A performance by Amanda Piña in honor of the Bodden fishermen and sea life.
Ceremony, procession and choreography - a collective event in the standing area of the island of Ummanz.
Meeting point: Tiki Bar, Haide, 18569 Ummanz
Amanda Piña's performance pays tribute to the knowledge and work of the Bodden fishermen and forges new relationships with the sea and its creatures. After all, coastal fishing is more than just an industry - it is ancient knowledge and lived practice and was declared a UNESCO intangible world cultural heritage site this year.
The work was commissioned by a group of citizens - the New Patrons of Ummanz - and created in collaboration with Michel Jimenez, Sinon Quilla and Federico Protto. Together with TogetherTogether Collective, Ron Alonso Berger, Jee Chan, Angela Muñoz Martinez, members of Perform[D]ance Stralsund and other local actors, it will be performed for the first time on June 27, 2026. It will take place as part of the multi-part project "Atlantic Undercurrent Circulation" by Amanda Piña for the "New Patrons of Ummanz".
The island of Ummanz to the west of Island of Rügen was a center of local coastal fishing for centuries. But this is now on the verge of disappearing - as in many other places in Europe. Large-scale industrial fishing and agriculture as well as climate change are threatening the ecological balance, catch quotas are falling and the economic basis of many independent fishermen is crumbling.
The traditional craft of "small-scale coastal fishing" with its sustainable fishing methods is barely able to feed fishermen and their families. Yet coastal fishing is more than just an industry - it is a centuries-old cultural heritage that has significantly shaped the island and its people - their language, their everyday life, their traditions. In March 2026, small-scale coastal fishing was declared an intangible UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The New Patrons of Ummanz want to bring coastal fishing to the fore - with an artistic production that makes its history, knowledge and transformation tangible. The coastal fishermen are united by a deep understanding of ecological relationships and the cycles of nature, craftsmanship and entrepreneurial flair. With the decline of fishing, the knowledge they have passed down over generations is in danger of disappearing. The coastal fishermen and their families are to be honored for their achievements with a work of art and their importance made tangible for everyone.
The group has found the right artist for this commission in Amanda Piña. In her work, she makes suppressed, lost or unseen knowledge newly accessible as an experience for many. Since 2014, she has been researching the connection between the loss of biological and cultural diversity as part of her long-term project Endangered Human Movements. Her research is dedicated to traditional movement practices that have been passed down over the centuries and are now threatened with disappearance - including gestures and materials associated with fishing traditions and life on the coast.
Her performances, videos, musical and sculptural works are also based on an attitude that sees not only people, but also other living beings, things, landscapes or forces as co-creators of a shared world - and reflects on how this gives rise to new forms of responsibility and community.
Amanda Piña works collaboratively, also in public spaces and beyond traditional stage spaces. She always considers forms of longevity for her performative works. With a sensual, colorful and often transmedial aesthetic, the integration of traditional elements and the connection between local and global issues, her works create diverse, captivating approaches. This corresponds to a wish of the commissioning group: the artistic work should involve long-time residents, newcomers and guests alike and also appeal to future generations. It should also work with humor and confidence.
"I feel very connected to this commission: In Mexico and Chile, where I come from, marine ecosystems and coastal fisheries are also under severe threat - first and foremost from extractive industries and monoculture economies that are driving climate change. This has to change." (Amanda Piña)
The artist: Amanda Piña
Amanda Piña's work has been presented in theaters, museums and cultural centers worldwide, including the Kunsthalle Wien, the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris, the mumok in Vienna, the deSingel Arts Campus in Antwerp, Kunstenfestival des Arts in Brussels, the Museo Universitario del Chopo in Mexico and the GAM in Santiago de Chile. In 2024, Piña held the Valeska Gert Choreography Professorship at Freie Universität Berlin and is currently a member of the advisory board of the Curating in the Scenic Arts program at Paris Lodron University Salzburg, Freie Universität Berlin and Szenische Forschung Bochum. She is also the founder of Instituto Tropical, an artistic initiative on the relationship between art and eco-social transformation, and of Fortuna - Association for the Promotion of Sustainable Art, supported by the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna.
The project sponsor: Kunstverein Rügen e. V. / Circus Eins Projekte
The local partner and project sponsor is Kunstverein Rügen e. V. / Circus Eins Projekte. As a division of the non-profit Kunstverein Rügen e. V., Circus Eins Projekte initiates and organizes artistic and community-oriented projects in public spaces and presents exhibitions at changing locations on and around Rügen and in Vorpommern. The Kunstverein Rügen has long been associated with the New Patrons model: Director Susanne Burmester is chairwoman of the Verein für Kunst und Mediation im Bürgerauftrag e. V. and, as a mediator in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, is in charge of the Ummanz commission, among others. The Kunstverein Rügen e. V. / Circus Eins Projekte is also a partner of Art Living Lab to Repair the Land, a project of new commissioning initiatives in Germany, Spain and Croatia.
The program: Dance and performance on behalf of citizens
In the programNew Patrons: Dance and Performance on behalf of Citizensof the New Patrons Society, people commission a work of art for their local environment. The occasion is always an urgent common concern. Experienced artists, choreographers and dancers respond with new works. Experts in art commissioned by citizens - the mediators - accompany the process all the way. By the end of 2027, 14 commissioned works in the field of dance and performance will be created across Germany. The program is based on the open-ended and open-ended processes of the New Patrons model. They offer citizens strategies for current challenges - exactly where they are needed.
