Lesung mit Peggy Kurka: Das blaue Kind. Meine Geschichte als Schwarze Deutsche, 2023

In the organizer's words:

Peggy Kurka: The blue child. My story as a Black German, 2023

The current exhibition IM DIALOG - Hasso Plattner Collection: Art from the GDR is accompanied by monthly readings that invite visitors to engage in a literary examination of the GDR and its critical reflection in the present day.

Following on from the exhibition's idea of bringing works by GDR artists into a dialog and illuminating different perspectives, authors provide literary impulses, explore new narratives and place the stories about the GDR in a contemporary context.

A musical reading performance with and by Peggy Kurka and pianist Rubin Henkel

In her book The Blue Child, Peggy Kurka recalls the formative stages of her life in ten chapters. She describes observations about origin and identity and examines social images that determine belonging and the "norm".

Against the backdrop of her own experiences, she sheds light on levels of a white majority society that have a significant impact on individual biographies through structural racism and learned mechanisms of exclusion. She questions traditional value systems and belief patterns and pleads for more humanity and love.

Kurka's writing style is rhythmic, almost musical. While working on her first book, The Blue Child, Peggy Kurka was inspired by the music of the German-Canadian composer Rubin Henkel. Day after day, the works of Kurka and Henkel merged without them knowing each other. The two artists, coming from different disciplines, met and discovered similarities in their forms of expression. Together they found a new form of language and sound. The evening at MINSK also allows Kurka's texts to be experienced through Henkel's piano compositions.

Together with Patricia Vester, Peggy Kurka will talk about her childhood in the GDR, her artistic work and her self-empowerment and the attainment of sovereignty of interpretation over her own history.

Price information:

10 Euro plus admission The ticket includes a visit to the exhibition from 5 pm.