beyond exile

Institutionalized racism on the one hand, denial and defense of exile on the other – how are these experiences processed artistically? And how do they flow into the oeuvre and consciousness of artistic work? 

As we enter the 30^th anniversary of democracy in South Africa, how can we bring sustainable change through the German concepts fo “künstlerisch-kultureller Austausch” (artistic-cultural exchange) and “Nachwuchsforderung” – the conscious policy and practice of transferring societal values, knowledge and skills to the next generation?

Jazz Against Apartheid began in Frankfurt in 1986 and has highlighted the role of cultural activism in the anti-apartheid struggle. The fight against apartheid was a shared fight with many different people and locations but with one objective: to end the terror of overall injustice caused by apartheid rule.  

After the inaugural Jazz Against Apartheid in Berlin 1986. Juergen Leinhos and his organisation Kultur im Ghetto continue the event building on the SA exiles and growing the movement to progressive European musicians. JAA is a great depository of cultural memory and a complete archive of 25 years of exile history.

Today apartheid is dead, but the struggle continues. Leinhos, recipient of the OR Tambo presidential award (2021) for his commitment to the anti-apartheid struggle said: “Overcoming apartheid does not stop once apartheid – being a name and definition of a political system – stops. Since isolating political voices and groups not only from the political process, but from education, health care, etc. have not stopped, JAA has a legitimate reason to exist.”

The role of cultural activism in exile peaked through the international co-operation around South African jazz music. South African bass player Johnny Dyani was one artist among others who was forced to leave the country and together with European contemporaries used this art of exile to fight for elementary freedoms.

Through sharing the vitality of this music, JAA promotes the existence of the forgotten exiles, and their exiled art, inciting honor and pride for what artists like Dyani fought for and achieved abroad in solidarity with those back home in South Africa who struggled to free themselves from apartheid.

JAA is a bridge between geography and history, impacting on the future generations of South Africans and back on German society, asking what developments are possible from (exile) history. 

“Beyond exile” brings much needed awareness to the valiant work of South Africa’s cultural exiles such as Johnny Dyani, Dudu Pukwana, Chris McGregor, Makaya Ntshoko, Pinise Saul, Claude Deppa, and photographer Jürgen Schadeberg.

Jazz Against Apartheid solidarity in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden (1986-2021)

After Dyani’s prophetic chants, “Think, it is good for you,” he dies at the inaugural Jazz Against Apartheid in Berlin 1986. Juergen Leinhos and his organistaion Kultur im Ghetto continue the event building on the SA exiles and growing the movement to progressive European musicians, but always built on the social consciousness of skills transfer and musical freedom. The JAA Archive if this era is a complete archive of 25 years of exile history.

JAA Homecoming and celebration 

Kultur im Ghetto in Frankfurt, Germany partnered with Sausage Films to bring the legacy of Dyani home to Buffalo City in 2022 for the first time. This concert was a first for South Africa, the Eastern Cape and Dyani’s home community of Duncan Village and raised the important questions – are the future generations ready to hear he musical heroes of their past and what and what knowledge and wisdom will exposure to these cultural roots bring forward?