Annika Kahrs

Les Fanfares, 2025

Video installation, approx. 20 minutes, and diary

Filmed in the Salle du Grand Conseil in Sion, this video brings together members of various Valais brass bands. It explores the close and complex historical relationship between these musical ensembles and local political parties. Looking beyond the Valais example, the work draws parallels with wider political dynamics and how these influence our lives today. The video installation is accompanied by an exhibition of research documents.

A diary, open to the public, brings together archives, political speeches and press articles showing how the strong link between music and politics in Valais at the beginning of the 20th century has faded today.

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Annika Kahrs

Born in 1984 (DE)
Based in Berlin

Annika Kahrs often explores themes related to music, sound, and the intersections between humans and their environment. Collaborating with people from other fields or with different knowledge is an essential part of her work process. She is interested in the cultural and social functions of music, its communicative aspects, and its formal nature. Her performances, films, and sound installations highlight the importance of music and sound—as acoustic information—in different social, cultural, and political structures of coexistence.