Artist Talk
POSTPONED - The Cheerful Art of Rebellion: Shaping the Berlin Underground

Culture talks @ Goethe

Thu, 04/20/2023
6:00 PM - 19:30 EST Goethe-Institut Toronto

Event postponed - please check back soon for updated dates



Danielle de Picciotto (Love Parade co-founder) and Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten)


Presented by the Goethe-Institut Toronto
with Wavelength

Free Registration
Two titans of the global underground music and art scene (and partners in life and art), Danielle de Picciotto and Alexander Hacke, sit together in an intimate fireside chat at the Goethe-Institut Toronto and – along their respective books “The Cheerful Art of Rebellion” and “Noise”–  chat about art, rebellion, collaboration and a brief history of the Berlin underground they co-founded and are still driving.

"With 'The Cheerful Art of Rebellion', Danielle de Picciotto has processed her early Berlin years from late 1980 to 1995 in a graphic novel. She succeeds wonderfully in interweaving her own story with the larger social, political and cultural events. Picciotto takes us to the coal cellars of Berlin Kreuzberg, to afterhours at the Kumpelnest 3000, and introduces us to her friends, the protagonists of the cheerful art of rebellion, Gudrun Gut, Käthe Kruse, Dr. Motte, Westbam and many more." -- Kaput Mag

de Picciotto is an American-born interdisciplinary artist who has been living in Berlin since 1987. She has performed and exhibited with Crime & The City Solution, The Space Cowboys and her husband Alexander Hacke. Danielle has released two books, writes for culture magazines and is known for her intricate spoken word performances. She plays violin, hurdy gurdy and autoharp, but has also always been part of the electronic music scene.

Alexander Hacke was born in Berlin Neukölln. He joined Einstürzende Neubauten in 1980 at the age of 14 (they are currently recording their next album), then toured with Italian pop icon Gianna Nannini, improvised with Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit for Japanese avantgarde-star Phew and produced records for the likes of Miranda Sex Garden, French anarchist songwriter Fred Alpi or Berlin post-punk characters Mutter. He was a protagonist in Fatih Akin’s film Crossing the Bridge – The Sound of Istanbul, contributed music for the director's award-winning feature Head On and wrote the score for Akin’s The Cut. Noise: Distorted Memories is the autobiography of an exceptional musician and contemporary witness of the Berlin underground music, art and film scene.