TRANSINDIGENOUS ASSEMBLY
Filmscreening, Podium Discussions, Healing Sessions
The programme is organised and curated by the united forces of Feminist Translocalities, Berlin, and Avtonomi Akadimia, Athens
Transindigenous Assembly presents an occasion for us to imagine life in collectivity, responsible for our own governance and in a dignified and balanced relationship with what is left of the “environment”. We will be encouraged to imagine forms of human life beyond the large-scale, vicious collider of epigenetic mass wounds. Across several days, we will share in life as an ongoing transformative educational process. We will practice caring for ourselves inside of the fluid collectivity that we will create: not self- but selves-care.
Transindigenous Assembly is an unfolding that sets out from a film by indigenous Mari artist Joulia Strauss, in which queer aboriginal and indigenous people answer to the environmental catastrophe with artistic inventions for the “good life”. Excerpts from the film will accompany the gatherings and podium discussions.
13.7.
ab 16:00 Uhr​​​​​​
16.7.
ab 19:00 Uhr
Im Oranienhof des Aufbau Haus
Eingang über die Oranienstraße
July 13 ab 16:00Uhr
July 16 ab 19:00Uhr
July 13
podium discussion, film screening, book presentation
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16:00
Anarchism of those who never had a nation state: perspectives from Kurdistan and the Republic of Sakha
podium discussion
with Aikhal Ammosov and Ufuk Aydin, moderated by Vica Kravtsova
Nation state, an idea born in XIX century Europe, has by now become the universal form of societal organisation. Having an independent state is thus the key demand articulated in the process of decolonization that started in the previous century and continues nowadays. Not all self-determined nations have by now acquired a state of their own and many continue to strive towards one.
However, state as such and especially nation state is a subject to criticism of many political movements. The most radical approach is offered by anarchism - a political ideology that questions the state as such. It offers communal and participatory mechanisms of decision-making instead of the idea of “delegation of power” to the state structures.
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The most visible anarchist thinkers and activists are from the west, be that Peter Kropotkin or David Graeber. However, as such works as “Black Anarchism” and “Indigenous Anarchism” demonstrate, anarchist views are shared by activists with other histories and identities.
What does anarchism mean for those who never had a nation state of their own and faced repression from the state formations that they lived in? We will discuss this with political activists from Kurdistan and the Republic of Sakha.
Aikhal Ammosov comes from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), located on the territory of the Russian Federation. Sakha by nationality, Aikhal is a decolonial and anti-war activist. He has been involved in politics for over ten years. For the last eight months Aikhal has been in Germany, where he has received political asylum. He served two prison terms and is on the International Wanted List for advocating for the independence of his homeland, criticizing the regime of Vladimir Putin and speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine.
Ufuk Aydin is an activist and organizer from Amed, Kurdistan. Involved in the Kurdish resistance since high school, while studying at university he was arrested by Turkish security forces and imprisoned. Released after 9 years, Ufuk stayed in Turkey and volunteered with civil society organizations. The pressure from the Turkish state continued, so he decided to apply for asylum in Germany and is currently residing in Berlin, where he continues political work.
Vica Kravtsova is a cultural worker and activist from Smolensk, Russia. They live and work in Berlin, where they started Feminist Translocalities - a platform that connects and supports indigenous, antiracist, queer feminist and disabled activists, artists and researchers.
During the program Ufuk Aydin and Aikhal Ammosov will also play music from Kurdistan and the Republic of Sakha they will pre-select for the event.
18:00
Screening of a selected episode from Joulia Strauss’ film Transindigenous Assembly, a documentary that follows queer Aboriginal and Indigenous artists and their inventions of the “good life”. Living on the receiving end of the Empire, they have invented lives worth living.
18:15
alright/wing?
book presentation, discussion, performance, and street action
with Raimar Stange, curator, Berlin, and Eleni Tsamadia, artist, Athens
alright/wing? is a leaflet project that addresses the current tide of right-wing extremism. The publication includes posters by international artists and activists, documentation of exhibitions in 14 international museums, as well as in the public spaces across Europe, and a discussion on images of violence in the hybrid war.
Raimar Stange, the curator of the project, will share his thoughts on the reasons of the rightwing populism and comment the posters, among others, by Ulf Aminde, Jeremy Day, Gabriele Regiert, Marina Naprushkina, Oliver Ressler, Christine Würmell, Andreas Koch, Anna Meyer, Andreas Karl Schulze, Andreas Schlaegel, Eleni Tsamadia, Silke Wagner, Bethan Huws, Jost Wischneski, Ulf Aminde, Stefanie von Schroeter, Thomas Kilpper, Dharmendra Prasad, Antigone Theodorou, Dan Perjovschi, Claus Föttinger, Elisabeth Sonneck, Matthias Sturm, Shila Khatami, Peter Niemann, Bhima Griem, Martin Schepers, Jonathan Monk, Carola Spadoni, Marie S. Ueltzen, Jeremiah Day, Deborah Ligorio, Oliver Ressler / Martin Krenn, Johannes Wohnseifer, Antonia Low, Ina Wudtke, Kasia Wojcik, Anna Ivchenko, Florine Schüschke, Ava Irandoost, Helen Dimos, Sophie Carapetian, Nikolaos Branidis, and last, but not least, Marc Müller.
The presentation and the discussion will be followed by a performance by the artist Eleni Tsamadia: Thoughts on the Aftermath of an Explosion, which draws on angelic imagery from Renaissance and Neoclassical art to explore the moment after a violent rupture. Through expressive movement, she evokes being blown away or lifted, transforming destruction into potential. The work challenges nuclear-era narratives and subtly resists the fear-based determinism of right-wing ideology, inviting reflection through vulnerability and the radical hope of change.
alright/wing?
