Goethe Institute Launches 'Echoes of the South Atlantic' Conference in Salvador

The Goethe Institute is launching the 'Echoes of the South Atlantic' conference in Salvador, Brazil, starting April 2018. This event continues the institute's cultural investment following its 2015-2017 'Episodes of the South' project, which focused on decolonizing thought through debates, research, and artistic productions. Over 50 artists, academics, and intellectuals from around the world will gather to discuss the future of transatlantic relations between Europe, Africa, and South America. Participants include Lilia Moritz Schwarcz, a professor from the University of São Paulo and Princeton global fellow; Bonaventure Ndikung, founder of SAVVY Contemporary Berlin; Elisa Larkin Nascimento, director of IPEAFRO; Robert Fitzgerald Reid-Pharr, a professor from New York University; and artist Ana Hupe, who will present an exhibition. The conference aims to address historical colonial relationships, migration, and new historiographies from multidisciplinary perspectives. Katharina Von Ruckteschell, director of the Goethe Institute São Paulo, emphasizes the event as a starting point for future collaborations. The initiative is planned to last three years.