William Kentridge in Conversation with Christiane Peitz

In 2016, an extensive showcase of the versatile work of the artist William Kentridge was presented in Berlin for the first time by the Berliner Festspiele: at Martin-Gropius-Bau (12 May to 21 August 2016) and at Haus der Berliner Festspiele as part of the festival Foreign Affairs (5 to 17 July 2016). Kentridge is not only a visual artist, but also a filmmaker, director and a great storyteller. For over three decades now his work has shifted between different artistic disciplines.

His thinking revolves around his visual work. This was the starting point for a major exhibition at Martin-Gropius-Bau curated by Wulf Herzogenrath entitled “NO IT IS!” with drawings ranging from the famous animated films of 2003 dedicated to Georges Méliès and Drawings for Projection (1989–2011) to the monumental filmic frieze More Sweetly Play the Dance (2015) and the installation The Refusal of Time, first seen at documenta in 2012. The 45-metre-wide film projection More Sweetly Play the Dance was not only displayed at Martin-Gropius-Bau, but also on the façade of Haus der Berliner Festspiele. More of the artist’s film installations could be seen inside the Festspielhaus, and he performed his transdisciplinary...