While some of the top successors in music are female and their songs are topping charts worldwide, we should not be blinded by the glittery shine of a female music industry. As most of working areas, even the creative and cultural parts are men-dominated, with a dramatically small amount of female figures in high positions. True, there are A-List-women like Madonna, Beyoncé or Rihanna who contributed to music and pop culture like no male colleague ever did or could do, but the truth is that viral playlists, airplay and, mostly disturbing, festivals are represented highly my male artists. People in the industry started to focus on this fact and eventually the Keychange Foundation was created – an international initiative to ensure a 50:50 gender balance among festival acts by 2022. Hopefully a step which turns out to be a big move, being one forward for sure.
Queer art from South-Africa: FAKA (Photo by Nick WIdmer)
Still, big names are just a part of the music industry and talents of all genders can be found especially in precious creative scenes everywhere. To enhance the awareness and presence of not only female, but trans and non-binary artists, we are happy to introduce a freshly launched event happening this year – DICE Conference + Festival.
From November 1 to 3 several locations in Berlin Neukölln will become places for interdisciplinary conversations, panels, talks and concerts – including the Schmiede am Richardplatz, a historical blacksmith house, serving today as a counselling and community centre for female and trans members of the local community. Or the Böhmischer Kirchensaal, a Moravian church built in the early 1700s, and completely reconstructed due to bombings during WW2. The Arkaoda Berlin will serve as the main place for the musical acts. It is sister to the legendary club of the same name in the Kadiköy district of Istanbul. More venues will be announced soon! Alongside the main event a Youth Empowerment Programme will be organised in collaboration with leading local youth and community organisations like Schilleria, Ruby Tuesday, and Give Something Back to Berlin. Our future lays in the palms of our future generation – the time for building consciousness towards equality is now.
US-DJ Moor Mother (Copyright: Qu Junktions)
A bunch of acts have been also announced by now. We can be excited for electronic pioneer Lena Platonos from Greece. For DICE she will perform her very first show in Berlin! Genre-expanding South African queer collective FAKA, rap enchantress Ms. Boogie from New York, Turkish dark-pop duo Kim Ki O or Japanese multi-instrumentalist Kiki Hitomi have been also confirmed by now, just as US-American DJ Moor Mother and Trance-Pop artist AH-MER-AH-SU – with many more acts to come.
As of the event itself, the DICE members say:
‘As an organisation, we’re strengthened and inspired by the energy of people working in grassroots community organising in Berlin and beyond, and as such, our conference programme is devoted to foregrounding the work of these groups, and amplifying the conversations they have started, concerning the needs of the community and best practice for effecting change.’
Dark-pop from Turkey: Kim Ki O (Copyright: Kim Ki O)
NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION is thrilled to collaborate again with DICE to make our future music industry not only more female, trans and non-binary, but to spread the word about inclusiveness, equality and respect!
Stay tuned to get more details about DICE Conference + Festival or find more information on the newly launched website. Tickets for the conference only, festival only ore bundles are available here.