Event archive

"What Is Good and What Is Evil" – Thomas Mann as a Political Activist

A keynote lecture by German Studies scholar and literary critic Kai Sina on Thomas Mann’s political activism and a conversation with writer and scholar Samantha Rose Hill, moderated by Benno Herz, Program Director at the Thomas Mann House.

»Everything seems permissible against human decency« or »Hyper-irritability«

Thomas Mann Fellows question our present time

With piano music by Luisa Imorde

The Democracy Dividend

Join Thomas Mann Fellow Rana Deep Islam at the University of Delaware for a German-American Case Study on Business and Civil Society and the Struggle for Upholding a Democratic Order.

Open Day at the Federal Foreign Office

Panel on Artificial Intelligence with Ulrike Klinger and Andreas Nitsche

Bridging Physical Barriers: Inclusion at the Nexus of Robotics, Architecture, and Art

An insightful evening with Thomas Mann Fellow and Professor for Health Sciences and Technology Robert Riener.

Thomas Mann’s Antifascist Radio Addresses: “Listen, Germany!”

A conversation on Thomas Mann’s BBC radio addresses delivered during his exile in the United States with Jeffrey High and Elaine Chen, moderated by Kalani Michell.

Wildfire: Resilience, Recovery, and Return

A Lively Gathering and Exchange around Hope and Renewal.

Loss of Shared Worlds: Reckoning with Environmental Destruction

Join the Thomas Mann House for a conversation between Thomas Mann House Distinguished Visitor Darya Tsymbalyuk and Ursula K. Heise.

An Evening of Contemporary Cello with Seth Parker Woods & Thomas Mann Fellow Steven Walter

Moebius Strips

Moebius Strips is a unique audio installation and composition project dedicated to the influential composer Dieter Moebius and his contributions to electronic music.

Admission free

Plasmatron

In his multichannel installation, Hamburg-based sound artist Felix Kubin transforms the Great Water Reservoir into a sonic high-voltage laboratory straight out of a science fiction narrative.

Two Sound Spaces - Two Anniversaries

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Villa Aurora and in remembrance of the 10th anniversary of the passing of musician and composer Dieter Moebius, the large and small water reservoirs in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg will transform for three days into extraordinary sound spaces for experimental electronic music.

Entry to the installations is admission free

Entry to the live shows: 7€

Villa Aurora supports the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival 2025

Art in the City

Art in the City – To mark the 30th anniversary of Villa Aurora, six former fellows are bringing their works into the urban space of Berlin: large-format, international, political. From May 12 to 25, they will connect Berlin and Los Angeles through public art – accessible to everyone, right in the middle of everyday life.
Featuring Werner Amann, Ulu Braun, Anna Haifisch, Paul Hutchinson, Karin Apollonia Müller & Siska

An Appeal to Reason: Celebrating Thomas Mann at 150

A Conversation on Democracy, Freedom, and Culture in commemoration of Thomas Mann's 150th birthday.・Language: English・This event is free and open to the public.

»In dieser Zeit« – In remembrance of the Day of the Book Burning

with Amewu, BRKN, Conny, Alice Dee, Malonda, and Ebow.・Language: German・ Tickets: 9€ / red. 6€ / Berlin-Ticket S 3€

Towards a Just Future: Transatlantic Perspectives on Justice Reform

A compelling conversation on justice reform at Goethe-Institute San Francisco.・Language: English.

Defending Democracy: The German Approach

A compelling discussion with journalist, legal scholar, and award-winning author Ronen Steinke on Defending Democracy: The German Approach.

The Art of Listening – and Dialogue in Politics and Society

Bernhard Pörksen and Winfried Kretschmann analyze the communicative change and debate the boundaries and possibilities of dialogue.・Language: German

George Prochnik & Paul Holdengräber: How Noisy Everyting Grows

Paul Holdengräber in Conversation with George Prochnik.・Language: English

Listening to Exile: Voices Between Worlds

Yasmin Merei and Xu Xing talk to Samantha Rose Hill about what it means to be heard in exile.

Language: English

The Art of Listening: A Conversation Across Professions

Paul Holdengräber and Josh Cohen in conversation about the freedom of active listening.・Language: English

WHY FRETS? Requiem for the Electric Guitar & WHY FRETS? - Downtown 1983

A performance and lecture with Marko Ciciliani.・Language: English

Listening to the Past: A Walk Through Hannah Arendt’s Heidelberg

Following the footsteps of Hannah Arendt with Samantha Rose Hill in Heidelberg.・Language: English

A Celebration of Listening: The Art of Listening to Music

Performance and conversation composer and Villa Aurora Alumna Cathy Milliken.・Language: Englisch

What remains. Hannah Arendt as a poet

Samantha Rose Hill reads poems from one of the greatest intellectual thinkers of the 20th century.・Language: Englisch

Queer Belongings and the Jewish “Homeland”: Israeli and Jewish American Lives Between Home and Away

Thomas Mann Fellow Dr. Hila Amit discusses the intersections of queerness, migration, and identity in the context of Israel/Palestine and the Jewish diaspora at the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan.・Language: English

Forced from Home

An afternoon with exiled Ukrainian writer and 2025 Thomas Mann Fellow Margaryta Surzhenko at David Horvitz’ 7th Avenue Garden・ Language: English

From Stigma to Science: The Evolving Understanding of Psychedelics

A Conversation with Norman Ohler, Charles Grob, and Kate Wolf.・Language: English

Opera & Democracy: „Muss denn in diesem Land immer alles politisch sein?“

The final event in our transatlantic concert and conversation series Opera & Democracy, titled "Muss denn in diesem Land immer alles politisch sein?" (Does everything in this country have to be political?) in Hamburg.・Language: German

Doing Conspiracy Theory: A Reconstructive Approach to Suspicious Theorizing

Thomas Mann Fellow Nils Christian Kumkar outlines his project on Conspiracy Theories and their production as a collaborative social process at the Universoty of California, San Diego.・Language: English