The Gropius Bau presents I’M NOT HERE FORRRRRR…, the largest solo exhibition to date by internationally renowned artist and choreographer Ligia Lewis. Lewis has been living and working in Berlin since 2013 and has developed a unique choreographic practice that combines performance, live installation and film. Her works are understood as a movement of ideas through bodies — meticulously designed, staged and at the same time as a political act against racist systems of representation and the erasure of Black voices. The exhibition presents new and existing works that can be seen on the ground floor and in the impressive atrium of the Gropius Bau.
The focus is on the new work Wayward Chant, conceived especially for the Lichthof, which will develop dynamically over the course of the exhibition and culminate in two full-length performances on 28 and 29 November. In her interdisciplinary works, Ligia Lewis deals intensively with themes such as race, gender, violence and resistance and examines how these social dynamics continue to shape our present. With her comprehensive artistic practice, Lewis is one of the most important protagonists of a reorientation of performance in the context of the visual arts and is the Berliner Festspiele’s Artist in Focus in 2025. Nora-Swantje Almes and Alexandra Philippovskaya are responsible for the curatorial supervision.