Oneness

The Kenyan-German artist duo develops participatory performances about intertwined identities that aim to look “beyond differences.”

For the thematic days, the internationally working artists Mwangi Hutter are creating the participatory performance Oneness, in which nine familial duos will take part. We are looking for pairs of all genders, ages, and relationship forms—partners, parents and adult children, siblings, or friends who consider themselves a chosen family. At the heart of our search are duos who bridge cultural, ethnic or biographical differences and draw their unique strength from them.

The performance engages with questions of visibility, belonging, and familial relationships. At its center is a throne built by the artists from reclaimed wood, serving as a shared space where participants develop and present gestures of self-determination, care, and mutual recognition.

At the beginning, all participants wear full-body costumes that anonymize face and body. During the performance, these costumes are cut open by the participants themselves—a moment of mutual visibility and self-definition. At the end, each duo presents a jointly developed gesture expressing their relationship, their connection, and how they wish to be seen.

Participation

• We are looking for 9 familial duos who bring together distinct differences within their relationship

• No performance experience required

• Preparation meeting with the artists on the morning of May 1, 2026, to collectively develop the performance, starting at 10:30 am

• Performances: 3:00–5:30 pm, each duo approx. 15 minutes

• Total time frame: 10:30 am – approx. 6:00 pm
  (including preparation, a break with light refreshments, performance, and a closing exchange)

• Location: Humboldt Forum, Berlin

• An allowance will be provided

The performance understands families and relationships as spaces in which intimacy, power, care, and identity are negotiated. By taking a seat together on an elevated throne and making one another visible, a moment emerges in which belonging is not defined from the outside, but shaped and expressed by the participants themselves.

Please register by 15 April 2026 – including a sentence about the nature of your relationship – to:

[email protected]