Bard College Berlin Presents

The Archive and the Occult

This workshop held in conjunction with the course Postcolonial Politics (PS179) invites participants to explore the occult as a reservoir of historical insights, and embark on the creation of a non-linear understanding of the past through artistic and diverse methodologies. These may include the utilization of objects, engaging in performative and imaginative exercises, drawing inspiration from cinematic references, and employing various writing techniques. The aim of this workshop is to encourage participants to engage in historical knowledge production beyond the institutional archive, and to explore and challenge our understanding of personal and collective histories.

To fully participate in the workshop, attendees are asked to bring a personal object or provide documentation of one (in case it is not physically available). This documentation can take the form of a written description, a printed photograph, or a drawing.
The chosen object should encompass at least two of the following dimensions:

1. An artifact that has been passed down through multiple generations within your family.
2. An object that raises questions regarding its origin, purpose, or wondership.
3. A cherished item that evokes suspicion regarding its provenance.
4. An object that possesses suggestive symbolic value.
5. An item that has either endured or borne witness to acts of imperial violence.
6. An object that has been lost or stolen, imbuing it with a sense of mystery and absence.

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Hagar Ophir is a Berlin-based Jewish multidisciplinary artist. Trained as a historian, stage designer and dancer, her works establish history as a space for action and imagination of possible presents beyond separations of time, nation-states and ideologies. Hagar is a fellow artist in Laba Berlin 2023. Her works as an independent artist and a member of Public Movement (2008-2019) were shown worldwide, including Fundació-Tàpies, Barcelona, Vågestykke-KORO, Kunsthall 3.14 Bergen, Jewish-Museum Frankfurt am Main, Asian Art Biennial Taipei, Santarcangelo festival and more. In 2020, she co-founded the Berlin-based: collective: mitkollektiv, and co-directed their project Reimagine Jetzt!

Juna Suleiman is a Palestinian filmmaker currently based in Berlin. Her feature-length documentary film Mussolini's Sister, which debuted at IDFA in 2018, has received international nominations and awards. Since 2008, Juna has served as the casting director for numerous internationally renowned films, including The Time that Remains and It Must Be Heaven by Elia Suleiman, Omar by Hany Abu Asaad, and Let It Be Morning by Eran Kolirin, among others. She has acquired extensive expertise in the field and pioneered the establishment of film casting as a local Palestinian production department. Additionally, Juna has been closely collaborating as an editor with various academic, archival, and artistic projects. Notable examples include her work with academic and researcher Ariella Azoulay from Brown University on The World Like a Jewel in the Hand (2022), and There is a Baba in our House by Leil Zahra (Centre of Human Rights and Arts, Bard College, 2020). Juna has also been exploring the art of performance, taking on roles as an actor in "Let it be Morning" by Eran Kolirin, and as a performer in projects like "Recalling History" by Hagar Ophir, both within the realms of cinema and performing arts.

For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Time: 10:45 am – 1:30 pm CET/GMT+1

Location: The Factory

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