Music & clubs

Pop-Kultur goes virtual for 2020

The sixth edition of this annual festival has moved its excellent programme of concerts, films and panels online. Beginning tonight, here’s what you need to look out for.

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Don Jegosah, who will perform with Preach, is one of the music streams planned for this year’s Pop-Kultur festival. Photo: Camille Blake

The sixth edition of this annual festival has moved its excellent programme of concerts, films and panels online. Beginning tonight, here’s what you need to look out for.

Having moved from Berghain to Neukölln to the Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg, the sixth annual Pop-Kultur Festival is finally entering the digital sphere. From August 26th to 28th, the event will host artists from all over the world for a series of online concerts, exhibitions, installations, talks and films. 

“We’re very excited about having this new format, says Kai Hermann, a spokesperson for the festival. ”Everything happening is so different from what we expected.”

Highlights include Canadian songwriter Jessy Lanza playing her favourite chord progressions (August 27th) and Belarus-born electronic artist Chikiss presenting Silent Cinema in Modern Sound, a series of experimental silent films from a range of countries (August 27th). JOJO ABOT, a Ghanaian director, singer, visual artist and model will also appear, along with Ethiopian-Israeli rapper Eden Derso.

“Through our digital and commissioned works, Pop-Kultur gives artists all over the world the chance to create something different from, for example, just a home recording,” Hermann stresses. “They are completely free in their artistry.” Emphasising inclusivity and accessibility, Pop-Kultur’s programme is equipped with subtitles in several languages, audio descriptions and information in German Sign Language. It’s also free of charge for all who wish to tune in.

At 8.20pm each day, a new collection of works will be aired on Pop-Kulture’s website, and will remain online in their Mediathek to watch afterwards. At a time in which countries are sealing themselves off to try and control the coronavirus pandemic, Pop-Kultur aims to utilise the online format to deepen international cultural exchange, both on the level of its audience and its participating artists. Co-curator Christian Morin anticipates “a wide range of contemporary perspectives and a festival that we see, as a whole, as a valuable documentation of the times.”

You can also stream Pop-Kulture online at Exberliner each night at 8.20pm. Watch a trailer for this year’s festival.