This year in Berlin, Sant Jordi is moving forward by two days. On 21 April, the KulturBrauerei will be filled with Catalan culture with a literary and artistic programme in which speech, thought and music will play leading roles. We aim to make this celebration known to the German public and establish links between both cultures through one of Catalonia’s most representative events, with the involvement of several institutions in the city. Pere Almeda, Director of the Institut Ramon Llull, said, "Sant Jordi unites literature and civic space and makes culture a festive and inclusive meeting point".
The KulturBrauerei cultural centre is one of Berlin's most well-preserved, late 19th-century industrial monuments. It hosts a variety of events, including literature, theatre, dance, exhibitions, festivals, and concerts. Two of the venue’s buildings, the Haus für Poesie and the Maschinenhaus, will host the programme.
The Haus für Poesie has promoted access to poetry since 1991 and is an influential space for dialogue between creators and the public. Besides its stable programming, it also organises the Berlin International Poetry Festival and the Zebra Poetry Film Festival and manages the international poetry portal Lyrikline, of which the Institut Ramon Llull is a member.
The Haus für Poesie is co-organising with the Llull Institute a poetic reading and debate on Catalan poetry that will take place in its facilities, on 21 April at 6 pm. Maria Callís, Eduard Escoffet, and Maria Sevilla, all poets, will be participating. The German poet, translator and journalist Timo Berger will moderate the session. The readings will be in Catalan but will be translated into German and the conversation will be simultaneously translated into Catalan and German. The texts to be recited will be recorded and will expand the repertoire of the Lyrikline portal.
At 4 pm, the Maschinenhaus will host a round table on Utopia vs. dystopia. Creació i decreació de mons (Utopia versus Dystopia. Creation and de-creation of worlds). The Catalan writer Pol Guasch and the German author Julia Friese will discuss the new generation of European storytellers and their concurrent themes about an uncertain time that is in flux and offers no promise of a stable future. The event will be moderated by the German journalist Miriam Zeh and will be held in Catalan and German with simultaneous translation into German. Previously,
The music will start at 8:30 pm, performed by Lleona, at the Maschinenhaus. The name of this project, by Blanca Lamar (Les Sueques) and Maria Callís, comes from the dedication of Eduard Girbal Jaume in his book La tragèdia de cal Pere Llarg, from 1923, to Víctor Català, who he referred to as “the lioness of Catalan letters”. Lamar and Callís present a recital that showcases the works of great Catalan writers from the 19th and 20th centuries, including Maria Antònia Salvà and Dolors Miquel. The performance features a selection of texts, poems, and songs in various styles and rhythms, with the marimba, palms, flamenco “palos” (styles), and the resurgence of italodisco all used to enhance the beauty of the verse.
The Schaubude Berlin, an international meeting point and a platform for the theatre of objects, has produced the German version of Cases (X Kids) (Houses (X Kids)) for family audiences. The artist and set designer Xesca Salvà has created an installation that can be visited between 12:00 and 16:00 at the Haus für Poesie. The installation consists of small houses where visitors can discover different life stories through play and objects. This proposal raises issues such as the precariousness of housing, grandmothers who live alone, and the extraordinary facts of haunted houses. Shaubude Berlin had previously presented Cases, by the same Catalan artist, at Theater der Dinge, the renowned international festival it organises. It will present Cases (X Kids) at its venue on 27 and 28 April, following Sant Jordi.
Visitors attending the various activities organised on the occasion of Sant Jordi can stroll through a small market where stalls offer books in Catalan and German and learn about the Catalan and German institutions involved in this project.
The Institut Ramon Llull, in collaboration with the Haus für Poesie, Schaubude Berlin, the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia in Germany and Tourism of Catalonia, is organising the celebration, which is supported by Casal Català de Berlin, Catalanets, Castellers, Freie Universität, Humbold Universität and Wallstein Verlag.
Moreover, some twenty universities of the Xarxa Llull (Llull Network), the university network of Catalan studies abroad, organise activities for Sant Jordi. These activities include theatrical performances, literary routes, recitals, book exchanges and poetry competitions. Authors Pau Miró, Martí Sales and Emma Zafón, among others, are taking part. The activities will take place in several countries, such as Germany, Brazil, Cuba, the United States, Ireland, and Hungary, among others.
