No More! White Money

No More! White Money is a performance about money, power and art. White Money flows from European funding institutions to the rest of the world. It dictates aesthetics, access and mobility for artists within and beyond Europe. Six artists from India, Nigeria, Russia, the Netherlands and Germany follow its flow and uncover the neo-colonial structure of contemporary arts funding. How do we sell ourselves, our ideas and adapt our aesthetics to the discourse decided by a random jury or by the latest director of an institution? How do we co-create from a place of acknowledging our unequal positions in the world and our complicity with white money? In No More! White Money we enter the playing field and seek to invent new rules of the game — that dismantle the flow of money, with you, the audience. It is time to say NO. The temperature on stage is dipping, the energy bills are rising, the algorithms are deepening divides and we have to redistribute our wealth now, before it's too late. Are you ready to say goodbye to (your) white money?

A production by Flinn Works and Afra Tafri Creations
In collaboration with Drama Queen, Tutùọlá Institute, Ada Mukhína

Created by Aderemi Adegbite, Anuja Ghosalkar, Konradin Kunze, Ada Mukhína, Sophia Stepf, Abhishek Thapar (Creation and Performance), Susana Alonso (Technical Direction Berlin), Esther Bernart (Technician Netherlands), Marit Buchmeier & Lisanne Grotz / xplus3 Produktionsbüro (Production Management Germany), Mathias Drücker (Energy Policy Consultant), Mara Noto (Public Relations Netherlands), Job Rietvelt (Creative Producer Netherlands), Shreyan Saraswat (Intern), Juliette Talakua (Production Management Netherlands), Maja Zagórska (Artistic Collaboration Berlin)

Funded by Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the program NEUSTART KULTUR. Supported by the Performing Arts Fund NL. With kind support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Co-production partners Sophiensæle Berlin, Grand Theatre Groningen, Nirdigantha, Oerol Festival, City Residency Arnhem

Events

Sophiensæle Berlin:
November 6, 2024, 7:00 pm (premiere)
November 7 & 8, 2024, each at 6:30 pm

Grand Theatre Groningen (NL):
November 10, 2024, 4:00 p.m.

Theater a/d Rijn, Arnhem (NL):
November 11 & 12, 2024

Frascati Amsterdam (NL):
November 15 & 16, 2024

Press

The central experiment with the audience works amazingly well: the people in the stands willingly hand over banknotes, which Abhishek Thapar then shreds in a blender. He then flattens and irons the pulp until a fresh sheet of paper is produced. And this recycled object is glued into a book accompanying the production. In the finale, they offer this book for sale at an auction. In the evening's lively circular economy, a total of 365 euros was raised. Respect [...]. The call issued at the beginning, "The art of letting go!", was truly taken seriously.

nachtkritik.de

The group Flinn Works has been working on the injustices of the globalised world since 2010, with clever evenings that are rich in perspective [...] Overall, "No More! White Money" is an evening that hurts in crucial moments in a fruitful (and often funny) way because it is true.

Berliner Morgenpost

The piece reveals itself to be a storytelling ritual, a way to share knowledge, raise awareness and redistribute wealth […] Given the current political climate in Germany, some artists are choosing not to work here [Berlin; ed. note]. This participatory exchange-as-performance begs the question: as other opportunities arise in Europe, is Berlin still worth the effort?

berlinartlink.com