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ARTISTS! IN EXILE: Building connections through shared knowledge, workshops and collaborations., © Photo by Akim Karpach
Presented by XJAZZ! and Goethe-Institut in Exile Photo by Akim Karpach

ARTISTS! IN EXILE: Building connections through shared knowledge, workshops and collaborations.

In recent years, wars and persecution have driven millions of people into exile. Among these people, musicians, artists and cultural producers have been forced to suspend their creative activities and often lack material and financial resources to resume their work in their host countries. In view of this condition, XJAZZ! FESTIVAL teamed up with Goethe-Institut in Exile to address different facets of the challenges faced by displaced artists. 

Our mutually developed program ARTISTS! in EXILE sets out to create environment of care, creativity and support through a broad scope of activities. On Sunday, 14 May at Festsaal Kreuzberg & AEVE, we brought cultural institutions, local artists, support initiatives and artists in exile into dialogue. The day-long program, consisting of panel talks, networking sessions, knowledge transfer and workshops, aimed to build sustainable connections and activate new collaborations.  

The panel discussion “Cultures of Exile: Reflections on Cultural Production and Forced Migration” followed by a Q&A

© Photo by Akim Karpach

The panel discussion was the first conference part, where we wanted to look at the intersection of cultural production and experiences of migration. Our panelists: Anastasiia Pokaz (XJAZZ! Festival), Milad Khawam (Musician, Composer, Producer) and Dhanesh Jayaselan (Cycles Studios, A Song For You) shared with the moderator Carmen Herold (Goethe-Institut in Exile) the insights into their professional lives and spoke about how experiences of forced migration, flight and displacement have shaped their identities and creative paths. 

Speed Mentoring & Networking

© Photo by Akim Karpach

In this program section, we granted artists with more opportunities to get to know each other and seek consultation from various fields. We‘ve provided info desks on funding structures, self-promotion, legal consultation and more. Among the professional participants, there were representatives of Touring Artists, Landesmusikrat Berlin, von der haardt GmbH, ZigZag Club, Ableton, F-Cat Booking Agency, PR agency "Le Tigre Noir”, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, NDR Jazz and others. Professionals from their respective fields of expertise provided artists with information and answered to their burning questions. 

Workshops 

© Photo by Akim Karpach

In four different workshops: Choreography Workshop by Anatolii Sachivko/UA, Music Production by Natalie Greffel/US, Personal Branding Workshop by Yevgen Velychev/UA and  NFT Workshop by Gorkem Bereket/TR attendees received a chance to take a practical look at a broad field of topics. 

One conference day put together up to 100 artists in exile, 30 mentors from different music fields and 1 powerful community. XJAZZ! supports social initiatives in the field of environmental, human rights and philanthropic responsibility. If you have an idea of an event, that can bring a strong social impact and change the world for a better place - please, feel free to contact us at info@xjazz.online