As the festival’s organization affirms, “Pop-Kultur is increasingly becoming a platform for inclusive strategies of action.” And that goes beyond the curation of the line-up, which features artists from all over the world, genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds. It means that inclusivity is taken into account onstage, behind the scenes, and in the audience as well. Dr. Kalus Lederer, the Mayor and Senator for Culture and Europe, affirms that “the festival once again proves what's possible when the creative potential of this city comes together” because of “its unprecedented commitment to gender equality and its inclusive approach”, which are “setting new standards for the city of Berlin”.
We find that focus on inclusivity in almost all talks and discussion panels. One of them is titled Slowly Taking Over; Feminist Collectives in the Music World, where Bad&Boujee, Isabelle Edi, and Leyla Yenirce will discuss how, little by little, feminist collectives – like the recently featured Nótt, from Colombia – are calling power dynamics into question, speaking up about their experiences as a marginalized collective (despite women representing more than half of the global population), and what solutions and changes should be made to change this situation.
Another talk tackling feminism and misogyny is the one with rapper Ebow, DJ Miriam Davoudvandi and Lena Grehl, titled I’ve Got 99 Problems But Being a Feminist Listening to Rap Ain’t One. In it, the three will answer questions related to the prevailing sexism in (almost) all hip-hop lyrics, the lack of female rappers, and how to approach the apparent contradiction of fighting for equal rights while listening to demeaning songs. Also in the Talks programme, you shouldn’t miss the fun conversation between the founder of Instagram account @berlinclubmemes – which anyone living in the German capital and enjoying its night club lifestyle can relate to – and Caren Miesenberger, a journalist and social media editor who teaches memes with the Feminist Meme School.