2012

Composition performance by Michael Maierhof with SUONO MOBILE globe (Stuttgart) at Deutsche Guggenheim
Composer Michael Maierhof from Hamburg and former Villa Aurora fellow in 2010 was inspired by the omnipresent sounds of helicopters and plans during his stay in Los Angeles and created the composition specific objects, 17 min with engines on Readymades. Six musicians and a conductor will perform the composition spread over the exhibition space.

Performances will take place at 3pm, 5pm and 7pm.

After the performance at 7pm there will be a talk/discussion with Michael Maierhof and Carolin Naujocks ‘about plans, Cage, music and the relation to the world.’

7 pm
Deutsche Guggenheim, Unter den Linden 13/15, 10117 Berlin

Meetings of the selection committees for the Villa Aurora Fellows 2013.

Feuchtwanger Fellow Hassouna Mosbahi opens a new program at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles.

Employing films, lectures and panel discussions, Narrating the Arab Spring will be a commentary on the current events in the Arab world.

Mosbahi will read from his novel Hikaya Tunisiyya (A Tunisian Tale ) which was recently published in English.

Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, 5750 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 100, L.A. CA 90036

Thursday, July 19th @ 7:00 p.m.

Free of Charge
More information @ 323.525.3388 and here.

Welcome to film history's most disastrous silent film program. Pies will be flying, Buster Keaton will beat up Fatty Arbuckle, people stumble over tables, tables crash onto people, cars are being squashed, laws of nature bent, chaos will rule. In Berlin, Dietrich Brüggemann has a regular show accompanying and dismantling silent films with piano and electronics but on July 26 however he will abuse Villa Aurora’s house organ.

Thursday, July 26^th, 7:30 p.m.
Villa Aurora

Free for Members, $ 5 Students, $ 10 General Admission

Shuttle Infos:
Please park on Los Liones Drive. Shuttle service begins one hour prior to event and will start from street parking on Los Liones Drive, off Sunset Boulevard two blocks North-East of Pacific Coast Highway.

111 - ein zeitgenössischer Ort für Kunst in cooperation with Villa Aurora Forum Berlin presents:

VERNISSAGE: New Paintings by Abel Baker Gutierrez
End of residency exhibition - 19.8.12

Los Angeles artist, Abel Baker Gutierrez exhibits a new series of intimately sized paintings made during his two month residency at 111 - ein zeitgenössischer Ort für Kunst, Berlin. Sourced from found photographs of German children and youths, Gutierrez's paintings explore ideas of longing, nostalgia and mis-rememberance. Several paintings draw parallels between American and German masculine ideals found in pfadfinder/scouting imagery. Portrait photographs and images of summer adventures are re-contextualized through the act of painting.

Sunday, August 19, 2012 - 5 pm – 8 pm
111 - ein zeitgenössischer Ort für Kunst
Torstraße 111, 10119 Berlin

August 25, 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm.  Tickets: $15 for members & students, $30 regular.

Villa Aurora and Goethe-Institut Los Angeles present:

Renn, wenn du kannst (Run If You Can)

Dietrich Brüggemann, Germany, 2010, 112 minutes, German with English subtitles, digital

An independent tragicomedy, Run If You Can is the debut feature for director Brüggemann who, along with his sister, also wrote the compelling screenplay.

Forced to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, Ben is deeply desperate, despite his humor and vivaciousness. When he meets Christian, his new assistant, Ben treats him like every other helper he’s had. Things suddenly change when Christian meets Annika, “the cello player” whom Ben has been observing from his window for years. The three become close friends, putting Annika in the middle of an emotional, and somehow dangerous, ménage à trois. (…)

A character-driven story, Run If You Can owes much of its power to the actors’ performances, especially Robert Gwisdek’s outstanding interpretation of Ben. (Toronto Filmfestival)

Q and A with Director Dietrich Brüggemann.

Thursday, September 6 @ 7:00 p.m.

Goethe-Institut Los Angeles

5750 Wilshire BLvd. Suite 100

L.A., CA 90036

Free of Charge

Hassouna Mosbahi will read a brief passage from his novel "Hikaya Tunisiyya" (A Tunisian Tale) in Arabic followed by a reading in English.

Hassouna Mosbahi is a Tunisian writer, literary critic, journalist and translator, born in 1950 to a Bedouin family in the back country of Kairouan. He started writing stories, tales and anecdotes back in his youth, orientated at the tradition of folk storytelling.

His first short story "L'image de mon père", inspired by Camus' "L'Étranger", already won the Tunisian Broadcasting Prize for young authors in 1968. During the following years he spent a long time studying abroad in Paris, Madrid and London and worked, amongst other things, as a correspondent for Arabic newspapers.

