Where Species meet : Inside Europe’s largest Animal Shelter

How to take a selfie with non-human allies?

In the «city of animals» on the outskirts of Berlin live not only dogs, cats and birds. But also pigs, chicken, reptiles and turtles. Humans care for more than 1600 animals here. The new building comes from the school of architecture, from which also emerged the Federal Chancellery in the reunified Berlin. The circular pavilions for the various animal species are set in an idyllic landscape of ponds and large open spaces. Behind the wall, people visit their loved ones in the pet cemetery.

In 2005, this city of abandoned animals starred in the scifi film Æon Flux with Charlize Theron: Humanity has been wiped out by a virus and now the last survivors have saved themselves here in a perfect, yet oppressive civilization. Interesting foreshadowing…

In this place where architectures of power and fantasies of a dystopian future overlap, while during the day the welfare of ownerless animals is at stake, GOLDEN RECORD STUDIOS invites to a special NIGHT AT THE ANIMAL SHELTER.
How can humans decide on adequate representations of non-human life on Earth’s collective selfie? 
How can we create future communities that leave the old familiar hierarchies behind?

Topics discussed:
• Death & the Order of Beings
• The Mimicry of Drones
• Communal Desires 
• The Futiliy of Sending anything at all

The Assembly voted for these ASPECTS on their RECORD:
# Don’t send!
# Setting limits
# More than human
# Pluriverse
# Naturalnesss

Experts & Stakeholders :

Annette Rost : Head of Communication at „Tierschutzverein Berlin“
Wenzel Mehnert : Science and Technology Studies, Critical Future Studies & Creative Worldbuilding
Chiara Garbellotto : Social Anthropology, Critical Museum Studies, Feminist Science & Technology Studies at «Centre for Anthropological Research on Museums and Heritage»
David Bloom : Choreography, Dance, Teaching; Somatic, Tantric, Communal Practices
Cedrik Fermont (C-Drík, Kirdec, Cdrk) : Composer, Musician, Author, global Researcher & Label Manager; Noise, electro acoustic Music
Daniel Falb : Poet & Philosopher. Research In Geophilosophy & Anthropocene Theory