Exhibition Who’s Talking?
Six Artistic Views On The Collection KOLK 17
The digital exhibition “Who’s Talking?” can now be visited on the external exhibition website. During the autumn season 2021 supplementary programmes to the exhibition will be shown on a digital stage.
The Project “Who’s Talking?” Changing perspectives of provenance
From the ‘puppet-worlds’ council of elders…to the cleaning out of colonial era storage cupboards…to the visit of a remorseful dictator. The project “Who’s Talking – Changing Perspectives of Provenance” opens the doors to an artistic exploration of the KOLK17 collection. Six artists of African, Asian and European descent turn their focus to the collection and develop their own opinion to puppets they themselves have chosen. The resulting artworks will be exhibited in a virtual exhibition. The recurring question however, is: Who is talking?
Creating knowledge without revealing secrets

Photo: KOLK 17
The KOLK 17 collection comprises over 20,000 exhibits from Europe, Asia and Africa and thus contains many stories and secrets. The question of where individual figures travelled from and what stations they passed through until they found their way into the museum cannot be definitively answered in many cases.
If and when answers are found, what might the consequences be and for whom?
Parallel to the artistic debate, scientists are brought in to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge with their expertise. The question of the cultural context from which the various puppets originally emerged plays an essential role. Comprising of much more than just the place of origin: the nature in which the puppets were played; the stories that were told with them, as well as their function are all important aspects which, if possible should be included.
Some of the invited artists will deal with exhibits from their own countries, others will make suggestions for artistic approaches to the non-European part of the collection. The result will be six artistic contributions in video format from different perspectives – a diversity of voices that, hopefully will shine light where until now was darkness.
A knowledge that unearths secrets without revealing them.
The project is funded by the Foundation for Performing Arts with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of the NEUSTART KULTUR – #TakeNote funding programme.

