Moya Michael: It’s like a Finger Pointing a Way to the Moon

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With It’s like a Finger Pointing a Way to the Moon, Brussels-based artist Moya Michael is presenting her work in Berlin for the first time. In a multi-faceted piece combining video, choreography and musical composition, she reflects on her encounters with !Amace, Be and their Ju/’Hoansi and !Kung families.

In the desert regions of Namibia and South Africa, which have been severely affected by climate change and drought, these indigenous San communities participate in the economic system by operating a “living museum,” while maintaining a lifestyle outside the labor and housing markets. Western tourists pay a fixed price to observe and accompany them in their daily work and practices of survival: hunting, crafting, making fire, preparing food and socializing.

Moya Michael, who grew up under the South African apartheid system and is related to the Khoi and San by descent, encounters the community as an outsider, whilst building a layered, nuanced exploration of identity and the plurality of self. In a non-linear narrative, she questions the cultural and economic “value” of a self-determined life in a world permeated by colonial and capitalist power relations.

INFORMATION ON ACCESSIBILITY

Creation: Moya MichaelIn collaboration with: Victoire Karera Kampire, Simon Thierrée, Joachim Ben YakoubScenography: Špela TušarCostume design: Andrea KränzlinVideo: Victoire Karera KampireSound design: Simon ThierréeLight design, direction: Ellie BryceSound: Patrick Van Neck, Bram MoriauDramaturgy: Joachim Ben YakoubStage manager: Caroline WagnerProduction manager: Lise BruynseelsInternational management, distribution: Cecilia KuskaThanks to: Amace, Be and family, Xoma and Xhao, Nashilongwe Shipwe, Jan de Villiers, Lindiwe Dlamini, Haymich Olivier, Jennifer Hays, Loren Davis Fisher, Igor Shyshko, Ife Day, Lassenne Vocale, and all the beautiful people we met along the way

A production by Moya Michael and KVS in co-production with WIELS, Perpodium, and Bergen Kunsthall. Funded by Taxshelter Of The Belgian Federal Government Via BNPPFFF. Never Work – International Performance Festival is a festival by Sophiensæle, supported by the Capital Cultural Fund (HKF). Sophiensæle is supported by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion. Media partners: Berlin Art Link, Missy Magazine, Siegessäule, taz.

Next date: It’s like a Finger Pointing a Way to the Moon - DE Premiere

• Date Friday, 19/June/2026 19:00 (1 more date)
• Venue Sophiensaele - Festsaal
• Address Sophienstraße 18, 10178 Berlin-Mitte
• Price from €25.00

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