In the mid-seventies, hundreds of mini radio stations were set up in Italy, France, Switzerland, and West Germany. Some of these were clandestine, collectively organized stations that dared to experiment with political reporting. They broadcast police riots against street protests, the voices of prisoners, and information about lesbian bars – until the police tracked down and confiscated their equipment. The participatory readings of JetztSprechen bring to mind the forced closure of such radio stations, which had been an important mouthpiece for the New Social Movements.

Reading at the Kunstverein Röderhof with Ralf Biring, Dieter Burgwald, Annegret Dalitz, Hartmut Dalitz, Anette Groschopp, Renate Jochin, Maren Kühn, Friedburg Kühn, Susanne Lieb, Sandra Luckau, Freya Mingerzahn, Renate Schrader, and Olaf Wegewitz using a mobile sound recorder, gray publications, historical flyers, archive recordings and photographs.

JetztSprechen (SpeakingNow) | Auditory re-enactment of the last live radio minutes of "Radio Freies Wendland" on June 8, 1980

Anna`s artistic work combines drawing, writing, archival research and photography, with producing radio dramas and audio essays. It has been commissioned by Manifesta 14, 23. Triennale di Milano, beuys2021, WDR, and Documenta 14. Upcoming projects in 2023 at ZAK – Center for Contemporary Art Berlin, depo and tarabya ka Istanbul. Tune in!
Photos: Atdhe Mulla (Head shot, 2022), Arne Reinhardt (Drawing, 2023)

New tracks tagged #researchbasedart