With the exhibition project AN DIE FREUDE by Japanese photographer Mariko Tagashira in collaboration with the White Hands Chorus Nippon, WestLicht puts a focus on inclusion and celebrates the 200th anniversary of the premiere of Beethoven's 9th Symphony in Vienna.

Ludwig van Beethoven's An die Freude, the 4th movement of the symphony, is one of the most popular pieces in music history. With its plea for brotherhood, the musical adaptation of Friedrich Schiller's poem has not only become the anthem of the EU, but also enjoys great popularity in Japan, where it has attained the status of an inofficial national anthem.

To mark the anniversary of the first performance of Beethoven's Ninth – at a time when the composer was already almost deaf – the Japanese White Hands choir is traveling to Vienna to perform excerpts of the symphony in the UNO City and in Parliament as part of the Zero Project Conference 2024 for a world without barriers.

The White Hands Chorus Nippon is an inclusive choir in which children with and without physical disabilities sing together. Deaf members sing in sign language and with the help of their facial expressions. Photographer Mariko Tagashira has accompanied the choir for several years and has found a unique way to capture the children's gestures as poetic traces of light in her pictures using long-term exposures. Her works are shown at WestLicht in combination with sound installations and tactile images, creating a sensually diverse space that focuses attention on the choir's work as an example of practiced inclusion.

AN DIE FREUDE

WHITE HANDS CHORUS NIPPON & MARIKO TAGASHIRA
20.02.–17.03.2024

Opening hours:
TUE, WED, FRI: 2–7 PM
THU: 2–9 PM

SAT, SUN: 11 AM–7 PM