“I’ve seen the wall”

“ I’ve Seen the Wall
Louis Armstrong on Tour in the GDR 1965
September 16, 2023 – February 4, 2024

DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam presents the exhibition "I’ve Seen the Wall" in the fall of 2023, focusing on the legendary concert tour that led Louis Armstrong through the GDR in 1965.

In the midst of the Cold War, the African American jazz musician performed in East Berlin, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Erfurt, and Schwerin. The tour was very tightly scheduled with 17 concerts in just nine days. The halls, with a capacity of no less than 2,000 to 3,000 seats, were quickly sold out—around 45,000 people experienced Louis Armstrong and his All Stars live in the GDR.

The exhibition at DAS MINSK takes this historic event as its starting point for an examination of the ambivalence of this official invitation against the backdrop of the civil rights movement in the United States and the Iron Curtain in Europe. Central questions in the exhibition are: What does it mean to tour the world, to visit oppressive systems and dictatorships in the name of freedom? What does it mean to repeatedly experience recognition and racism at the same time on the road and to return home to be confronted with racism all over again?

Armstrong’s performance in the GDR is a sign of freedom, even if only for the duration of the show. It is a sobering observation that has been true for centuries in regard to Black music. Experiencing the love and amazement of the public on the stage contradicts the difficulties that the musicians were, and continue to be, confronted with backstage. Can love and hate, worldwide success and oppression, recognition and racism coexist?…”

https://ive-seen-the-wall.podigee.io