His recent project focuses on a story of the famous Andalusian mystic Ibn Arabi. Beside the publication of novels and short stories in Arabic, English and German, he has gained reputation for his translations of Henri Michaux, René Char, Samuel Beckett and Jean Genet into Arabic.

This event is a collaboration with the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

RSVP required: Please call 310.573-3603 or write an email to infola@villa-aurora.org

Admission: Free

Street parking is available on Los Liones Drive. Shuttle service begins at 13 pm and will start from Los Liones Drive, off Sunset Boulevard two blocks North-East of Pacific Coast Highway.

Please do not park on the Topanga State Park Lot!

On September 12, recently selected Villa Aurora fellow Volker Harry Altwasser will be featured at Kulturbrauerei in their series „Literarische Freiheit“ (literary freedom) He will read from his hot-off-the press novel „Ich, dann eine Weile nichts. ein Theaterroman.“ (Me and nothing else for a while. a theater novel. Published by Matthes & Seitz Berlin)

Volker Harry Altwasser, was born in 1969 in Greifswald. He trained to be an electrician and worked as a stoker with the East German railroad, a sailor in the National People’s Army and a private on the frigate „Bremen“ where he failed to be promoted to Private First Class, due to the fact that he „missed“ his ship in Las Palmas.

From 1998 to 2002 he studied at the German Literary Institute of the University of Leipzig. He published several books among them being his debut novel „Wie ich vom Ausschneiden loskam“ (How I Kicked the Habit of Clipping), 2003 . Other titles include „Letzte Haut“ (Last Skin) (2009) , „Letztes Schweigen“ (Last Hush) (2010) und „Letzte Fischer“ (Last Fisherman) (2011), which made the long list for the German Book Award. In 2001, Altwasser won the Italo Svevo Award.

„Ich dann eine Weile nichts. ein Theaterroman.“ Failure a Triumph – A German Hamlet

The novel is the literary awakening of Bogislaw (1580- 1637), the last duke of Pomerania. Altwasser gives that tragic character from a glorious dynasty his own voice. In front of a thoroughly reconstructed backdrop, he creates the psycho gram of a failing man and, with surprising hints to Shakespeare and Schiller, he traces a breathtaking arc. The „grand story teller, fisherman of men“ (so Thomas Hürlimann) courageously stages an audacious theater play, imbedded in a litany of desperation and reflection on ruling and the power of weakness. Bogislaw, who wanted it all, ends up losing even himself.

With this novel, Altwasser sets foot onto new literary territory, the borders of which stretch from Schiller to Artaud.The series „Literarische Freiheit“ is organized be Johan de Blank und Michael J. Stephan in collaboration with Kulturbrauerei.

Location: SODA Salon at Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstr. 97, 10435 Berlin

A Temporary Art Project at the Residence of the Ambassador of the United States of America to Germany, Philip D. Murphy and Tammy S. Murphy

Robert Bechtle / Tom Blackwell / Chuck Close / Robert Cottingham / Don Eddy / Richard Estes / Audrey Flack / Ralph Goings / Sabine Hornig / Christian Keinstar / Ron Kleemann / Richard Mclean / James Rosenquist / Jon Salt / Ben Schonzeit / Tilo Schulz

This art project is a collaboration of the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy in Berlin, the Deutsche Guggenheim and the Villa Aurora Forum Berlin. Both cultural institutions are based in Berlin and have a strong focus on transatlantic exchange for many years now.

The participating artists on the one side are former artist’s fellows of the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles and on the other side have exhibited at the Deutsche Guggenheim, some of them with commissioned works for the exhibition space in Berlin, respectively in the exhibition “Picturing America”.

At the heart of BEYOND THE FRAME lies the quest to transcend the horizon and open new perspectives. Grappling with venues, colors, moods and patterns on either side of the Atlantic alleged well-known facts rise from their set frame and allow the genesis of new ones.

We would like to thank all artists, galleries and private lenders.

PRIVATE RECEPTION

1886 is a historical screenplay based on the autobiography of Albert Parsons retelling the Haymarket bombing in Chicago in May, 1886. The story centers around a group of labor activists – among them a young carpenter and a newspaper publisher from Germany - who fought for the eight-hour work day and the end of child labor.

The fight for equality and justice make this story accessible and very timely. It captures the current worldwide zeitgeist of the disparity between the haves and the have-nots.

2012 marks the 125th anniversary of the executions of those Chicago Anarchists.

