Every Artist Must Take Sides – Resonances of Eslanda and Paul Robeson Opening

Eslanda Cardozo Goode Robeson (1895–1965) and Paul Robeson (1898–1976) were two exceptional figures of the 20th century. Their political and artistic work was an expression of a way of thinking that understood the world in relation, and of uncompromising resistance to all forms of oppression. The exhibition and festival project “Every Artist Must Take Sides – Resonances of Eslanda and Paul Robeson” by the Akademie der Künste is dedicated to their lived practice and its relevance for today. In dialogue with materials from the Paul Robeson Archive, twelve artistic positions–in sound and spatial installations, video works, sculptures, collages and photographs–negotiate questions of solidarity, collective freedom and mutual responsibility.

Exhibition: 14 Nov 2025 – 25 Jan 2026
Festival: 23 + 24 Jan 2026
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Berlin

Artists: James Gregory Atkinson, Leila Bencharnia, Sonya Clark, Andrii Dostliev & Lia Dostlieva, Ângela Ferreira, Masimba Hwati, patricia kaersenhout, Ariel Orah, Kirsten Reese, Matana Roberts, Dread Scott and Katharina Warda

“Every Artist Must Take Sides – Resonances of Eslanda and Paul Robeson” is a project by the Akademie der Künste in collaboration with the Centre for Humanities Research at the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, and the Haus für Poesie, Berlin.

Funded by the German                      Funded by the Federal Government
Federal Cultural Foundation             Commissioner for Culture
                                                             and the Media