How do we want to live and grow older? How can people of different generations care for one another? What does it mean to live a good life – and for whom?
Through performance, dance and theatre, the festival “How to Make a Life?” explores how people can live, learn and imagine the future together: Jetse Batelaan, Tim Etchells, Danya Hammoud, Deborah Hay, Samara Hersch, Wen Hui, Faustin Linyekula, Phia Ménard and Eszter Salamon all pursue these questions, searching for answers in hidden memories, dreamlike images and moving encounters. They share their artistic knowledge of life’s paths and detours, opening up perspectives on how art, society and life have always been intertwined.
“How to Make a Life?” invites us to understand ageing not simply as an individual fate, but as an open question that inevitably arises between generations. For three weeks, Mousonturm becomes a place where people of different ages come together to attend performances, share their stories, cook, eat and debate together, and explore new ways of being together.
Sponsors and Supporters
Kuration: Boyzie Cekwana und Alexandra Hennig
Künstler*innen: Deborah Hay, Wen Hui, Faustin Linyekula, Eszter Salamon, Danya Hammoud, andpartnersincrime, Tim Etchells, Samara Hersch, Artemis, Phia Ménard u.v.m.
“How to make a life” ist gefördert durch die Kulturstiftung des Bundes, gefördert von dem Beauftragten für Kultur und Medien sowie gefördert durch den Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, die Aventis Foundation im Rahmen der Vertrauensförderung, World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 und durch das Goethe-Institut Peking.
World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026 wird gefördert durch das Land Hessen, die Stadt Frankfurt am Main und den Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain.
Accessibility
Retreat space
A chill out space will be available in the first floor foyer for the duration of the festival. This space is open to anyone who would like to step away from the hustle and bustle of the festival for a moment. There are various seating and lounging options, as well as headphones, sleep masks, and sensory materials that can be used to help with relaxation.
extended admission period
No need to rush: For all events in Mousonturm Saal and at the Campus Bockenheim, the entrance will begin 15 minutes before the start of the event, allowing everyone to make their way to their seats at a relaxed pace and according to their individual access needs.
General information on accessibility at the venue
is available in detail here. If you have any questions, please contact us at barrierefrieheit@mousonturm.de.
Kassenöffnungszeiten
Kasse im Mousonturm
Do. 17.09. 16:00 Uhr
Fr. 18.09. 16:00 Uhr
Sa. 19.09. 16:00 Uhr
So. 20.09. 16:00 Uhr
Di. 22.09. 18:00 Uhr
Mi. 23.09. 16:00 Uhr
Do. 24.09. 18:00 Uhr
Fr. 25.09. 16:00 Uhr
Sa. 26.09. 13:00 Uhr
So. 27.09. 13:00 Uhr
Fr. 02.10. 18:00 Uhr
Sa. 03.10. 16:00 Uhr
So. 04.10. 16:00 Uhr
A Note from the Curators
from Boyzie Cekwana & Alexandra Hennig
How to Make a LIFE? A question, really. A rather big one too. Neither a memo, a menu nor a tutorial, but a question. How to make a life?
Our Festival poses the question as an invitation to unpack time, to peel back the passage of years, generations, and peer into the channels and corridors that trace the beginnings of trajectories and stories that lead us to here, today. Or elsewhere, tomorrow. To tease out what time and its passage mean to the rich diversity of populations at all their different stages of experiencing life, as well as the varying contexts and conditions in which that life is lived. What is a life well lived, a good life? What does a “good life” mean, and for whom?
Such a question tolerates no simple answers, no single answer, but rather raises a plethora of questions. More questions - through the work of the great artists who are brave enough to confront the provocations of this question and lay bare the vagaries of ageing, the joys and sorrows of a life lived. They offer responses that invite us to encounter diverse passages of time through loss, invention, discovery, playfulness and importantly, curiosity.
How To Make A Life invites us to celebrate ageing, to reveal it instead of hiding it, to tease it out of its hiding places, to play with it instead of mourning it. It is an invitation to encounter the public and private universes of some of the world’s pioneering artists as they share professional practices and lesser told stories. It creates room for strangers to gather around a common kitchen to share food, stories, dance, debate and shift perspectives.
How to Make A Life is our excuse to bring people together, at a time where separation and distrust are getting louder, bolder and, in certain instances, even masquerading as the reasonable alternative.
Perhaps it is not time itself that passes, but only ourselves. We invite you to come once and over again, to share with joy and curiosity, those parts of ourselves that still remain playful and defiant.
