In July 2025, Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) is organising various events and festivals in the fields of music, dance, architecture and literature, some of which will last several days. The Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Bass Cultures, the award ceremony for the International Literature Prize and the new Pavilion 2025 will take centre stage.
Image above: The Congos – Foto: Franc
Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Bass Cultures
Concerts, DJs, lectures | Until 2 August 2025
The Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Bass Cultures brings together a multifaceted programme of concerts, DJ sets, lectures and screenings in July and August. It sees itself as a meeting place for voices, rhythms and stories that make global dialogue tangible through sound.
Live Performances:
- Fri, 4 July: Manou Gallo, The Congos, Sammy Dread
- Sat, 5 July: Mohini Dey, Ana Tijoux, Sarah Farina
- Fri, 11 July: Perera Elsewhere, Kumbia Boruka, Selektor Bony & Calamidades Lola
- Sat, 12 July: Ti Moris, Mokoomba, Shiru
- Fri, 18 July: Novalima, The Dhol Foundation, Harry Kalsi
- Sat, 2 August: Jowee Omicil, Boukman Eksperyans (part of Bwa Kayiman)
Each festival day also features screenings of Sound System Sanskriti by Roy Dipankar and Dakta Dub, a documentary about the reggae scene in Hyderabad. Additional highlights include the lecture Archiving the Afrosonic by Safia Siad (5 July) and the lecture performance Rebuilding Archives: A Mixtape Methodology by Onkar Singh Kular (12 July).
Internationaler Literaturpreis 2025
Award Ceremony | Thu, 17 July, 7:00 PM
The winners of the 2025 International Literature Award will be announced during a festive ceremony at HKW on 17 July. The evening opens with a welcome address by HKW’s artistic director and chief curator, Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, followed by a keynote by acclaimed author Geetanjali Shree. Members of this year’s jury will then present the award-winning author(s) and translator(s), including a laudatory speech. The evening concludes with a conversation about the awarded book and its translation. Childcare will be available starting at 5:00 PM.
Reading Groups on the Shortlist:
- Mon, 7 July, 6:00 PM – Sankofa
- Tue, 8 July, 8:00 PM – Autobiography of Death
- Mon, 14 July, 6:30 PM – Obedience Practice
Shaped to the Measure of the People’s Songs: Ileum
Pavilion 2025 | Opening: Sat, 12 July, 3:00 PM
Inaugurated in 2023, HKW’s annual Pavilion Project continues in 2025 with Shaped to the Measure of the People’s Songs: Ileum. Each summer, a temporary pavilion is erected in front of the HKW building, offering spatial and material reflections on communal life. This year’s edition is a site-specific intervention by Mae-Ling Lokko and Gustavo Crembil, presented as part of the program heimaten. The project explores themes of coexistence, memory, and responsibility.
The pavilion Ileum will be officially opened on 12 July with contributions by Mae-Ling Lokko, Gustavo Crembil, Daniel Quist, and Marvin Brooks.
WHEN?
Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Bass Cultures: 4 July – 2 August 2025
International Literature Award Ceremony: 17 July 2025, 7:00 PM
Pavilion Opening – Ileum: 12 July 2025, 3:00 PM
Reading Groups: 7, 8, and 14 July 2025
WHERE?
Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW)
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10
10557 Berlin
