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WED 05.02. 18 h
Audio play and talk with Katharina Pelosi

Our guest this month is the sound artist Katharina Pelosi (Frankfurt/Hamburg) who is presenting her radio play ›Parolen V. Eine feministische Verstärkung‹ (›Slogans V. A feminist reinforcement‹). In the framework of the exhibition ›Solid Skills‹ 2019 in the WerkStadt, she collected statements and thoughts on everyday practices, experiences and strategies of resistance from more than 50 women and girls from the district of Katernberg which were subsequently transformed into polyphonic songs in cooperation with the Dortmund choir, Vocal Crew. The resulting ›polyphonic slogans‹, which deal with dreams and crises, worries and solidarity, were woven together with other original audio material on the subject of resistance strategies to create a radio play produced by WDR in cooperation with Deutschlandradio and PACT. Following the presentation, Katharina Pelosi will provide insights into the project and its development in an informal talk.

›Parole V. Eine feministische Verstärkung.‹
(›Slogans V. A feminist reinforcement‹)

»For me, polyphony also means tuning a melody that makes the utopia of a good society for all possible, and you don't get there through resilience, but rather through resistance, through collectivity, through creating spaces in which people can hear, see and meet each other.« (Katharina Pelosi)

The story: Outside, things are getting worse and worse. The climate is going crazy, politics is going crazy and economic ties are no longer tangible. Resilience seems to be the magic word - against everything that overrides and overwhelms. A continual appeal to the individual’s ability to cope with crises. Indoors things are not going badly at all, in kitchens and living rooms, in networks and shared spaces, women and girls care for each other, dream, fight. And in the face of all that’s frustrating, they go out on the streets and shout back. Parole V reinforces these everyday experiences and strategies and counters neoliberal appeals for perseverance. The slogans ring out across city boundaries and generations, through biographies: Resistance instead of resilience – and all in polyphony!

Listen to the radio play (in German):

With: Elena Schmidt and Wieslawa Wesolowska Interview partners: Heike Nöth, Linda Kagerbauer, E.N. Freshinski Slogans: Adele, Anja, Ana, Anna, Almut, Atlanta, Beate, Charlotte, Caroline, Elske, Eleonora, Elisa, Ewe, Felizitas, Frieder, Heinrich, Josi, Katharina, Katja, Karen, Leno, Lina, Meryem, Maike, Mareike, Mirjam, Rosa, Simone, Tania, Tanja, Vanessa, Yesim By: Katharina Pelosi Choir arrangement: Julia Klomfass Choir: Vocal Crew Dortmund Technical realisation: Jürgen Glosemeyer, Olaf Dettinger, Rike Wiebelitz, Steffen Jahn, Sebastian Nohl Sound design, direction: the author Editor: Hannah Georgi
Production: WDR in cooperation with Deutschlandradio and PACT Zollverein (Essen), 2019