Framing the World: Storytelling Through Music and Film

Born in Mali, West Africa, Manthia Diaware is a distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and Film at New York University. He is also a prolific writer and filmmaker himself. His essays on art, cinema and politics have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, LA Times, Libération, Mediapart and Artforum.

Author, lawyer and filmmaker Alexander Kluge was Managing Director of DCTP, which produces documentaries and cultural programs for television. His recent books include The Separatrix Project with artist Katharina Grosse – a cooperation that started at DLD. He passed away in March 2026, aged 94.

Hans Ulrich Obrist is Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries, London. Prior to this, he was the Curator of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Since 1991 he has curated more than 250 shows. Obrist’s publications include A Brief History of Curating, Project Japan: Metabolism Talks with Rem Koolhaas, Do It: The Compendium, Think Like Clouds and Ai Weiwei Speaks.