrer to activate the exhibition’s musical ceramics for a magical concert in conjunction with The Canticle of the Birds.

Exhibition booklet: The Canticle of the Birds

The exhibition Canticle of the Birds by French-Algerian artist Katia Kameli combines her ceramic sculptures, watercolors, silk paintings, her sketches, and the film into one poetic whole. Kameli invites visitors on an inner journey imbued with spirituality and beauty, a reflection on our own quests and identities. What are we if not the sum of all the stories that came before us?

Here you can read the entire exhibition booklet in digital version.

Exhibition booklet: The Canticle of the Birds
Herunterladen

Artist Talk with Katia Kameli and curator Valerie Chartrain

In the framework of the exhibition Das Hohelied der Vögel / The Canticle of the Birds, a talk with artist Katia Kameli and the curator of the exhibition Valerie Chartrain will take place on 13 May 2023 at 16:00.