CROSSROADS – cultural programme

Mats Staub «Artists (working title)»
Kaserne Basel, Rossstall 2
8 February from 6.30 pm / 9 February from 7.30 pm / 10 February from 6.30 pm

Installation / English / free of charge / admission throughout opening hours

«Artist (working title)» lets audiences hear the life story of 25 arts practitioners. They grew up in Egypt, India, South Africa or Switzerland and hail from different arts disciplines. A residency offered by Pro Helvetia is what they have in common. Mats Staub met them and asked them how they had found and realised their calling as artists and how they live it today.

Mats Staub lives and works in Berlin. Since 2004 he has been creating art projects combining elements of theatre and exhibition, science, journalism and literature – often long-term projects that are expanded from one location to the next.

Boris Nikitin & Zuleikha Chaudhari «Also the real thing»
junges theater basel
8 February, 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm

Performative installation / English / free of charge / admission throughout

Actress Gaurangi Dang from New Delhi introduces herself to the audience. She talks about herself and her life and slips into a role from her theatre repertoire. Is this part of an audition, an installation, or a re-enactment? «Also the real thing» by Indian director Zuleikha Chaudhari and Swiss director Boris Nikitin is a spatial installation with genuine and put-on emotions – a piece about work, representation, repetition, reality and fiction. In October 2013, the two launched a casting call in New Delhi for the theatre project «Also the real thing». Over a hundred actors and actresses applied. Six were selected and their auditions were shown in a five-hour live loop. At junges theater basel, Zuleikha Chaudhari and Boris Nikitin, together with Gaurangi Dang, present an excerpt from this joint project.

Boris Nikitin is a theatre director, installation artist and head of the «It’s the real thing – Basler Dokumentartage» festival in Basel. He creates projects in the international independent scene as well as for festivals and Stadttheater Basel. Nearly all his works focus on the construction, presentation and duplication of reality and identity. Zuleikha Chaudhari is a stage director and light designer in New Delhi and Mumbai. In her work she explores relations between text, space and performer, as well as the audience’s performative experience.

Ntando Cele «Black Off»
Kaserne Basel, Reithalle
8 February, 8.30 pm – 10.10 pm

Performance / English

«Blackfacing» on a theatre stage or on television brings stereotypes and prejudices to the fore. Ntando Cele turns the tables on this – white – tradition. In «Black Off» she takes the stage as Bianca White, her alter ego, sporting a blond wig, blue lenses and whitened face. With politically incorrect statements and jokes, she exposes hidden racism in everyday life and takes delight in dissecting prejudices and confronting audiences with their own perceptions.

Ntando Cele grew up in South Africa and now lives in Berne. She studied drama in Durban and at DasArts in Amsterdam. In her work she blurs boundaries between physical theatre, video installation and performance, and combines music, text and video to project her own identity on stage.

Jonas Lüscher REPORTAGEN
Kaserne Basel, Rossstall 1
8 February, 7.30 pm – 8.20 pm

Discussion & reading / German / moderated by Claude Fankhauser (REPORTAGEN)

REPORTAGEN no. 28 in April 2016 was a special Pro Helvetia related edition containing five reports by five Swiss authors. David Collin, Dmitrij Gawrisch, Jonas Lüscher, Urs Mannhart and Monique Schwitter travelled respectively to Russia, India, China, South Africa and Egypt for two to three weeks on a residency organised by Pro Helvetia’s local liaison offices. This freed the writers up to concentrate on their assignment – a literary non-fiction report about life in the country concerned. The following year saw a return visit by five partner authors, whose texts were published in subsequent REPORTAGEN issues: Youssef Rakha from Egypt (Reportagen no. 31), Samrat Choudhury from India (Reportagen no. 32), and Niren Tolsi from South Africa, Wang Yin from China and Mikhail Kaluzhsky from Russia (Reportagen no. 33).

Jonas Lüscher – Swiss Book Award winner 2017 – sheds light on the circumstances and events leading to his report from Cairo. Moderator of the event is Claude Fankhauser, co-founder and editor of REPORTAGEN.

«Tilt Pause Shift: Dance Ecologies in India»
edited by Gabriele Wittmann & Esther Sutter Straub
Kaserne Basel, Rossstall 2
9 February, 7 pm – 7.30 pm

Book presentation & discussion / English / free admission

India is immeasurably rich in traditions, styles and schools of dance. The book «Tilt Pause Shift» – initiated by GATI Dance Forum in New Delhi – reveals new developments, offering food for debate both for dance specialists and a wider public. Its authors all work predominantly in India and are personally involved in these developments at practical or theoretical level. In nine essays, they explore the question of what contemporaneity means in India. The publication also features portraits and key works of 12 leading choreographers and dance practitioners from culturally very different regions of India.

