Ligia Lewis and Alexander Ghedi Weheliye

On the occasion of the fifth edition of Spätschicht, artist Ligia Lewis and theorist Alexander Ghedi Weheliye will discuss key themes in Lewis’ work and her exhibition I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR..., currently on view at Gropius Bau.

 

Alexander Ghedi Weheliye is a writer, professor and curator focusing on Black studies, critical theory, gender and sexuality studies, social technologies and popular culture. They are Malcolm S. Forbes Professor at Brown University and author of Feenin: R&B Music and the Materiality of BlackFem Voices and Technology (2023). Among Weheliye’s current projects is Zwischen Kontinenten/Between Continents, a critical memoir about their early life in East Germany and Somalia.

Ligia Lewis works as an artist, choreographer and director. Her films and performances engage with narratives of race, gender, violence and resistance. Her work suggests that history is carried within the body and continues to shape the present. With her expansive interdisciplinary practice, Lewis is a central figure in redefining performance within the context of the visual arts and is Artist in Focus of the Berliner Festspiele in 2025. She received the German Theater Award DER FAUST in 2023 and the Tabori Award in 2021.