Spätschicht x Pop-Kultur Festival | Queer Ping Pong

In the organizer's words:

Queer Ping Pong is back at the Gropius Bau: the participatory project combines table tennis with queer club culture and creates a social space that removes the supposed contradiction between play and discourse. Accompanied by DJ sets and a concert, newcomers, professionals, artists and children can come together in a playful way. As part of Spätschicht x Pop-Kultur Festival, six table tennis tables by artist Rirkrit Tiravanija will be set up in the outdoor area of the Gropius Bau - free of charge and accessible to all. Rackets and balls will be provided so that everyone can play. FLINTA* and allies are particularly welcome.

A tournament will take place during the event. Registration is possible in advance via queerpingpong@gmail.com

Spätschicht - Live-Programm am Gropius Bau is a monthly series of free events with an interdisciplinary program ranging from concerts, talks, film screenings and book reviews to DJ sets. In addition to the Queer Ping Pong tournament, on this day you can enjoy performances by the Jimmy Robert class, a screening of the fictional docu-soap Le Ping Pong d'Amour by Team Ping Pong, a DJ set by Meg10 and a concert by Wa22ermann.

Queer Ping Pong adapts to the respective location and integrates movement, music and post-migrant discourses. The normative setting of club culture is reinterpreted: The events take place during the day and are free of charge. Everything is very relaxed, the only thing that counts is the fun of the game and the community - from early afternoon until sunset - including the obligatory round of ping-pong. The project is curated by Yeşim Duman and organized by Tülin Duman.

Yeşim Duman is a curator, organizer and works transdisciplinary and in collaborative projects. Particularly noteworthy is her work as a music curator in the pop and club context, through which she integrates various cultural and musical influences into her projects. Through participatory formats such as the Çaystube, Queer Chess Club or Queer Ping Pong, Duman creates inclusive spaces that suspend apparent contradictions between play and discourse. These participatory projects are central to Duman's work and are intended to mobilize communities and promote dialogue, for example at a ping-pong table.

Tülin Duman is a queer and human rights activist who has been involved in various projects against sexism, homophobia, transphobia and racism for many years. Member of Fi_n - Network Women in Football, program advisor for the supporting program for UEFA EURO 2024. Duman was significantly involved in several editions of the Kreuzberg (Transgenial) CSD. From 2008 to 2011, Duman was managing director of GLADT e.V. (Berlin), an association founded by lesbians, gays and trans* people of predominantly Turkish origin.

During the event, photos and video recordings may be made in which you could be recognized. By attending, you consent to these recordings being used to communicate the event or exhibition.