On a mandate by Pro Helvetia New Delhi and Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan, Swiss dance journalist and educator Esther Sutter Straub and German dance scholar and anglicist Gabriele Wittmann served as mentors for the book, collaborating with the Indian authors on the concept and in the selection of the artists to be portrayed.

SPARCK «IN/FLUX – Mediatrips from the African World»
junges theater basel
9 February, 6.30 pm – 11 pm (performance: 9 February, 8.45 pm – 9.15 pm)

Video installation / English / free of charge / admission throughout

«IN/FLUX – Mediatrips from the African World» is a three-part compilation of extremely diverse experimental films that shed light on urban culture and imaginary worlds from an African perspective. The films deal with violence and euphoria, contrasts, fears and yearnings in our global, post-colonial 21st century.  «IN/FLUX – Mediatrips from the African World» is a co-production of SPARCK (Space for Pan African Research Creation and Knowledge) and Lowave.

In supplement: «Basupa Tsela», a live performance by Lerato Shadi.

«Basupa Tsela» is a casual obituary. The performance highlights everyday violence, integrated in institutional structures, and individual resources and strategies within such systems.

Lerato Shadi studied art in Johannesburg and Berlin. In 2007 she exhibited her first projects, «Room#7» and «Aboleleng and Hema» in Johannesburg and Cape Town. A Pro Helvetia residency took her to Berne in 2010 and provided her with a place in the Paul Klee Centre’s summer academy. In 2017 Lerato Shadi participated in the «Public Programs» of documenta 14 and won an award endowed by the AFRICA’SCOUT residency programme.

Mandeep Raikhy «Queen-Size»
Kaserne Basel, Reithalle
9 February, 8 pm – 10.15 pm / 3 x 45 min

Dance performance / admission throughout

Going in the face of paragraph 377 of the Indian penal code, which criminalises homosexuality in India, «Queen-Size» is a choreographic exploration of intimacy between two men. Choreographer Mandeep Raikhy takes the audience directly to love’s most intimate location – the bedroom. Around a charpoy, a traditional Indian bed, the two dancers weave a physical, sensuous argument for a right to love for everyone. By making their intimate encounter plain to see, «Queen-Size» also raises questions regarding privacy and voyeurism. In protest against the discriminatory law, «Queen-Size» was performed at unofficial venues in some of India’s major cities. Its international premiere was staged in London in May 2017. «Queen-Size» was created in close collaboration with Geneva-based light designer Jonathan O’Hear.

Mandeep Raikhy studied jazz in New Delhi before following his principal passion and studying dance theatre at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire. From 2010 on he has been touring India and the world with choreographies of his own. Mandeep Raikhy is also Managing Director at GATI Dance Forum, the most important contemporary dance venue in New Delhi, where his responsibilities include the organisation of residencies, workshops and festivals. In 2017 he launched a Master’s programme in dance practice at Ambedkar University, the first of its kind in Southern Asia.

Yan Duyvendak & Omar Ghayatt «Still in Paradise»
Kaserne Basel, Reithalle
10.2. 7 pm – 9.15 pm

Theatre performance / English

«Just do it» meets «Inshallah»! Paradise can mean heaven on earth – high income and profits as promised by capitalism. Paradise also means life after death, sweetened by virgins, as promised by fundamentalists. The chasm between these two worlds was made evident by the 9/11 events, and the ensuing undifferentiated antagonism, spurred by slogans such as «clash of civilizations», cast its shadow across the world. The West became suspicious of the Arab world as a whole, while neoliberal values were seen as the only guarantee of a functioning society. Then came the Arab Spring. In large parts of North Africa and the Middle East, however, it led only to stifling dictatorship, war or disintegration. Europe’s response to the stories and images of death, cruelty and persecution was one of fear. This is the background against which artists Yan Duyvendak and Omar Ghayatt picked up the thread from their earlier co-production «Made in Paradise» (2008) to create «Still in Paradise».

Geneva-based artist Yan Duyvendak moves between visual art, performance and theatre, breaking new ground with many of his projects. Omar Ghayatt was born in Cairo and now lives in Berne. Focusing strongly on visual elements, he has developed his own mix of scenography, visual theatre and performance art.

Mzantsi encounters
Jazzcampus Basel
8 February, 8.30 pm & 9.45 pm
9 February, 8.30 pm & 9.45 pm
10 February, 8.30 pm & 9.45 pm

Free admission

Three concert nights at Basel’s Jazzcampus offer pickings from South Africa’s diverse and fascinating jazz scene (Mzantsi), with young South African players striking it up together with musicians from Switzerland. Pianist Thandi Ntuli is a newcomer to Switzerland, while Vuma Levin (guitar), Mandla Mlangeni (trumpet and flugelhorn) and Kesivan Naidoo have performed in various cooperation projects in this country before.

