Thursday, 27 February, 7:30 pm

Documentary-musical performance with Natalia Schmidt, Queeen Estelle and Philippe Mainz

As part of the Retour de Paris series, Natalia Schmidt is presenting the multidisciplinary project Ékécheiria (Greek: truce) in three exhibition scenarios at the Institut français Stuttgart. In collaborative formats, the immaterial consequences of violence, war and peace are reflected upon and collective trauma is interpreted as a potentially unifying force (of a new beginning in society). Ékécheiria’s questions emerge from the work-in-progress Ammunition Project: A Composition on Invisible Hands (2012 – ongoing), which focuses on ethical questions about the colonial and neo-colonial logic of economic action against the backdrop of German and international arms production.

Auftakt zur Ausstellungsreihe ist die dokumentarisch-musikalische Performance Dignity. We can (2024/2025) at the Linden-Museum Stuttgart, which is being created in collaboration with the Cameroonian singer, performer and traditional Chief Queeen Estelle.

Natalia Schmidt (*Munich) is a multidisciplinary artist. She studied media art and scenography at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design until 2017. She previously studied art history, philosophy and cultural studies in Karlsruhe and Berlin. She also works as an author and curator. Since 2013, she has focused primarily on her artistic, research-based practice. In doing so, she places the documentary and ethical value of the image at the center of an expanded concept of photography, which also experiences sculptural and musical interpretations. Her works are conceptual and process-oriented and are often based on long-term research and observations, whereby the choice of artistic medium in the visual or spatial realization arises from her conceptual concerns. In 2019, she embarked on a research trip to Namibia sponsored by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa) and received a scholarship from the state at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. Her research on Namibia and German munitions production was featured in the exhibition Mindbombs. Visual Cultures of Violence (Kunsthalle Mannheim) and in 2023 at the Ava Gallery in Cape Town.

The artist Estelle Mveng, who was appointed traditional head of the 3rd degree after the death of her father, is a member of the Cameroonian state television orchestra (CRTV Cameroon and Radio-télévision). Her work Le Cœur qui chante, published in 2015, is accompanied by a dense and dynamic show. With this original approach, she won the Découverte 2016 competition organized by the Goethe-Institut, which also opened the doors to several other national and international stages. With her focus on research music, she combines words and original sounds, jazz and blues, creating a subtle and densely emotional connection between the audience and herself with astonishing ease. For this show, she received the Visa for Music Award for the best show at the Escale Bantoo Show 2023. After participating in several festivals, the artist began performing and received the award for a creative residency, an initiative of the Institut français in partnership with the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. In addition to the stage, Estelle Nveng runs the charity N’nem, which looks after the well-being of girls, and organizes the festival Minkan’zik, a travelling festival on the traditions of Bantu communities from Cameroon.

Philippe Mainz is a media artist from Mannheim. Since studying at the HfG Karlsruhe, he has worked as a freelance video and sound designer and stage director in the field of theater. He is also involved in transdisciplinary art projects and is part of various constellations as a musician.

The opening performance will take place at the Linden-Museum, the exhibition will be shown at the Institut français until March 14. On Friday, February 28, there will be a guided tour with Natalia Schmidt at 4 pm and on Friday, March 14, at 7:30 pm, there will be a finissage with an artist talk.