Jay Afrisando and Simoné Goldschmidt-Lechner: Time Bent, Folded, Exhausted

21.06.2025 / 19:00 – 21:00
With Jay Afrisando

Two neurodivergent individuals, artist Jay Afrisando (music & sound fellow 2024-25) and writer Simoné Goldschmidt-Lechner, collaborate in a non-neurotypical way and imagine a world where neurodivergence is the norm, in which neurodivergence does not only artistically influence and shape what they make, but their art shapes their neurodivergence. Through the trials and tribulations of non-linear workflows, a text has emerged, which they will perform on 21 June 2025.

During the process of this project, their senses of time, ways of listening, attentions, coping mechanisms, and energy fluctuations become the creative source of the making, resulting in blurred boundaries between literature and sound performance.

This performance will showcase how the experience of neurodivergent thinking can be translated into text and sound. What happens when we refuse to adhere to the norms imposed upon us in our creative output? What can happen, develop, and emerge out of the refusal to mask?

Time Bent, Folded, Exhausted is a performative piece for the entire spectrum of neurodivergent individuals, as well as neurotypicals curious to learn and understand. All spoken and imagined parts of the performance are captioned.

The event will begin with a short semi-documentary video showcasing Jay Afrisando’s projects created during his residency, including a pop-up exhibition, workshops, talks, and performances (including a dance piece in collaboration with choreographer/dancer Siska Aprisia) that he did in Berlin and beyond, as well as documentation of collaborative workshops and meetings for work-in-progress with writer and translator Simone Goldschmidt-Lechner, artists Saverio Cantoni, Dea Karina, Ariel Orah (sōydivision), Morgan Sully (L-KW / sōydivision), meLê yamomo, and curator Kate Brehme.

Simoné Goldschmidt-Lechner is a writer and a translator interested in queer online fandoms, (postmigrant) horror narratives, language in video games and linguistic experimentation in general. They have been writing fiction in German and English since 2018 and were part of the editorial team for BELLA triste, a German literary magazine, from March 2019 until September 2021. They were part of the organizing committee for PROSANOVA 2020, a festival for contemporary German literature, and organised the online  festival Futur 3.0 as part of the streaming release of the film No hard feelings / FUTUR DREI.  Part of BREAK ROOM. Since 2022, they have been involved in different theatre and performance projects as well as film projects. Co-editor of process*in magazine. Excerpts from Simoné’s first novel, Messer, Zungen (2022), were nominated for the 28th Open Mike and shortlisted for the FM4 Wortlaut Prize 2021. Their novella Days you’ll find me (in a place I like to go) (2024) received the Hamburg Literature Prize in the category “Book of the Year”. Her newest book, “Nerd Girl Magic”, was published in February 2025. Simoné has received a number of scholarships for her writing and interdisciplinary work, including the Schloss Solitude Scholarship (2023/24).

Concept: Jay Afrisando
Text: Simoné Goldschmidt-Lechner and Jay Afrisando
Visuals and sound: Jay Afrisando and Simoné Goldschmidt-Lechner
Event graphic: Jay Afrisando, Simoné Goldschmidt-Lechner, and Martin Johannsen

This project is partly supported by the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Accessibility
Venue
The event will take place on the second floor of the daadgalerie. Follow the link for full accessibility info of the venue.

Times and admission:
We will open the doors at 6.45pm. The event will start around 7.15pm.
If required, we can offer you earlier admission from 6:30 pm so that you can familiarize yourself with the surroundings and choose your seat. Please register for this at borsche.berlin@daad.de.

Admission is free.
Late admission after the start of the event is possible. The duration of the event is approx. 90 minutes.
If you feel any Covid-like symptoms, please consider to stay home. We are aiming at recording the session.

Seating & sensory stimuli:
There will be various forms of seatings: chairs with backrests and benches without backrests, some cushions for the chairs as well as bean bags.

The event tends to have a moderate sound volume. The event room is medium light (colorful ambient light settings and white stage light). The venue is air conditioned, but once filled with a lot of people it will still get warm. The event is not immersive. The event takes place in a spacious room.

Event type:
The event is planned as a performative reading. This means that the evening will have a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. You are free to move around, leave and come back whenever you like. The event is planned to be sensory-friendly. This means that care is taken to reduce strong sensory stimuli to create a place that is as pleasant as possible for everyone. Loud noises and intense lighting effects are avoided.
Non-alcoholic and alcolholic drinks will be served free of charge.

Language:
The event will be held in English.

Contact persons:
If you have any further questions about accessibility, please email or call Dahlia Borsche: borsche.berlin@daad.de / 030-20220828.
If you have any questions or require assistance on site, please contact the admission staff.

We look forward to welcoming you!