global dis:connect Käte Hamburger Research Centre global dis:connect at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Yolanda Gutiérrez concept of decolonizing the colonial historical sites by bringing body, history, memory and sound arise an awareness of looking at the past through a more organically way, by walking, by witnessing the dance interventions, while listening to the audio-tracks related to this part of history, suddenly, even It’s an immersive type of walk, kind of isolate, because of the headphones, the connection to the city and society around becomes part of the experience and the feeling of togetherness follows.
In this seventh project Yolanda Gutiérrez wanted to add the quotes of Diana Taylor from her book "Archive and the repertoire performing cultural memory in the Americas" to have a sight related to the colonialism in Las Americas.

Diana Taylor is a Mexican-born, distinguished university professor of Performance Studies and Spanish at New York University. Which you will hear from the voice of Zainab X. The main narrators voice of this project is William Holley. And the audio artist is Cornelia Böhm. Voices of the participant dancers are also included: David Valencia and Jana Baldovino.

In 2001, the Australian government published the “Lost Innocents” report about the British child migration schemes to Australia. Recognising the long-term effects of the schemes on those involved, the report stated: “Loss of identity, a sense of belonging and the loneliness of being far from home affected all child migrants.” Between 1869 and 1970, 150,000 children were sent to the British settler colonies – mostly to Canada and Australia – by charitable welfare organisations.

This episode, written by historian Kevin Ostoyich, explores one woman’s struggle with the question of whether a Holocaust survivor can live a fabulous life. As Jackie Beer danced on stages around the world, she did not want people the know she was a Holocaust survivor.

This episode delves into the history of ship’s ballast, extra weight which ships carried whenever they travelled without cargo. Today, ballast had become a metaphor, but until the early 20th century, ballast was a very concrete and crucial resource, millions of tonnes of sand and stones which ships transported around the world. When stowed in their hold, this ballast stabilized ships and was an essential component of global mobility at sea.

This episode explores the intricate relationship between architecture, ecology, and the changing nature of dwelling in the Indian Himalayas. Based on research conducted by Dr Siddharth Pandey, it first draws listeners’ attention to the common representation of a mountainous scenery in Indian culture, emphasizing its significance in conveying the concept of ecology. The physicality of the mountains, ranging from 400 to 4000 meters above sea level, has played a crucial role in shaping the materiality of human-made dwellings.

This episode explores how Central Asia's desolate Taklamakan Desert became a focal point in imperial theories of climate stability during the late 19th century. Imperial explorers, including Aurel Stein and Sven Hedin, sought out the region's “lost cities,” uncovering a complex interplay of environmental change, geopolitical intrigue, and multicultural narratives.