who is TALKING?
Symposium “Who’s Talking? On
Performing Objects and Their Voices”
31st July 2021
Exhibition opening
and symposium from
July 30th – August 1st, 2021
the act of talking
Among the artists involved, there are different approaches as to the definition of speaking. However all concerned agree on one thing: there is more to the act of speaking than just the use of verbal language. A dance, a work of art, the movement of a marionette – these are all forms of speech.
For “Who’s talking?” these forms of speaking are significant. Just as important as the question of WHO is talking is the question of HOW. To speak verbally about a character whose story of origin is obscure is primarily speculation. Translating this speculation into artistic media such as dance or performance opens up new areas of knowledge.
To communicate artistically can mean to work organically rather than methodically. Nevertheless, each work of art represents its own truth. With luck, this will give rise to new ideas and insights – provided that the scientific side is not ignored in the process. That is why the project unites both approaches under a common theme: changing perspectives of provenance.
WHO is talking?
There are countless ways to make art speak: some artists work conceptually, others intuitively; some attach importance to a political message, while others communicate through poetry. In “Who’s talking?”, two choreographers, a performance artist and three puppeteers represent different approaches.
Çağlar Yiğitoğulları
Caglar Yigitogullari was born in Ankara / Turkey in 1977. After studying and graduating from the Acting school, he has been to Australia where he studied dance for two more years. In 2003 he went back to Turkey and started working for Istanbul City Theater. Because of the limited freedom and oppression in Turkey, in 2017 he fled to Germany with an Artist Visa. Foto: Gülay Ayyildiz
Shasha Li
Shasha Li is a Puppeteer, Director and Contemporary Puppetry Artist. Graduated from Shanghai Theatre Academy in 2011. In April 1, 2019, she founded “Puppeteer Studio”. Puppetry in China originated from Han and flourished in Tang Dynasty. It is a unique flower in China’s art circles. It has a long history, a wide variety and exquisite skills. “Puppeteer studio” is committed to the research and promotion of traditional puppet art and culture and the exploration and creation of contemporary puppet art.
Yacouba Magassouba
Yacouba Magassouba, born in Mali in 1981, is a director, puppeteer and event technician. He was introduced to and trained in the art of puppetry by his grandfather and uncle. His work takes him on tours and festivals worldwide, including the Handspring Puppet Company’s play, ‘Tall Horse’ which he was commissioned to market during its 2004 tour of South Africa and Germany.
Irina Demina
Irina Demina is a choreographer and dance artist, based in Berlin. Irina made her dance education in Moscow and Hamburg, graduated from Moscow State Lomonosov University (Faculty of Philology) and received Master degree in Choreography at Hochschulübergreifendes Zentrum Tanz Berlin (HZT). Photo: © Martina Thalhofer
Momo Ekissi
Eugène Momo Ekissi is a playwright, actor, narrator, director, puppeteer and African musician. Originating from the Ivory Coast of West Africa, he moved some years ago to Germany taking up residence in the town of Freiburg where he lives and works. Photo: Momo Ekissi
Jessica Nupen
Jessica Nupen is a dancer, choreographer and director based in Germany. Born in Johannesburg to anti- apartheid activist parents, Nupen’s work is heavily inspired by her South African background and she has been named one of the top 100 most influential Africans in Germany. She is now on the advisory board for the University of Hamburg (Post) Colonial Studies. Foto: Steve Thomas Photography
Not only artistic voices will have their say in “Who’s Talking? Several scientists will also enrich the project with their perspective. Their expertise will complement the artist’s knowledge and manifest itself with the help of various materials and their specific mode of application. The international contributions will be presented at a symposium on the opening weekend, making possible an engaging dialogue between the camps of the artistic and the scientific.
Robin Ruizendaal
Robin Ruizendaal was the director of the Taiyuan Asian Puppet Theatre Museum in Taipei from 2000 to 2020. He is currently working on the Asian theatre puppet research project of the Paul Lin collection at the Taiwan Museum and is artistic director of the Taiyang Theatre Company. He holds a Ph.D. in sinology from Leiden University in the Netherlands. He has published widely on Asian puppet theatre and was curator numerous (puppet) theatre related exhibitions around the world. He has written and directed more than 20 modern and traditional Taiwanese (puppet) music theatre productions. He is an honorary citizen of the city of Taipei and recipient of the Prix franco-taiwanais in 2019 for the promotion of Taiwanese puppet theatre around the world.
René Reith
René Reith works as a choreographer, performer and dance scientist in North Germany. He is holding a masterdegree in Staging of the Arts and Media from the University of Hildesheim. As a co-fonder of the artist group systemrhizoma he is working on performances in the fields of experimental object-theatre, contemporary dance, and performance-art. His performances are created from a queer-feministic point of view and also in a strong combination of theory and praxis.
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“Who’s Talking?” AND “COLONIALISM AND PUPPET THEATRE“
In 2020, we gave you the virtual exhibition “Colonialism and Puppet Theatre. Untangling the Threads” in which we traced the path of a number of non-European artefacts from the puppet or object in their original setting to their place as an object in the museum. During this process, the topic of (post) colonialism was raised and the museum’s own exhibition practice was critically reflected upon.
The question of ‘who is talking’ about the exhibits and the intrinsic potential to create new, possibly distorted meanings, was already negotiated here to an extent. The project “Who’s Talking?” can therefore also be considered as the second part of an exhibition-series dealing with the responsibility that an extensive collection of non-European objects brings with it.
While Part 1 is essentially based on the research conducted by the museum’s academic staff, Part 2 now opens up a field for alternative, creative forms of knowledge production. This process of artistic research functions according to other laws, allowing for associative approaches and enables narration without the revision of object biographies.
Nevertheless, it raises questions about appropriation and agency. At a symposium in the summer, these and other aspects of the topic will be addressed by international scholars. The long-term goal of the project is to build an international network for a mutual transfer of knowledge between puppetry and the study of puppet theatre.


PROJECT “WHO’S TALKING?”
Idea: Antonia Napp, Stephan Schlafke, Sonja Riehn
Concept & project lead: Antonia Napp, Stephan Schlafke
Scientific work: Sonja Riehn
Artistic work: Markus Posse
Artists (in alphabetical order): Irina Demina, Momo Ekissi, Shasha Li, Yacouba Magassouba, Jessica Nupen, Çağlar Yiğitoğulları
Scientists: Robin Ruizendaal, René Reith
Moderatorators (symposium): Caroline Chia, Mandy Okereke
Project coordination: Markus Posse, Sonja Riehn
Contact person collection: Sonja Riehn
Contact person theater: Stephan Schlafke
Marketing & website: Charlotta Becker
Controlling: Marie-Luise Arndt
Translation: Franziska Technau, Astrid Franck, Weimin Kong, Mandy Okereke, Zhao Wei
Guest care: Julika Oberdieck
Depot assistence: Ulrike Sonnenberg, Christine Kebel
Mounting: Stephan Schlafke, Kilian Kreuzinger
EXHIBITION:
Idea & concept: Antonia Napp, Markus Posse in cooperation with Irina Demina, Momo Ekissi, Shasha Li, Yacouba Magassouba, Jessica Nupen, Çağlar Yiğitoğulları
Dramaturgy: Markus Posse.
Visual design & exhibition webseite: visual intelligence Berlin, neesh Hamburg
Marketing/grafic design: Charlotta Becker, Anna Pfau
SYMPOSIUM:
Idea & concept: Antonia Napp, Sonja Riehn
Coordination: Sonja Riehn
Technical realization: Ricarda Motschilnig, David Röthler
Marketing & website: Charlotta Becker
Interpreted: Ostasien Service GmbH Hamburg, Bohmann Übersetzungen