On the occasion of our exhibition project »Beyond AI: Resistance & Coexistence« in spring 2024 we warmly welcomed the artists Nkhensani Mkhari, Jazmin Morris, Vanessa Amoah Opoku & Linda Dounia Rebeiz at M.Bassy for a public panel discussion. In a private prelude on the evening bevor the opening, we had the one-off chance to record an in-depth-conversation of these leading young artists engaging in new digital technologies from a decolonial and sociopolitical perspective.
For the second event of M.Bassy’s 2025 interdisciplinary music series »Composing While Black. Afrodiasporic New Music Today« we welcomed the French-German scholar and dramaturge for music, opera, theatre and performance art Dr. Dr. Daniele G. Daude and three musicians – Neneh Sowe, Yassin Sowe and Eurico Mathias – of the classical string ensemble The String Archestra from Berlin at M.Bassy e.V. to perform selected works by Ayanna Witter-Johnson, William Grant Still and Fela Sowande. Daude founded The String Archestra in 2016 aiming to perform works by BIPoC composers which have completely disappeared both from canonical music historiography and from a standardized concert repertoire.
Accompanying the exhibition project »Unity in Diversity: Pan-African Art Practices of Collective Care« with Larry Achiampong, Sammy Baloji, Hamedine Kane & The Otolith Group (Oct 12 – Dec 6, 2025) M.Bassy hosted a three-day Thinking Lab entitled »Pan-Africanism: Past – Present – Future« with Larry Achiampong, Aïssa Maïga, Teemour Diop Mambéty & Attillah Springer culminated in a public panel conference on November 8, where pan-African core messages, demands, and visions were discussed with the audience, who formulated strategies for a solidarity-driven future in a globalised world.
In the fifth part of M.Bassy‘s »More Aphrike« series, our guests are the author and speaker Taiye Selasi and the musical adventurer and producer Bill Sellanga aka Blinky Bill. Selasi defined the term »Afropolitan« for a new generation of cosmopolitans with African roots. Nairobi-based Blinky Bill mixes the sounds of Kenya with music from other African countries and reaches people far beyond the continent. Their talk focuses on cultural belonging and the forming of identity in a world which is becoming more fluid while simultaneously raising new borders.
Khemisi is your open-source online resource for indigenous traditional medicine and plant wisdom. Discover a vast collection of plants, herbs, and recipes, along with their uses and cultural significance. We're committed to preserving and sharing knowledge of these ancient practices, empowering individuals to harness the healing power of nature. This website explores sacred and medicinal plants from diverse indigenous traditions, honoring both their traditional applications and contemporary understanding.
We were honored to welcome the Malian singer, songwriter, guitarist and acclaimed actress Fatoumata Diawara at M.Bassy for an unplugged concert ad well as intimate talk with Musa Okwonga about connection, receiving and sharing as well as following the path of an African feminists. She is hailed as the voice of young African womanhood – proud of her heritage but with a vision that looks confidently to the future and a message that is universal.
Die Modeszene Kenias ist in den letzten Jahren erheblich gewachsen. Die neuen Modemacherinnen sind allesamt bemüht, Einflüsse aus ihre unmittelbaren Umgebung in ausgefallene, zeitlose Designs zu verwandeln. Allerdings wird ihnen oft vorgeworfen, dass ihre Mode nicht afrikanisch genug sei. Die Vorwürfe kommen meist von der globalen Modeindustrie, die einerseits sehnlichst nach „afrikanischer“ Inspiration für ihre Mode sucht, andererseits aber gerne den Prüfdienst für die „Authentizität“ afrikanischer Mode spielt.
As part of pur 2024 literature series »Making Wor(l)ds. Contemporary African Diasporic Women Writing in Europe« Minna Salami, a Nigerian-Finnish and Swedish feminist author, social critic and former Program Chair at THE NEW INSTITUTE in Hamburg, dived into an intimate conversation with the British-Ugandan writer, journalist, and musician Musa Okwonga talking about her latest book »Sensuous Knowledge - A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone« (2020) and her engagement in Black feminism, ancestral knowledge systems and embodied writing practices.
Nkhensani Mkhari & Luiza Prado about Art, Food, Language & Resistance
The Talk is moderated by Jumoke Olusanmi. The podcast is part of the accompanying program of the exhibition »Food, Art & Activism: Nourishing Ourselves & Each Other« at M.Bassy Hamburg.
On the occasion of our exhibition »Beat the Silence: Sonic Chonicles« in spring 2025 the audience had the chance to join an opening performance by the poet, rapper, Pan-African activist, designer and filmmaker Elom Kossi Winceslas aka Elom 20ce from Lomé, Togo – our Artist-in-Residence for this project.
