BLACKMARKET for Useful Knowledge and Non-Knowledge
It's a Bird! It's a Plane. It's Superman....
American Close-Ups in 440 Dialogues



Experts and clients during their talks, Photo: Thomas Aurin

The image we have of (U.S.) America is: too big. Too big are not only the countries' geographical dimensions, its plurality of inhabitants, their customs and institutions, but also the prejudice and the presumed, but often not verified knowledge of a country, which seems to be too close and too far away from us at the same time.
The Blackmarket will attempt to break up this oversized image into fragments, giving the visitors the possibility to recompose it by themselves. However, the idea of the Blackmarket is less to create a new image of America but more to enable a new consistency of the (already existing) knowledge about this country: little steps to a better understanding of a way of life that often has the tendency to represent itself blurred: mythical, nonverbal, egocentric.

The BLACKMARKET defines itself as an interdisciplinary research on learning and un-learning and installs a temporary show and production space, where narrative formats of knowledge transfer are tried out and presented. The installation imitates familiar places of knowledge transfer like archives or the reading-room of a library and combines these with communication situations, which are well-known from markets, the stock exchange, counselling or service interviews.
At the Blackmarket you can book an expert for a private dialogue for half an hour, or you observe and follow the discussions on the 6 channels of the BLACKRADIO. Each Blackmarket presents another topic.

Booking: Book an expert for half an hour at 3 Euros. You can choose among 400 knowledge offers at the two evenings. Nearly all talks can be booked in English and German

Check-In from 6.30: The Check-In already opens at 6.30pm and is opened ongoing. Each half hour you have the possibility to check in for the next round of expert talks.

Check-In counter, Photo: Thomas Aurin

BLACKRADIO: You can listen to selected dialogues between experts and clients via headphones on the BLACKRADIO. The Blackradio offers 6 channels (English/German).

Parallel to the Blackmarket:

KIOSK For Useful Knowledge
Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht in dialogue with Joseph Vogl
18th of November, 9.00 - 11.00pm, HAU 1

On the screens the dialogue partners Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht (at the left) and
Joseph Vogl, in the background the audience at Hebbel am Ufer, Photo: Thomas Aurin