Thawra

Lilian Mauthofer

Date

Neukoelln
19.06-21.06.2020

Moabit, Kreuzberg
02.07.-12.07.2020

Location

Touring exhibition
Route below

Künstlerin

Lilian Mauthofer

Thanks

Touring exhibition

48h-Neukölln
Moabit
Kreuzberg

artburst berlin e.V. invites to the presentation Thawra in the context of the art festival 48h Neukölln, which has the motto BOOM #systemrelevant. From June 19 to June 21, 2020, photographs by Lilian Mauthofer will be on display in Neukölln as part of a neighborhood walk, supplemented by an accompanying digital program.

From 03 July to 12 July, the travelling exhibition was also on display in Moabit and Kreuzberg.

Overview page of the audio tour

Die Revolution

The Lebanese Thawra (“revolution”) is a feminist movement. Women* are the heart and perseverance of the protests. With a collective consensus presented by participants, borders between individual social groups are broken down, and Lebanese citizens in unity take to the streets for the first time. The Thawra is cross-generational; it fights against sexual assaults, supports the LGBTQI+ community and helps people who live in poverty due to the financial crisis. The Thawra is the fight for a just future and against corrupt politicians. A leitmotif of the protests: Kelon yani Kelon – All means All!

Lilian Mauthofer's photographs document the power and energy of these protests: They show the strengthening aspects of empowerment for women*, for the oppressed and for those at risk. Thus the photographs deviate from the usual, largely Eurocentric reporting, which all too often reports on violence and chaos in the Middle East. At the same time, the presentation is based on the photographer’s self-reflexive working method. She devotes herself to the field of tension between the Self and the Other, and she addresses the conflict within herself as a foreigner in Beirut: What role and what responsibility do I have now that I have stumbled into these protests?

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the presentation of the works will be moved to public space and linked to a digital offer. The photographs will be shown as posters in Neukölln. A QR code will lead the viewers to a website with curatorial texts, sound files and a discussion forum. This is intended to counteract the current feeling of isolation and isolation and to continue to facilitate the exchange about art.

The photographs of the Thawra underline the importance of social cohesion and the strength of a group that stands up for equal rights for all. The presentation shows that adverse circumstances can be fought together. Even in a free democratic society, achievements must be defended and lived every day, especially in times like these.