The DYSTOPIA Festival brings together sound art positions in an exhibition that deals with dystopian moments in both our times and an imagined future.
In the past years, dystopias have immensely gained in significance, not only in fiction. Signs of dystopian scenarios are likewise marking the real world, whether in authoritarian states, in the threat posed by global Internet corporations, by drastic climate change – or, most recently, by the corona pandemic. But it is distinctly the fictional, artistic dystopia that has always carried a spark of utopia, even if only as a warning not to let things go that far – a situation we recently became aware of during the Corona period, when, for a short spell, the canals of Venice and the sky over Beijing were clear again.
After the first double edition of the Berlin-Istanbul DYSTOPIE (2018/2019), this year’s guest country is Brazil. The festival thus expands through intercultural exchange – beyond that, it also offers a platform to Brazilian sound artists, which, especially in view of the recent political upheaval, is crucial. The festival was created in cooperation with the University of Rio and the SONORA Músicas e Feminismos São Paulo collective. It is to be resumed in Brazil in 2021, with the works produced here for Berlin.
In contrast to the first edition of 2018/19, the DYSTOPIE festival program is less concerned with technical utopias/dystopias than with social dystopias, some of which refer strongly to current global circumstances.
DYSTOPIA Sound Art Festival 2020 Berlin–Brazil | 16.10. – 1.11.2020
Opening: 16.10.2020 | 16-20:00 CET
Alte Münze | Molkenmarkt 2 in 10179 Berlin
Foto Credit: Sari Ember