Director Noam Gonick, Screenwriter Thuc Nguyen and Villa Aurora present a Table Read with passages from the screenplay.

Refreshments shall be provided

Seating is limited!

rsvp to 1186VillaAurora@gmail.com

germany à la carte

with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra at Villa Aurora.

Join us at this “true castle by the sea” (so proclaimed Thomas Mann, German novelist and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate) with breathtaking views and an equally stunning performance featuring LACO concertmaster Margaret Batjer, celebrating her 15^th anniversary with the Orchestra.

LACO à la carte - virtuosic musical performances in intimate international settings - are generously sponsored by Ann Moore Mulally, Mahnaz & David Newman, Ned & Dana Newman and Gene Shutler

Reservations are limited. Please call 213 622 7001

Celebrating Marta Feuchtwanger – An extraordinary woman

A collaboration of Villa Aurora, USC Libraries and USC-Max-Kade-Institute for Austrian, German, Swiss Studies

Please join us in celebrating and commemorating Marta Feuchtwanger on the anniversary of her death 25 years ago.

Word of welcome: Dr. Bernd Fischer, Consul General of Germany in Los Angeles

Marta’s Legacy
Marje Schuetze-Coburn, Senior Associate Dean of the USC Libraries & Feuchtwanger Librarian

Remembering Marta
Zeitzeugen share their memories of Marta Feuchtwanger. Moderated by Professor Paul Lerner of the USC history department.

Actress Nina Franoszek will read from Marta’s manuskripts.

The event will conclude with a reception in Villa Aurora’s Patio accompanied by a slide-show of memorable moments of Marta’s life.

RSVP required: Please call 310.573-3603 or write an email to infola@villa-aurora.org

Admission: General $ 10. Free for Members and for friends of the USC Libraries

Street parking is available on Los Liones Drive. Shuttle service begins at 6:30 pm and will start from Los Liones Drive, off Sunset Boulevard two blocks North-East of Pacific Coast Highway.

Please do not park on the Topanga State Park Lot!

Author and Villa Aurora Fellow Daniela Dröscher will read from her latest novel, POLA. She describes the exciting life of Pola Negri, one of the most dazzling figures of silent film in Hollywood and Berlin.

In the second half of the evening, she will be joined by the Berlin band Frantic Ground.

The event is organized by Johan de Blank and Michael J. Stephan as part of the “Literarische Freiheit” series.

Venue: SODA Salon, Kulturbrauerei Berlin, Knaackstraße 97, Berlin.

Concert featuring DANIEL SERAFIN & JASNA POPOVIC. Followed by Reception for the Artists.

Daniel Serafin was born in Vienna to a German father and Austrian mother.He is a graduate of the Vienna Conservatory, and continued his vocal studies in Salzburg, Paris and at Juilliard. Serafin has been praised as a young artist of outstanding promise, both at home in the classics and modern works.His repertoire spans from Puccini to Mozart and Benjamin Britten, but he feels equally comfortable in an Offenbach Operetta or singing Tango music.

He enthusiastically studies and performs the music of composers who fell victim to the Nazi era. His song recital “Persecuted Composers, Persecuted Music” features works by Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, Berg, Zeisl, Schoenberg and Mahler. After initial concerts at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York and at Villa Aurora, Los Angeles, Mr Serafin will perform this program in Boston, Miami and Tel Aviv.

For more information: www.DanielSerafin.com

Jasna Popovic was born in Belgrade, Serbia, where she received her first piano lesson at age six, and later attended the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich, Germany. The recipient of numerous awards, she has performed at festivals throughout Europe, most notably in Germany, Austria and Italy. An avid promoter of Serbian composers, Popovic is the co-founder of a new organization for artists interested in international exchange of culture. In additition to her own career as a soloist, she is a sought-after accompanist for singers and enjoys participating in chamber music ensembles. Jasna Popovic resides in New York City.

Presented by the Austrian-American Council West, the Austrian Consulate General and Villa Aurora

Villa Aurora. 520 Paseo Paseo Miramar

Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

Tickets are:

$10 (Friends of Villa Aurora)

$20 (General)

11. November, 15:00 Uhr

On November 14 starting at 8:00 p.m., Villa Aurora Night will take place at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. Works of the artists, who stayed at Villa Aurora in Los Angeles in 2011 and 2012 will be presented via video documention along with those, who will be travelling to Pacific Palisades in 2013. The evening will be featuring Michael Maierhof at the grand piano as well as Dietrich Brüggemann. They and DJane Christine Lang will give the event a transatlantic spirit.

