Neighbouring as a Practice of Care – On Proximity and Contested Spaces

Am I your neighbour simply because we inhabit the same building, perhaps separated only by a wall?
In the framework of the mowe festival, we cordially invite you to a presentation bringing together two interrelated threads of postcolonial urban inquiry. Opening with an introduction to SAVVY Contemporary and Colonial Neighbours – a participatory archive and research project investigating the colonial history of Germany, including its ongoing impacts upon the present – the session moves into a focused engagement with the Ari Map project, developed through the Postcolonial Neighbourhood research at IfEE, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, led by Prof. Dr. Regina Römhild. At the center of the presentation is Matthew's text contribution "Neighbouring as a Practice of Care", which asks how proximity to contested histories shapes everyday life in postcolonial neighbourhoods – and how the practice of neighbouring itself might be understood as an act of spatial and social care.

Matthew Hansen  is rooted in both artistic practice and cultural work, and moves fluidly between creating, facilitating, and contextualizing – seeking new ways to reimagine how stories are told and shared.

Mowe Festival is a new festival for art and urban culture taking place May 8–10, 2026 across 47 locations in Moabit and Wedding.