8 February 2018

Set 1
Thandi Ntuli Sextet (piano)
Florian Egli (tenor), Mandla Mlangeni (trumpet), Andreas Tschopp (trombone), Thandi Ntuli (piano), Martina Berger (bass), Dominic Egli (percussion)

Set 2
Vuma Levin Quintet (guitar)
Mats Spillmann (trumpet), Vuma Levin (guitar), Xavi Torres Vincente (piano) Bänz Oester (bass), Jeroen Batterink (drums)

9 February 2018

Set 1 & 2
Benedikt Reising and Vuma Levin Project
Ganesh Geymeier (tenor), Benedikt Reising (alto), Vuma Levin (guitar), Thandi Ntuli (piano), Martina Berther (bass), Kesivan Naidoo (drums)

10 February 2018

Set 1
Mandla Mlangeni’s Amandla Freedom Ensemble
Mandla Mlangeni (trumpet), Ganesh Geymeier (tenor), Thandi Ntuli (piano), Sebastian Schuster (bass), Kesivan Naidoo (drums)

Kesivan Naidoo’s ZACHUSA
Malcolm Braff (piano), Reggie Washington (bass), Kesivan Naidoo (drums)

Antje Schupp, Kieron Jina, Mbali Mdluli & Annalyzer «PINK MON€Y»
junges theater basel
10 February, 9.30 pm – 10.40 pm

Performance / English / Xhosa / German

PINK MON€Y is about pink money. PINK MON€Y is queer. PINK MON€Y is international. pink money is a currency that buys you tolerance provided you have the dough. pink money fosters a black-and-white way of thinking. PINK MON€Y abolishes this. PINK MON€Y doesn’t like labels, celebrating diversity instead. pink money describes the purchasing power of the LGBTI+ community, particularly in connection with tourism. Who spends this money, who receives it, and at what price? PINK MON€Y is performance, party and protest in one. Bring your (pink) money!

Antje Schupp lives and works in Basel. Her work as a stage director reflects her interest in the relations between individuals and their social and political environment. Kieron Jina is a multi-disciplinary artist from Durban, working as a choreographer, dancer, designer, and film maker. Mbali Mdluli is an inter-disciplinary artist who studied photography and explores the themes of space, time and memory in her work. Rap artist Annalyzer started her musical career with gospel and opera and now draws on afro and hip-hop beats to give expression to her texts.

Masr! Egyptian club night

Curated by Mahmout Refat

Festival Antigel, Grand Central Pont-Rouge
8 February, 10 pm

Kaserne Basel, Rossstall 1
9 February, 10 pm

«Masr! Egyptian club night» sees Egyptian sound artist and electronic musician Nour Emam alias Nur line up with versatile Swiss musicians Janiv Oron (also a DJ with Goldfinger Brothers) and Michael Anklin (also a drummer with UFO). To be presented here for the first time is a new joint sound project developed in Cairo by Nur and her two Swiss peers from Basel. Islam Chipsy and his trio will be conjuring up raw sounds from the streets of Cairo –  wild Egyptian street pop called chaabi that triggers communal ecstasy at wedding parties. Similar to Omar Souleyman, Islam Chipsy’s threesome – two percussionists and one virtuoso pianist – play the latest form of electro chaabi at weddings and clubs and carry their scintillating music out into the world. Also taking the stage are the electronic live act 3Phaz from Cairo, as well as MC and producer Rozzma. Basel-based DJ Phil Battiekh, known to whip up frenzy in the Egyptian underground and at international electronica festivals, will be rounding off the night.

Line-Up: Nur & Janiv Oron & Michael Anklin, Islam Chipsy, Rozzma, 3Phaz, Phil Battiekh
Electro Chaabi / Electronica / Bass music

Mzantsi! South African club night

Curated by CUSS

Festival Antigel, Grand Central Pont-Rouge
9 February, 11 pm

Kaserne Basel, Rossstall 1
10 February, 10 pm

A South African club night full of innovative dance music with bands and DJs from the pulsating music hubs of Johannesburg and Durban. The musicians take up elements of South African dance music traditions and shape them into contemporary sounds. Artist and singer Manthe Ribane – also a dancer with the world famous rap-rave band Die Antwoord – joins up with female duo Kami Awori to perform minimalistic electro soul merged with hip-hop and Afro-Caribbean beats. Fela Gucci and Desire Marea form the queer performance duo FAKA, whose eclectic project spans the worlds of music and art. The duo Dirty Paraffin, consisting of beat craftsman Dokta SpiZee and renowned rapper Okmalumkoolkat, combine South African rap with relaxed Kwaito house beats and a lot of swagger. And DJ Lag, a giant from the South African house scene, is flown in to celebrate the country’s Gqom house variety together with DJ Prie Nkosazana.

Line-up: Dirty Paraffin, Manthe Ribane & Kami Awori, FAKA, DJ Lag, DJ Prie Nkosazana
South-African electronica / Kwaito / Gqo