Edited by: Raimar Stange & Joulia Strauss
Design: Anastasia Efstathiadi
Transcription editor: Helen Dimos
Produced by: Inter Alia as part of the Schools of Care project, with kainkollektiv and Fundacja Performat
Cover image: Dan Perjovschi
Raimar Stange (* 1960 in Hannover, lives and works in Berlin) is an independent curator and art publicist who writes for various art magazines including Monopol Magazine, Flash Art, Milan; Kunst-Bulletin, Zurich; Springerin, Vienna; Camera Austria, Graz, and taz – die tageszeitung, Berlin. His numerous catalogues and book publications include Women Artists (2001), 2050 – Nature Morte: Kunst zum Klimawandel (Berlin 2020) and Global National – Kunst zum Rechtspopulismus (Cologne 2019). Stange has curated numerous exhibitions, including at KINDL Zentrum für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Berlin (2021), L 40 | Kunstverein am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Berlin (2020); Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin (2019); and at Kunst Haus Wien (2015; 2016).
Eleni Tsamadia is a visual artist and researcher based in Athens/Greece. Her research and art concerns the depiction of the body in contemporary imagery and the mentality these images create. She received her BA and MA from ASFA and is now pursuing a Psychology BA at University Guillermo Marconi.
Joulia Strauss is an Indigenous Mari artist and "activist", based in Athens and Berlin. Her art has been displayed in solo and group exhibitions at the Pergamon Museum and the Martin-Gropius-Bau, at the Tate Modern, the Athens Biennale, the Kyiv Biennial, the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, and documenta14, among many others. She plays a reconstruction of an Ancient Greek lyre and sings healing songs in Ancient Greek, Mari, and many other languages. She is the founder and organiser of Avtonomi Akadimia, Athens
July 16
film screening, podium discussion, and healing session
19.00
Screening of a selected episode from Joulia Strauss’ film Transindigenous Assembly
a documentary follows queer Aboriginal and Indigenous artists and their inventions of the “good life”.
19.15
Discussion “Shamanism nowadays: indigenous knowledge, its appropriation and commercialisation”
With Kana, Sonia Costa, Tohodana Tadebya S, and others
Despite the predominance of institutionalised religion and secularisation of contemporary societies, shamanic practices have remained present in most parts of the world. Shamans preserve ancient spiritual traditions, knowledge of plants and healing practices. At the same time, the figure of shaman has become corrupted due to misuse of this name by those who want to make profit without actually belonging to any lineage or tradition. What does it mean to be a practicing shaman and a student inside of a shamanic tradition? How to counter stereotypes and live one's own truth in the Western-centric world, where when spirituality is perceived as something useless?
Kana – Artist & Advocate for Ancestral Wisdom
Kana is a Brazilian artist, Reiki Master, and student of Somatic Therapy and Ancestral Healing, currently based in Berlin. Co-founder of Aiye, a herbal medicine project, and Canto da Mata, a non-profit supporting Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian communities, her work centers on decolonizing spirituality, reconnecting with nature, and promoting collective healing through ancestral wisdom.
Sonia Costa – Visual Artist, Therapist, and Guardian of Ancestral Healing
Sonia Costa is a Bahian (from Bahia, Brazil) visual artist, bioenergetic analysis therapist, and founder and spiritual guardian of Terreiro Roça de Ogum de Ogum Onirê. Her work bridges art, spirituality, and healing, rooted in the wisdom of the terreiro.
Sonia facilitates study groups focused on the healing technologies of Afro-Brazilian spiritual practices. Through her therapeutic and artistic journey, she holds space for collective transformation and the remembrance of embodied, ancestral paths to healing.
Tohodana Tadebya S, he/she
Artist, researcher, activist of Nenets origin. For the last two years, she has been working on Nenets artifacts in ethnographic museums in Europe, communicating with spirits and ancestors. He runs the tg-channel, where, in the form of a diary, he reflects on the spiritual aspects of the life of the indigenous peoples of the North, shares practices and talks about Nenets culture.
20.30
Cosmoenergy: Frequencies, Fields & the Future of Holistic Medicine
With Anna Melnik
A presentation and session of Cosmoenergy practice by Anna Melnik - a healer and teacher of Cosmoenergy since 2009, writer, energy guide, and founder of the holistic and creative community Holista. Anna comes from the city to which Ekaterina II has expelled all alternative healers.
Cosmoenergy is a resonance-based energy method that uses specific frequencies to support balance, immunity, emotional resilience, and internal coherence. It does not replace conventional medicine — it enhances it, especially in areas such as emotional well-being, stress recovery, and immune support. It is based on resonance, frequency-based therapy, and a holistic vision of the human being. This method can be integrated into broader wellness systems — alongside mindfulness, bodywork, and preventive health.
Modern science is steadily confirming what ancient systems have intuitively known: the human being is not only biological, but also a vibrational and electromagnetic system, continuously interacting with external fields and frequencies. We are entering a new paradigm: the human being as field, not just form. Cosmoenergy offers a scientifically-grounded, holistic tool for personal realignment — one that is natural, non-invasive, and deeply human. This is not just therapy. It is a return to resonance.
Scientific Basis:
• Research in bioelectromagnetics (Robert O. Becker, Nobel nominee) has shown that electric fields play a critical role in cellular regeneration and overall function.
• The HeartMath Institute (USA) demonstrated that the human heart emits a measurable electromagnetic field that affects not only the individual’s brain function but also those around them.
• Studies from the E. Bagirov School of Cosmoenergetics (Russia) revealed that after just 3–5 sessions, 73% of participants reported significant improvements in sleep, energy levels, and emotional balance.
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