Graffiti, Hip Hop and B-Boying to Mark 25th Anniversary of the Fall of Berlin Wall

DJ Uri. Photo: Joel Sames

The Berlin Wall which divided East and West Germany until 1989 has been the subject of discussion for everyone from Bruce Springsteen to US President John F. Kennedy. Twenty five years since it was torn down, the Berlin Wall still holds a special place for Germans, especially artists. Berlin-based graffiti artist Akim Walta, who is part of the Indo-German Project to promote urban arts between the two countries, recalls, “The Berlin Wall was like a giant canvas for the first generation of graffiti and street artists in Germany.”

Walta, who has been visiting India regularly to be a part of public art initiatives such as the Wall Project in India, is also the man behind the Indo-German Hip-Hop Project. To commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Walta joins hip hop DJ Uri Solanki, breakdance group the Roc Fresh Crew and Indian graffiti artists such as Ranjit Dahiya, Prathmesh Gurav, Ravi Naidu and Kajal Singh to host a hip hop event in Mumbai on October 6^th at the German Consulate’s new office at Hoechst House. Says organizer Kenneth Lobo, from urban arts and culture exchange firm, Sound Curry, “Hoechst House is a very cool venue because it’s an empty floor right now, which is more or less like a warehouse club in Berlin.”

The event includes graffiti artists recreating replicas of Berlin Wall art as well as a workshop and performance by DJ Uri, Roc Fresh Crew and Walta. Uri will conduct a DJ workshop for 30 students from the Deutsche School of Bombay. Uri, who runs the DJ course at Mumbai’s True School of Music, says he’s also excited for one of his students, 13-year-old Sebastian Radimer, to play an hour-long set. Says Uri, “He spent three months on the course and went from saying ”˜I like Avicii’ to ”˜I like drum and bass’.” Uri’s own set will focus on hip-hop that the Roc Fresh Crew will dance to. Says Uri, “It’s more about playing apt music for the occasion. The whole connection with music and freedom is what the fall of the Berlin Wall stood for. We want to recreate that in Mumbai.”

The German Consulate Mumbai hosts Fall of the Berlin Wall on October 6^th, 2014 at Hoechst House, 9th Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai, from 5-7pm. Entry: The event will have 30 registration spots open to the public. However, entry is by RSVP only – Call 98197-03271 or email PA@mumb.diplo.de to register.