Transeuropa - The Body as Grammar and the Empathic Awareness of the Other

Transeuropa is a decentralized festival that is taking place all over Europe for the second time from May 6th to May 15th. With different formats, such as film screenings, performances, guided city tours, debates and workshops, Transeuropa offers local participants and initiatives a versatile structure that can be played about with. The idea is to use artistic methods and activism to work towards a "transnational" vision for Europe and to set local priorities. The scope is unlimited. This open experiment now covers 12 cities and is taking place in Berlin this year for the first time. The two-day guest program at Arsenal has been co-curated by Bonaventure Ndikung and Tobias Hering. Bonaventure Ndikung started out by posing the question: What does "transnational" mean and how could I explain the notion to my neighbors? The video program "The body as grammar… in the language of transnationality" (May 14) examines the body's double role: as a means of expression and as a surface on which everything that lies beyond common language can be projected. In their eclectic variety, the videos provoke, bring to mind clichés and open themselves up to a critical reading. Can the political be negotiated with the vocabulary of the body?