Saadane Afif. Five Preludes Live

Accompanying the exhibition Saâdane Afif. Five Preludes (December 2025 through September 2026 Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin), a series of performances that are directly connected to the works shown in the museum will be presented in various locations across Berlin. Afif’s works, with their diverse references to 20th-century art history, initiate a process of observation and interpretation that involves both participants and viewers. He invites artists and writers to create poetic commentaries on his pieces in their respective languages. These so-called “Lyrics” are part of the exhibition, and a selection of these texts written for the exhibited works will be interpreted by musicians and performers from various backgrounds in different locations. The show in Roter Salon will present lyrics written in response to Afif’s multi-part project The Fountain Archives, set to music by Augustin Maurs and performed by Susanne Fröhlich and Claudia von Hasselt. The second part of the performance will introduce excerpts from lyrics in response to the installation Anthologie de l’Humour Noir, interpreted in an improvisation session by Okkyung Lee and Nina Guo.

With the event series “Hamburger Bahnhof On Tour,” the museum is placing a special focus on networking with other Berlin cultural actors for its 30th anniversary.

An event organised by Freunde* Guter Musik Berlin e.V. in collaboration with Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart and the Roter Salon at Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz. Supported by Hauptstadtkulturfonds..