(In English and German)

Sometimes we have so much strength, our bodies shine! Sometimes we just want to swim far out, or run screaming across the meadow, or smash car windows and make a video out of it! Sometimes. Daily life is mostly without the vastness of the sea and its magical effect that calms our breath. The spaces of everyday life are narrow, the rhythms strict. We need different vibes. Counter-Rhythms!

In the project Gegenrhythmen (Counter-Rhythms), the participants of the akademie der autodidakten, under the guidance of performance and video artist Zé de Paiva, dealt with personal rhythms, empathy, healing, and self-empowerment. Because society and its institutions put hurdles in the way of young Black adults and People of Colour. This society drains. And how we regenerate and gather strength is simply not clear. Other societies and communities have resources and social practices for this. So, how do we turn diasporic knowledge into a source of energy? Where do we find practices against structural coldness? How do we move our body against everyday disciplines? How do we claim space? Over the course of several months, the participants in the akademie der autodidakten met regularly to exchange ideas, experiment and create. What has emerged is a performance of resistant personal rhythms, polyphonic, empowering.