Decolonize Arts & Culture

Under the guise of an “increased migration and security risk”, all visa applicants are under the general suspicion of wanting to migrate illegally.

For small and medium-sized cultural associations in particular, the financial, time and bureaucratic effort involved in inviting artists and lecturers requiring visas is hardly affordable – not to mention individual, harassing experiences with the authorities: if cultural associations nevertheless get involved in this process, there is always the risk that, despite a huge investment of time, money and – above all – nerves, visa applications will be rejected and planned events will have to be cancelled. The costs are not reimbursed.

This injustice amd racist practice just took place this week, on Monday the 17.2. , when 5 dancers from the Ivory Coast should travel to Germany for the show “City of Dances” at Kampnagel. The dancers were denied the visa to Germany at the last minute. The dance group had prepared intensively for the show for two months.

Neo-colonial ideologies in people’s minds determine who has what rights to mobility.

On Wednesday, 26 February from 6 pm to 9.30 pm, three Kampnagel staff* and curators* (including DJ Waxs) and the recently arrived Nigerian musician and filmmaker VILLY Oliseh Odili will discuss neo-colonialism and institutional racism, using the example of visa practices in the arts and cultural sector to restrict the mobility of female artists*.

The recently arrived artist VILLY Oliseh Odili will talk about his experiences with visa policies. He has had several failed visa applications behind him and has experienced the dehumanization associated with visa applications first-hand. This problem is also the subject of the short film “Humanimals”, which will be shown after the interview.

At the end of the event VILLY will play live an acoustic set.

This event will be in english and was developed in cooperation with W3, the Federal Agency for Civic Education and the Initiative “Bildung Macht Rassismus”.