Arthur Jafa's 'N****s in Omelas' Premieres as Julia Stoschek Foundation Berlin Closes
The European premiere of Arthur Jafa's new film "N****s in Omelas" took place on Thursday evening at the Julia Stoschek Foundation (JSF) in Berlin, marking the final program at the venue's Leipziger Straße location. After ten years, collector Julia Stoschek is closing her Berlin branch to focus on her main space in Düsseldorf and international projects. The film, which includes a TikTok clip of US streamer Lagonraj, continues Jafa's practice of montaging found footage to explore Black experience and the legacy of slavery. The evening encapsulated the foundation's polarizing role: known for professionally presented time-based media art, yet also criticized as a symbol of a capitalist-driven art bubble and for the Stoschek family's Nazi-era business dealings. The event drew a hip, international crowd, and the film's harrowing ending—drone footage of Gaza with Gene Wilder's "Pure Imagination"—left viewers grappling with the war in the Middle East. Jafa, 66, is a key figure in digital-era Black Arte Povera, and his 2018 German solo show at JSF marked his rise to global stardom.
Key facts
- The European premiere of Arthur Jafa's 'N****s in Omelas' was held on Thursday evening at the Julia Stoschek Foundation in Berlin.
- The event was the last program at the foundation's Berlin location on Leipziger Straße.
- After ten years, Julia Stoschek is closing the Berlin space to focus on her Düsseldorf main house and international projects.
- The film includes a TikTok clip of US streamer Lagonraj discussing the world drowning in noise.
- Jafa's work montages found footage, including home videos, Hollywood scenes, a Michael Jackson concert, and Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech.
- The film ends with drone footage of a destroyed residential area in Gaza, accompanied by Gene Wilder's 'Pure Imagination'.
- The foundation has faced debates over the Stoschek family's Nazi-era business profits, with satirist Jan Böhmermann and artist Leon Kahane addressing the issue.
- Jafa's first German solo exhibition, 'A series of utterly improbable yet extraordinary renditions', was held at JSF in 2018.
Entities
Artists
- Arthur Jafa
- Hito Steyerl
- Lagonraj
- Michael Jackson
- Martin Luther King
- Surya Bonaly
- Gene Wilder
- Jan Böhmermann
- Leon Kahane
- Moshtari Hilal
- Sinthujan Varatharajah
- Julia Stoschek
Institutions
- Julia Stoschek Foundation
- TikTok
- ZDF
- Art Basel
- Venice Biennale
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- Düsseldorf
- Leipziger Straße
- Gaza
- United States
- Rheinland