The Republic of Chicken: Public History and Worldbuilding Walk on Sonnenallee

Sonnenallee – the beating heart of Neukölln, right at the center of Germany’s capital. And yet. Once you turn onto this particular street, you feel the slight dizziness, the excitement, and the creeping fear of crossing a border. It takes you only a moment to realise that the laws of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland might not apply in this part of town. Frequently targeted by police raids and controls, and demonized by populist politicians as the epitome of a supposed "failed integration", the inhabitants of Sonnenallee are systematically deprived of their rights and dignity. Despite this, the street seems to be alive and bursting with energy like no other place, attracting people not only from all over Berlin, but from all over the world with its diverse cultural and commercial landscape. In particular, it’s the lovers and devotees of grilled chicken who are drawn here by the incomparably crispy and rich variety of juicy delights offered at the street’s culinary temples. It is as if the Chicken Republic’s magical attraction is connected to its dangerous, "lawless space“ image.

On a two-hour long tour, we will cross the border to the different, marvelous reality of Sonnenallee, exploring its myths and magic, its politics and public history. Why and how is this place different and made to be a “lawless space”? Which political strategies are applied here, and how do they relate to colonial methods used across the planet? And what does all of this have to do with the Big Hen, an ancient chicken god? We will visit some of Sonnenallee’s many landmarks and culinary hotspots and become historians of a critical and transformative historiography that digs deep into the layers of the present using fabulation and worldbuilding.

The Republic of Chicken is an ongoing artistic research and public history project, and a testament to life, joy and resistance on Berlin’s Sonnenallee. The first work created in this context is The Big Hen's Call: The Republic of Chicken Audio Guide.