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John Kampfner giving a speech with microphone infront Goethe-Institut London

Goethe Annual Lecture

In the tradition of our previous series, the Brady Lecture, the Goethe Annual Lecture invites acclaimed speakers to share their perspectives on the themes that we explore through our cultural work, and on the most pressing issues that societies are facing in the United Kingdom, Germany and worldwide. 

A headshot of Eyal, a man with a beard and glasses David Ausserhofer / Robert Bosch Academy

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 Goethe Annual Lecture 2024

For the Goethe Annual Lecture 2024, we were proud to welcome Prof Eyal Weizman MBE as our guest speaker. He is a life fellow of the British Academy and in 2020 received an MBE for ‘services to architecture’. Weizman spoke about Forensic Architecture, the organisation he leads, which in 2010 grew out of the Centre for Architectural Research at Goldsmiths, University of London.

A pla takes place onstage. Actors sit inside a car while being filmed from outside the car. Gianmarco Bresadola

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 Goethe Annual Lecture 2023

For our 2023 edition, Katie Mitchell shared her experiences of working in Germany for 15 years, and how the German productions she directed changed her working practice and her view of British theatre.

A woman in a climbing frame © GuidoSchiefer

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 Goethe Annual Lecture 2022

To celebrate our 60th Anniversary, we hosted three Goethe Annual Lectures in 2022. Our speakers included Mercedes Bunz, Mithu Sanyal and Dr Matthew Herbert.  

Figurines in a museum © 2019 Alamy Ltd.

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 Goethe Annual Lecture 2021

For our 2021 edition, Professor Dan Hicks on the topic: Unrechtskontexte (Contexts of injustics): Dismantling colonial legacies from Berlin to London. 
 

Photo of Sharon Dodua Otoo © Sharon Dodua Otoo

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 Goethe Annual Lecture 2020

For our 2020 edition, Sharon Dodua Otto discussed the topic: Some kind of tomorrow: Honouring the visions of the Black Feminist creative authors. 
 

Previous speakers

Past speakers of our annual Lecture include John Kampfner (2019), Brendan Simms (2018), Anne McElvoy (2017), Neil MacGregor (2016), Christopher Clark (2014), David Chipperfield (2012), Norman Rosenthal (2010), Tacita Dean (2006), Peter Jonas (2005), Ian Kershaw (2003), Richard Wentworth (2002) and AS Byatt (2001).

You can view recordings of previous lectures by following the link here.
 

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