Poetic Installations in the City: Poetry and Public Space
Oct 27, 2021, 6:30 pm
Warburg-Haus, Heilwigstraße 116, 20249 Hamburg
Poetry in the urban space is usually presented in written form. It thus competes for attention with advertising and signs, but also with graffiti. How is poetry perceived in the urban space: Does it perplex – for instance due to its direct address? Does it invite readers to contemplate or question their daily routines? How does poetry, traditionally considered the “subjective” genre, address and claim the public sphere and allow us to observe it? Corresponding to concepts of “public art,” we have to ask if poetry can also become “site-specific” by establishing a relationship with its urban surroundings and their historical, social, and aesthetic idiosyncrasies.
Processes of privatization, commercialization, and surveillance have changed the urban space so dramatically that it is not longer possible to describe it using the binary opposition of “private” and “public.” The arts are critically questioning what is considered public and where it is still possible to socially negotiate meaning and participation today. Recently, projects presenting poetic language and poetry in the urban space have been growing in popularity, facilitating reflection and taking up Henri Lefebvre’s idea of the “right to the city.”
This event will be held in German.
With
Prof. Dr. Claudia Benthien (Principal Investigator, ERC project; Hamburg)
Dr. Norbert Gestring (urban sociologist; Oldenburg)
Ulrike Almut Sandig (poet and performer; Berlin)
Moderator: Dr. Wiebke Vorrath (Research Associate, ERC project; Hamburg)
Registration information for the on-site event:
Free Entry.
The event at the Warburg-Haus will take place according to the “2G” access model. This means that only people who can provide proof of vaccination or recovery together with an official passport will be permitted to attend. It is mandatory that each participant brings both documents to the Warburg-Haus and presents them at the entrance.
In addition, we must collect the postal addresses of all participants. Therefore, please send us your postal address together with your registration. We will use the address for this purpose only and will delete the information at the termination of the archiving period.
To register for the event, please send an email to: poetry-digital-age"AT"uni-hamburg.de
Registration information for the live stream:
The event will be streamed live on October 27, 2021. You will receive the entry information for your free online access on the day before.
To register for the stream, please send an email to: poetry-digital-age"AT"uni-hamburg.de
