Event: June 2016
Sat
4/6/16
08:00 PM
Nigeria: In the heart of the earth
Reading and performance with the Nigerian poets
Niyi Osundare | Titilope Sonuga | Efe Paul Azino | Òmó Faith
Jazz trumpet/percussion: El Congo Allen CUB/GER
presented by: Pyranja GER rapper
In their homeland, these three poets are among the best-known and internationally most important voices in contemporary Nigerian poetry. In the various voices, sounds and rhythms of their cross-media poetry we will be able to hear about the realities of life in a country which is as marked by its beauty and wealth of resources as by exploitation, civil war and terror. And we will be able to feel why it is that many Nigerians see their country as the ‘heart of the earth’. Niyi Osundare, author of many collections of verse, plays and essays, writes about nature as standing for both the wealth and the exploitation of Nigeria. Wordsmith and jazz singer Òmó Faith links various poetic formats as sound art in her performances. Efe Paul Azino is one of Nigeria’s most successful Spoken Word artists, with themes such as sorrow and hope, religious ties and social boundaries. Titilope Sonuga follows the path of the ancestors in her musical poems – nothing is new, everything has already happened, the elements which connect us exist beyond all physical boundaries. Trumpeter and percussionist El Congo Allen will be providing musical accompaniment for the poets.
10 pm Concert
featuring Machete Horns: Kumar CUB/ESP | Regis Molina CUB/GER| El Congo Allen CUB/GER | Víctor Rodríguez Núñez CUB poet, literary critic
Machete Horns have toured through Africa with their Afrikun project, writing and composing a song for every country or cultural group on the continent. For the first time they are exploring in their musical performance the roots of the Yoruba from Nigeria and seducing their audience through their music to a trip to the heart of the earth.
Project leader: Isabel Ferrin-Aguirre
Akademie der Künste
Kl. Parkett
Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Berlin
Entrance fee:
12/8 EUR
Tickets online
Vorverkauf in der Akademie der Künste:
Tel 030. 200 57-1000/-2000
Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Berlin-Tiergarten
Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin-Mitte
Täglich 10:00–19:00