unwritten archives. a parade for the 21st century

“unwritten archives - a parade for the 21st century” takes a look back at 19th century German militarism and its traces in the former colony of German South West Africa. With guests from Namibia, the visual artist and director Sebastian Hirn brought together anachronistic and contemporary images of war in collaboration with the Mannheim composer Friedrich Stockmeier. The Ovaherero, Albertus Hangue, Richard Haith, Christiaan April, Otniel and Josef Higard Apollus, dressed in the colonial uniforms of the soldiers of the German Reich, commemorated the war crimes of the German-Namibian wars in a memorial procession along the Neckar shore. Prince Kamaazengi Marenga evoke the flight and expulsion through the Omaheke Desert in a poem. Musicians accompanying the procession questioned the pathos, the powerlessness, the consonance and the silence in the face of a “reconciliation agreement” that has still not been reached. An intervention made the shared history and cultural heritage tangible and present.

Wunder der Prärie 2025

“unwritten archives. a parade for the 21st century” was part of Wunder der Prärie 2025. The motto of Wunder der Prärie in 2025 was “Theaters of War(s)”. This edition was curated by Sebastian Hirn and Johanna Baumgärtel. The live art festival “Wunder der Prärie” takes place every two years in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. With performance, dance and cross-genre projects at the interface with theater and visual arts, the festival has been presenting contemporary art forms in the southwest of Germany since 2004. A motto relevant to contemporary society provides the starting point and framework for the works shown. The festival sees itself as working in and with the city in order to stimulate social discourse and act as an initiator and catalyst for social processes. Wunder der Prärie is one of the top 15 festivals in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region.