The ID Festival Berlin 2016 artistically explored the current issue of migration and refugees. This topic strongly resonates in the hearts of Israelis, stories of ›migration‹ and ›refuge‹ have always been an integral part of Israel’s history and Israeli’s sense of identity. Through art and discussion we wished to create a space where communication and cooperation can foster a better understanding between Israelis and other minorities in Germany.
The question of identity was still a big part of our festival, where specifically in the year 2016 we wanted to examine the effects of various migratory currents in and out of Germany on the Israeli artist community here. We took a closer look at the resulting exchanges, relationships, struggles and transformations, as represented through various art disciplines and media.
We were happy to invite you for three days of music, dance, theatre, film and visual arts at RADIALSYSTEM V. We continued our collaboration with the gallery CIRCLE1 on an exhibition portraying the multifaceted voices of the Israeli art scene in Berlin. Additionally, we were glad to present a series of discussions titled Beyond Borders developed by Dr. Elad Lapidot of the Zentrum Jüdische Studien Berlin.
»Despite enduring memories of the Holocaust and fears of a brain drain, Israeli artists continue to move to Berlin. Events like the ID Festival reveal how the city helps them forge identities in an unlikely place.«
Sarah Hucal, Deutsche Welle, 20.10.2016
In October 2015, the first edition of the ID Festival Berlin celebrated the formation of a new and vibrant Israeli artist community in Germany. Impressed by the big number of Israeli musicians living and working in Germany, Ohad Ben-Ari had the idea to create a symphony orchestra made of just Israeli musicians who live here. Thanks to the encouragement of the German Bundestag a multifaceted festival for performing and visual arts was born. Over a hundred artists, speakers, and performers partook in the festival’s numerous events, ranging from exhibitions to dance and theater performances, classical and world music concerts, film screenings, and philosophical discussions. The overlaying theme that inspired all of these beautiful works was that of identity and origin, a topic to which we partially owe our festivals’ name. ID Festival Berlin was eventually made possible by the generous support of the German Ministry of Culture and Media. The ID Festival Berlin is administered by the Schwarzkopf Stiftung Junges Europa.
Patron: Prof. Monika Grütters MdB, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media
Ohad Ben-Ari is an Israeli-born pianist and composer. He won numerous top prizes at international competitions and appeared as soloist with orchestras around the world. After moving to the USA, Ohad branched out to a successful career as a music producer. Since 2010, Ohad Ben-Ari resides with his family in Berlin, where he continues his work as a classical pianist and composer. Together with his longtime musical partner Guy Braunstein, Ohad serves as an artistic director of the music festival Bahnhof Rolandseck. Ohad’s first original composition for piano and orchestra, Tips, took place early in 2013 with the Hamburger Symphoniker. In 2014 his concerto for Marimba was premiered in Tokyo and in 2015 Ben-Ari’s composition Violins of Hope was commissioned and performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Read more in our online magazine.
ID Festival Berlin 2016
»Migration told through Israeli-German art«
21–23 October 2016
RADIALSYSTEM V, Berlin
Watch our video about ID 2016 here.
