The fruits we bear.

What fruits do we bear?

We all have something within us that has been passed on to us: words and values, gestures and stories, forms of love and care — but also things that we question, change or consciously do not want to pass on.

At the second Salon Solène, we look at these questions through the lens of parenting and being a child.

What is parenting? What does love look like in practice? What does gentleness mean in relationships? Where do we learn to be patient — with others and with ourselves? What do we want to preserve from our own childhood — and what do we consciously want to do differently? Which fruits would we like to pass on ourselves?

Josephine Apraku and Ibou Diop come together for a literary discussion about care and love, responsibility and change, influence and transmission. Based on their own and selected texts, they ask how values live on over generations, what it means not only to express them but to set an example — and what actually resonates with the people we want to give something to.

Angelo Camufingo will guide you through the interview.

At the end, the evening changes language: The String Archestra picks up the thoughts, moods and motives of the conversation and continues them in a musical resonance performance.

The event will be held in spoken German language.

Salon Solène is a literary series founded by Melanelle Beryl Hémêfa in which words meet people — a space for literature, encounter and the stories that arise in our society.

Friday, October 16 Dome Hall Admission: 7:30 p.m./Start: 20:00 Tickets

Josephine Apraku is an author and coach. Josephine's texts deal with the interfaces between emotion and system. Josephine is the author of several non-fiction and children's books. Josephine's texts have appeared in Missy Magazine, German Vogue, Tagesspiegel and anthologies, among others. With Ozan Zakariya Keskinkılıç, Josephine curates the culinary reading series ALL YOU CAN READ — a joint work that regularly starts and ends at the kitchen table.

Ibou Diop [iːbu djɔp] lives in Berlin. He studied literature in Paris and Berlin and received his doctorate on issues of globalization and universalization. Ibou Diop is curator of discourse programs and exhibitions of contemporary art in Senegal and Germany. His work practice has a strong focus on participatory formats that bring together art, thought and civil society to occupy and design spaces together. Since 2022, he has been working in close collaboration with civil society initiatives on concepts and places for a reminder of Berlin's colonial past. Co-curated by Max Czollek and Ibou Diop, the festival “Heimaten” was launched at HKW in autumn 2024, a multi-year program to reinterpret the concept of home.

X'Angelo Camufingo (er/ele/him) is a Policy & Advocacy Advisor, Psychodynamic Coach and Organizational Consultant. He works primarily on human rights, anti-racism, environmental justice, institutional change and leadership. His work is primarily characterized by his East German-Angolan background, his teaching background and many years of experience in civil society work, activism and political advocacy. In addition to his political and consulting work, he has already worked as an academic and literary author and also moderates events on social, political and cultural topics.

The String Archestra was founded in 2016 by Dr. Dr. Daniele G. Daude to promote works by Black, Indigenous and PoC composers that have been made invisible from repertoire and canonical music history writing. The ensemble plays works by composers such as Teresa Carreno (Venezuela), Chevalier de Saint-George (Fr), Yudania Gomez Heredia (Cuba), Yasushi Akutagawa (Japan), Fela Sowande (Nigeria), Moacir Santos (Brazil), Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (UK). In 2021, The String Archestra won the TONAli Award in the “Upheaval” category at Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie. Since 2019, The String Archestra has been collaborating with international artists, including Anthony R. Green (Castle of Our Skin), Jessie Montgomery (Grammy Award 2024), Craig Harris (Sun Ra and The Arkestra), Ayanna Witter-Johnson (Apollo Prize 2011), Philo Tsoungui (German Jazz Prize 2025), Ghost Poet, as well as with young German songwriters Neneh Boye and King Josephine. Archestra celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Dr. Dr. phil. Daniele G. Daude is a musicologist, theatre scholar and dramaturge. After completing her music studies at the Conservatoire National with distinction, Daniele G. Daude completed her doctorate in theatre studies at Freie Universität Berlin in 2011 (focus on performance analysis) and in 2013 in musicology at Université Paris 8 (focus on opera analysis). Daniele G. Daude has been teaching at German and French universities since 2008. Daniele G. Daude has been a visiting professor of performing arts at the Caribéen des Arts Campus (Martinique). In 2016-2020 Daniele G. Daude is Maître* de Conférences for Aesthetics and Philosophy. In 2013 Daniele G. Daude founded the Com Choir Berlin and in 2016 The String Archestra. Since 2016, Daniele G. Daude has worked as a dramaturge and lecturer for music and theatre, currently at the University of Arts.

Accessibility The venue is barrier-free. If you have any further accessibility needs, feel free to contact us in advance.

Awareness The evening is accompanied by an awareness team.

Photo & video The evening is documented photographically and on film. The resulting recordings can be used and published for Salon Solène's public relations work. If you don't want to appear on recordings, feel free to contact us at the entrance.

Salon Solène is supported by the Senate Department for Cultural and Social Cohesion of the State of Berlin.