* Beginning at the KHM: What are the things you are most looking forward to and/or are excited about?

There are two kinds of things I’m really looking forward to: the serious and the not-so-serious, the playful and the messy. I feel that KHM is a safe space for both, which is awesome. It’s really hard to tell what kind of literature we will “need” in the future. I think its super important to be critical and aware of what our idea of writing is. Can we take all these small and independent publishers and presses for granted? Will the idea of selling books dominate the idea of reading them? Will AI “take over” the creative processes? These questions need to be taken seriously, but our answers need the space to be playful and maybe random or weird.

* What is your artistic/scientific background? What are your main starting points in being an artist and/or scientist?

My position at KHM is called “Literature and Media”. In this broad sense its a quite accurate description of what I’ve been dealing with in many ways over the last few years. My starting point in projects usually is a specific autofictional, performative writers perspective on the problems of “perceiving world and acting in it”. Conceptually my works are quite various and often site-specific, media-specific, so to speak.

In the very beginning I studied classical violin and was into contemporary (“new”) music and sound art. When I started to focus on literature, I discovered my interest in concepts of deskilling, performance and institutional critique. Throughout the years my focus has remained on questions of conditions of production, autonomy tools and subtle performative interventions both in print and on stage or radio.

* Which three words would you use to describe yourself or your topics?

“Are you game?”

(Shout-out to Lily!)

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The posts titled “welcome” present and welcome new staff members of exMedia.

More about Mara Genschel.
All images: Stills from “FUR SESSIONS” (2018)