Motif of the project “Names, we bear" by Michikazu Matsune
© Foto: T. Matsune
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Motif of the project “Names, we bear" by Michikazu Matsune
© Foto: T. Matsune
Past events
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Ronny, Jacqueline, Ezra or Ivan: the artist Michikazu Matsune gets to know people through a very personal approach: Through their first names.

Some names arouse great expectations, others are met with prejudice. It also happens that a name changes with a major life decision. Every name has a very special, sometimes very intimate history. These are strongly influenced by our family, social, cultural and political environment. In a workshop with people from Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Matsune developed a performative presentation about the stories behind the names. Names, we bear is a collective portrait of unique individuals full of unspectacular-spectacular personal narratives.

Concept and project development: Michikazu Matsune

Participants: Jacqueline Huste, Anja Sachenbacher, Jakob Sachenbacher, Sandra Schubert, Anja Topat-Geschke

Dramaturgical support: Anne Diestelkamp

Editing booklet: Anne Diestelkamp, Franziska Zaida Schrammel

Design booklet: Aki Namba

Production management: Franziska Zaida Schrammel

The Humboldt Forum presents two artistic projects that were developed together with people from Bitterfeld and Wolfen: Michikazu Matsune’s Names, we bear (performance) and Anke Heelemann Re-exposure – an album with Bitterfeld-Wolfen (installation).

Bitterfeld-Wolfen is an exciting example of the fate and opportunities of a region with a history of transformation. Developments and experiences that other regions in East Germany have also had are concentrated here, and the scars of the upheavals and collapses are particularly evident. Bitterfeld and Wolfen, once characterized by lignite and the film industry, experienced rapid development: from heathland to industrial city, from Anhalt village to modern industrial city, then to National Socialist prestige location and later to socialist showcase city. After reunification, the sell-off and dismantling of the Wolfen film factory, unemployment and emigration left their mark on the town. Today, Bitterfeld-Wolfen is a place of change, where the return of nature, the handling of toxic waste and the future of energy are becoming visible. Bitterfeld-Wolfen is part of a landscape that we can either see as a problematic legacy or as part of the solution for a society of tomorrow. Where, if not here, can stories of change be told?

Portrait of the artist Michikazu Matsune
© Susanna Hofer
Michikazu Matsune

Michikazu Matsune, born in Kobe (Japan), has lived and worked in Vienna since the late 1990s. With his documentary and conceptual method, he playfully explores the tension between cultural attributions and social identifications. His artistic work ranges from stage performances to interventions in public and private spaces. Matsune is also the initiator of projects such as Homesick Festival, a unique performance festival that takes place in private homes, and The Institute of Sleepless Nights, a practice-based research program dealing with the problems of sleep. www.michikazumatsune.info

in combination with

Partner

The project was developed in 2024 as part of the OSTEN festival in Bitterfeld-Wolfen. A co-production of Studio Matsune, Festival OSTEN/Kulturpark e.V. and Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss. Studio Matsune / Verein Violet Lake is supported by the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport.

Festival OSTEN
Stadt Wien
Bundesministerium für Kunst, Sport Österreich

part of

In the Humboldt Forum's foyer there is a 17 meter high media tower, called "cosmograph". It gives visitors comprehensive information about their visit and can transform into an art and light installation.
© SHF / David von Becker

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