Politics of Heartbreak #3

Venue: HAU1

#3 How to Keep Going with Broken Hearts? Discussion: Şeyda Kurt and Alice Hasters Conclusion: D major Dykes*

Part of the “Vessel of Love” as part of “Love is a Verb #2”

“Politics of Heartbreak” are three events in the “Vessel of Love” that combine lectures and discussions with performative interventions and music. Internationally active authors, journalists, activists and artists who work on political affects, foreignness, authoritarianism and racism, feminist anti-colonial and diasporic movements come together in the “Vessel of Love” at HAU1 to discuss the political dimensions of our current heartbreaks. The festival's questions about resilience and joint care work are enriched by international experience from Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Palestine, Iran and Turkey and brought into the Berlin context. The conversations are framed and expanded by music and performances, which bring into space what words are unable to express in an aesthetic way and make us empathize with others' heartbreak.

With a conversation between Şeyda Kurt and Alice Hasters — followed by queer choral singing in D major Dykes*, this evening is about what wears when securities break: tenderness, anger, vulnerability — feelings that are often regarded as weakness in society become a source of political strength here.

Talk: Şeyda Kurt and Alice HastersWhat helps us when a lot seems lost? In her books, journalist and author Şeyda Kurt has repeatedly addressed political sentiments — with tenderness, anger, hate — not as a private matter, but as a starting point for social change. Emotions that paralyze distinguish them from feelings that sustain — on the way to a more just society. In her books, journalist and author Alice Hasters describes how vulnerability is socially negotiated, devalued or exploited — and how closely this is linked to the strengthening of harshness and authoritarianism. Your question is not only how to name crises, but also what remains possible on the other side of hardening: What strength lies in solidarity and vulnerability when both are socially despised? In conversation, Şeyda Kurt and Alice Hasters ask: What does stamina mean when securities break down? What does resistance look like that is not based on victory but on persistence — and how does a shared heartbreak become a force that carries?

Dykes* in D major concludes the evening with their own arrangements of lesbian and queer pop songs. The Flinta* Choir sees singing together as a space for visibility, solidarity and mutual support — and one's own voice as a force with which community can be created and made a difference. In this way, many individual voices become a common sound and vulnerability becomes collective strength.

There are two marked parking spaces in front of the house. Access to the parquet floor is possible via a separate entrance with lift. Barrier-free sanitary facilities available.