Like no other venue Tempelhof Airport represents the historically unique relationship between Germany and the United States. From June of 1948 to May of 1949, during the blockade of West Berlin, American planes supplied West Berlin with food and other vital items, at times in 90-second intervals.

The event will take place in hall „Ankunft Europa" (Arrival Europe)

Since 1995 Villa Aurora has engaged in a transatlantic dialogue, enabling up to 16 artists yearly to live and work as fellows in Los Angeles. The program is supported by the Foreign Office and the Federal Commission for Culture and Media. In addition Villa Aurora Forum Berlin organizes lectures, concerts, exhibitions and film screenings to present the works of the fellows in Germany.

PROGRAM:

7:30 p.m.: Doors open
8:00 p.m.: Program begins

Opening Remarks
Philip D. Murphy (American Ambassador to Berlin)
Dr. Ingeborg Berggreen-Merkel (Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media)
Dr. Michael Naumann (former Secretary of State for Culture and Media)

Stunt-Flying
Michael Maierhof, splitting 36.4  for piano, sonic motors, vibrating systems and tape (Premiere)
Dietrich Brüggemann, silent film une partie d'auto plus live accompaniment
Video-Documentation of works by fellows 2011 to 1013
DJ Christine Lang

Venue:
Hall „Ankunft Europa" (Arrival Europe) at the Tempelhof Airport in Berlin)

Enter through main entrance: Tempelhofer Damm.
Paid parking available.

More than 400 guests from the cultural world, politics and business celebrated Villa Aurora Night on November 14th at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin.

Right out front the party the legendary „Rosinenbomber“ (Candy Bomber) reminded the attendees of the close relationship between the Unites States and Germany, alive and well at Villa Aurora through its cultural and artistic fellowship program.

U.S. ambassador Philip D. Murphy paid tribute to the work done by Villa Aurora: “In my opinion, artists are in unique positions to help people to listen and learn and share. And so, I would like to thank the Villa Aurora Forum and its supporters for the opportunities it provides to young German artists to do just that. (…) Thank you for the contributions you have already made to the German-American partnership. I am sure the best is yet to come.” (Read more)

Dr. Ingeborg Berggreen-Merkel, representing the Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media gave a special mention to the film fellows, whose films have been attracting international attention.

Former Secretary for Culture and founding member of Villa Aurora, Dr. Michael Naumann, traced the arc from the opening of the artists’ residence to today, and reminded the guests of Feuchtwanger and other exiled writers, who found a new home in the USA.

Around 50 fellows, spanning from 2011 to 2013, were represented with a selection of their work in a video documentation. Filmmaker Dietrich Brüggemann, whose film „3 Zimmer, Küche, Bad“ premiered in German movie theaters in October accompanied the silent slapstick „Une partie d’auto“ on the piano. Hamburg-based composer Michael Maierhof premiered his work splitting 36.4 for grand piano, sonic motor, vibrating systems and additional sounds, not playing the keys, but the strings inside the body of the instrument.

DJ Christine Lang managed the rest of the night spinning dance music.

Once again Airport Tempelhof, home for Villa Aurora Night 2012, proved to be another mile stone for ongoing and active transatlantic relations.

Since August of 2012, on the 15th of every month, FELLOWS & Friends of Villa Aurora have met at the Dresden in Kreuzberg.

It offers a forum for former fellows to share their thoughts, ideas and impressions on life in the Villa and Los Angeles with the ones, about to travel to L.A. It has also been an opportunity to have people from the cultural scenes of Los Angeles and Berlin meet the fellows. The Dresden resembles a bar of the same name in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, known to be one of Charles Bukowski favorite haunts.

At the last meeting on December 15, we showed a video documentation of works by the 2011 to 2013 group of fellows, as well as photos of Villa Aurora night at Tempelhof Airport. In addition we were able to welcome guests of many L.A. based cultural institutions, who happened to be in Berlin.

The Details, such as venue and time, of the next FELLOWS & Friends meeting will be posted on our website, on Facebook and Twitter.

We would like to thank all of the artists, friends, partnering organizations and supporters for a rich and eventful year.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Fellows and Friends meet up for the last time this year on Saturday, Villa December 15 at Dresden in Kreuzberg, Dresdener Straße 19. You are cordially invited to join us.

We will screen the video documentation of the 2011 through 2013 fellows, which some of you were unable to watch on the occasion of Villa Aurora Nacht at Tempelhof Airport. We'll revisit the things that happened and look into the future to the things to come in 2013.

Just drop in, or give us a call at 030 - 20 62 36 40 or e-mail at infoberlin@villa-aurora.org.