Performance »#freemaria« by Maria Kalesnikava at the festival »Der Sommer in Stuttgart«

Maria Kalesnikava – 2026 Jean-Jacques Rousseau fellow at Akademie Schloss Solitude – opens the »SOMMER IN STUTTGART« Festival with the Performance #freemaria.

After spending more than five years imprisoned in Belarus, Maria Kalesnikava – musician, curator, and a leading figure in the Belarusian pro-democracy movement – returns to Stuttgart’s Theaterhaus as an artist. In her performance #freemaria, she reflects on dignity, love, responsibility, and the strength of the human spirit. She also shares how music accompanied her throughout her years of imprisonment, giving her the strength to preserve her inner freedom.

#freemaria was developed in spring 2026 by Maria Kalesnikava together with director Jochen Sandig at Berlin’s Radialsystem. The performance is based on the events of 2020 and the years that followed in Belarus.

With #freemaria, followed by a conversation with Maria Kalesnikava, Musik der Jahrhunderte will open the »SOMMER IN STUTTGART« festival on June 24 at 6 p.m. At 8 p.m., the program continues with solidARTy, a concert featuring Belarusian and Ukrainian musicians and works by Katsia Kaya, Michael Jarrell, Kaija Saariaho, and Erik H. Halvorsen. The concert has been curated by Maria Kalesnikava.

The solidARTy concert is a cooperation between Akademie Schloss Solitude and Musik der Jahrhunderte. Further information about the concert can be found on the organizers’ website or under the Events section.