Humble Reading and Performance by Brueder Selke (CEEYS), Brandon Kilbourne, Hussina Raja and Tecla; with music by Benjamin Jefferys 26.02.23 in Berlin, Lettrétage

Humble – self-aware, contrite, modest, poor, down-to-earth: Humble has many meanings but they all revolve around one central idea – it's the opposite of showy and ostentatious. Showy ostentation however might be the very core of today's culture – whether its influencers showing off their lifestyles, politicians showing off their nuclear arsenals, or industries paying extravagant bonuses while causing massive greenhouse emissions. Humble, it seems, is out of fashion.

This event aims to explore the idea of humble – but not necessarily the idea of humility. What does it mean to be, to think, or live in a humble way? Are individuals heroes and angels, or merely flesh and blood? Is humblegood or bad? And why shouldn't we show off?

Writers, musicians, dancers will perform both original and well-known pieces around this theme, with performances bleeding into one another creating a beautiful, flowing, deeply engaging, dream-like meditation of the theme.

Moderation: Gurmeet Singh

With additional music by Benjamin Jefferys.

Brueder Selke (CEEYS) are the Berlin-born, Potsdam-based brothers Sebastian and Daniel Selke, an award-winning cello-piano duo performing an impressive experimental but accessible minimalism between avant-garde and pop that incorporates elements of jazz, ambient and classical chamber music.

Brandon Kilbourne is a biologist and poet living in Berlin, Germany. When not writing poetry, he preoccupies himself with skeletons of various mammals. His poetry has previously appeared in Sky Island Journal, Naugatuck River Review, Catamaran Literary Reader, Sea to Sky Review, Panel Magazine, Tahoma Literary Review, and SLANT. His work has also been translated into Estonian and published in Sirp.

Hussina Raja is a multidisciplinary artist and performer based in London. She works with film, photography, installation, writing and performance.

Tecla (she/they) is an Italian queer writer based in Berlin. In her work, she explores identity, trauma, and tenderness.