Cultural program of the 2011 Asia-Pacific Weeks Berlin

The cultural program of the Asia-Pacific Weeks explores the forward-looking themes of water, food, and health in exhibitions, performances, concerts, films, and discussions. Artists from different countries of the Asian-Pacific region take up the idea of food as a basic need and a form of cultural expression.

Floating Food

At Haus der Kulturen der Welt, the theatrical setting of “Floating Food” by the filmmaker, photographer, and collector of objects Ulrike Ottinger invites us to stroll through and relax in a landscape of images and objects. Images from Mongolia, China, Japan, and Vietnam reflect what food and water mean to people. The exhibition is flanked by a comprehensive supporting program that includes a choreographic tribute to the culinary traditions of Minang society in Sumatra and the world premiere of the film “Under Snow” by Ulrike Ottinger. The art project “Meridian I Urban” unites curatorial and artistic ideas for Berlin’s urban space and reflects on bodies and cities.

Water – Curse or Blessing?

With the exhibition “Water – Curse or Blessing!?” the architecture forum Aedes East presents infrastructural, architectural, and urban planning projects designed around water for the Asia-Pacific region. More than 20 European and Asian architecture and planning firms present their projects in an exhibition, a specialist symposium, lectures, and performances. Participants are from the architectural, political, educational, and cultural sectors.

With “Leaving the Comfort Zone,” Hebbel am Ufer (HAU) invites audiences to abandon familiar ways of thinking. Artists from Japan, China, Indonesia, and Samoa take a daredevil approach to inverting perspectives. The performance group contact Gonzo turns everyday life upside down with extreme actions. In “Memory,” the choreographer Wen Hui and the documentary filmmaker Wu Wenguang take us on a journey through the history of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. And in “We Came from the East,” Jecko Siompo, a star of the Indonesian dance scene, provides intriguing choreographic evidence that hip hop originated not in New York, but on the island of Papua.

Singing Garden – Japan at RADIALSYSTEM V

Dedicating itself to German-Japanese dialogue, RADIALSYSTEM V will transform itself into a European-Japanese garden. “Singing Garden” is an evening of musical theater that creates a musical-poetic description of a garden from one night to the next. Housed in a former pumping station on the banks of the Spree, RADIALSYSTEM V is also showcasing the restaurant installation “Sustainable Sushi,” No theater, a koto concert with Makiko Goto, and a “family day.”