Every Artist Must Take Sides – Resonances from Eslanda and Paul Robeson

African-American singer and actor Paul Robeson (1898–1976) was a global star and an outstanding figure in the civil rights movement of the 20th century. Together with his wife, author and anthropologist Eslanda Cardozo Goode Robeson (1895–1965), he fought tirelessly against racism, fascism and oppression. The exhibition and festival project ‘Every Artist Must Take Sides – Resonances of Eslanda and Paul Robeson’ provides insights into the couple's political and artistic work and links it to pressing issues of the present day.

Exhibition

The exhibition, which will be on display at the Academy of Arts from 14 November 2025 to 25 January 2026, presents materials from the Academy's Paul Robeson Archive and, in dialogue with these, works by 13 contemporary artists. These explore questions of solidarity, collective freedom and mutual responsibility in sound and spatial installations, video works, sculptures, collages and photographs.

The Paul Robeson Archive was founded 60 years ago at the former German Academy of Arts in Berlin in the GDR. The extensive collection provides an insight into the life and work of Paul and Eslanda Robeson. The political and artistic work of these two exceptional personalities was an expression of uncompromising resistance to all forms of oppression.

The couple linked the anti-racist struggle in the USA with anti-colonial movements in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, international workers' struggles in the spirit of socialist internationalism, and anti-fascist freedom struggles in Europe – such as in the Spanish Civil War. The title of the exhibition refers to the latter: a quote from Paul Robeson's speech at the Royal Albert Hall in 1937 in solidarity with the International Brigades, in which he called for a clear stance against fascism.

The exhibition invites visitors to engage in self-reflection in politically challenging times: What does it mean to take a stand as an artist, as a citizen, as a human being? What might plural alliances look like?

The artistic works focus on updating the Robeson's practices of resistance and relationality, the role of voice, sound and body, and questioning geopolitical constellations between anti-colonial liberation movements and the Cold War. The ideas of international solidarity and universal humanity negotiated therein form the thematic resonance space in which contemporary artistic works connect with the archival materials.

The exhibition features works by James Gregory Atkinson, Leila Bencharnia, Sonya Clark, Andrii Dostliev & Lia Dostlieva, Ângela Ferreira, Masimba Hwati, patricia kaersenhout, Ariel Orah, Kirsten Reese, Matana Roberts, Dread Scott, and Katharina Warda.

Festival

On 23 and 24 January 2026, a festival will take place to mark the end of the exhibition, featuring discussions, lectures, musical and literary performances, and a choir concert.

The festival will present contributions from Heiner Goebbels, Robert Machiri, Neo Muyanga, Shana L. Redmond, and others.