mandhla – Photo Credit Michelle GutiérrezBerlin Save The Date – WHORIENTAL is back for its third edition: September 20 and 21. 2024. “We celebrate with live music, ballroom, and cabaret shows at Heimathafen and Gretchen. WHORIENTAL is a space for visibility and extravagance, focusing on artists who are queer, trans, BIPOC, sex workers, and refugees.”
“On Friday, 20.09.2024, we welcome our community from 3 PM at Heimathafen and kick off with Welcome Shots and a Drag Beauty Corner. Our community elders Sabuha Salaam & Aziza A. will showcase their film “Lola and Bilidikid” (1999, Dir: Kutluğ Ataman). Following this, Habibitch presents “Decolonize the Dancefloor,” a danced workshop conference analyzing systems that shape our daily social interactions. Through movement and words, topics like racism, privilege, power dynamics, resistance, and community will be critically analyzed from a decolonial perspective.”
Prince Emrah Organiser of Whoriental Photo Credit Samet DurgunIn the evening, expect a spectacular show featuring drag, comedy, live concerts, SWANA beats, and belly dance performances by Adir Jan, Hadija and Oiposha, Prince Emrah, Rachid Alexander, Sabuha Salaam, Hausof Audacity, Aziza A., Queerberg, and many more!
Gin Bali Photo Credit Katharina Schäffe“On Saturday, 21.09.2024, we have a fantastic program with concerts, dance workshops, panels, and performances starting at 3 PM at Gretchen. The incredibly funny and brilliant Naya/Lux Venérea will moderate a panel on Cancel Culture. For those wanting to get moving, there will be a belly dance workshop with Rachid Alexander or a voguing workshop with Essi. We have a fun and hot flirt workshop with Papi Pistola and L’aDios for our flirtatious guests. After stirring live concerts with Faravaz Farvardin, mandhla., and many surprise guests, a grandeur ballroom event kicks off, followed by an exquisite DJ lineup featuring Anta.Can, Gîn Bali, Amowia, Esengo, Aaro, and RAGE.
With WHORIENTAL, we celebrate the roots of pop culture and give credit back to the communities that mainstream culture borrows from. We create a safer space for QT*BIPOC and refugees, emphasizing a solidarity-filled environment that embraces beauty and lightness.”
Date: September 20 & 21, 2024
Locations: Heimathafen, Gretchen
More information and tickets at:
t.rausgegangen.de/tickets/whoriental-festival-2024
www.instagram.com/whorientalfestival
Faravaz FarvardinThe QueerBerg Collective Berlin is a BIPOC collective for queer refugees and other trans* artists and performers in Berlin. They regularly perform as dancers, performers, singers, musicians, and DJs while curating community festivals, parties, and solidarity events. Their goal is to represent their art and position as artists who are affected by racism in white queer spaces and by anti-queer and trans* violence in non-queer BIPOC spaces.
The Whoriental Festival is a conscious provocation, a safe space, and a place of encounter. Queer and trans* people often face barriers to entering pop-cultural spaces, especially if they are Black, POC, and/or sex workers. However, pop music is significantly influenced by these groups, and the mainstream benefits from them.
Therefore, Whoriental is a space for musicians and performers often excluded from public funds and institutions. The project showcases the cultural and musical diversity of pop music, presenting emerging and established BIPOC artists who experience discrimination in the industry.
With workshops, performances, concerts, panels, drag shows, and parties, Whoriental 2024 takes place over two days (20-21.09.2024) at Heimathafen Neukölln and Gretchen Club in Berlin.
