Speaking of Video Art

Once a month, with “Speaking of Video Art”, the Berlinische Galerie invites you to a small group exchange about the current program in the IBB video room. The series of events offers the opportunity to discuss films or socio-political issues in art and to get to know various artists and authors. Together, we watch selected videos and read short excerpts from essays, theory, stories or poems in English or German that are related to the works in terms of content or form. The subsequent discussion makes it possible to explore discursive traces of video work as well as perspectives and questions from the group.

In November, we'll watch two films from the latest video program “3hd 2026 Beyond Imagining”, which was curated by the Creamcake platform. The film “Defence. What do you do with your anger?” by Simona Andrioletti shows a video collage in which people are exposed to various forms of physical, emotional and environmental oppression. Simone C Niquille's film “The Fragility of Life” follows Hilary Clinton's doppelganger during the 2016 US election campaign. Both films deal in different ways with the authenticity of images, ownership of one's own image and the mass distribution of images in the digital space. We read excerpts from the book “Discriminating Data: Correlation, Neighborhoods, and the New Politics of Recognition” by media theorist Wendy Chun. We will also discuss the film works based on text passages from the essay “In Defense of the Poor Image” by artist and author Hito Steyerl from 2009 and using excerpts from the text “In Defense of the Dank Image” by artist duo Soda Jerk, which updates Steyerl's essay.

Since 2011, the IBB video room has been presenting artists who work with time-based media. The program shows works that address media as well as political and social issues. Particular attention is paid to giving space to marginalized perspectives and making the effects of power structures visible.

The series of events will be moderated by Louisa Engel, research trainee education and outreach. The appointments can be attended independently of each other. No preparation is required to participate. Active participation in the discussion or relaxed listening are both equally welcome.

Language: The event will be held in German and English. In order to enable exchange with each other, all participants should have at least a passive understanding of both languages.

Participation free of charge, online registration