15 October 2021

Roger Willemsen’s estate goes to the Akademie der Künste 

Archive opening on 18 November, Hanseatenweg

Roger Willemsen (1955 – 2016) made a name for himself as a writer, journalist, essayist, film producer and literary scholar and reached a mass audience as a television presenter and on stage. His social engagement for Afghanistan continues to have a lasting effect today. Now the Akademie der Künste in Berlin is establishing the Roger Willemsen Archive. Insa Wilke, a literary critic and one of Willemsen’s friends for many years, has entrusted his artistic estate to the archives of the Akademie der Künste for safeguarding and detailed research.

Willemsen’s estate reflects the diversity of his work and shows the extent to which everything revolved around writing. 108 archive boxes and 151 files are filled with manuscripts of works, speeches and radio broadcasts, research material, transcripts of interviews and preparations for hosting assignments as well as items for radio and television programmes. The collection also extends to almost continuously kept journals and notebooks, pocket diaries, biographical documents, photos and his correspondence. Willemsen’s work in the media is rendered tangible by the over 2200 surviving audiovisual documents.

On the occasion of the opening of the archives, the Akademie der Künste will hold a benefit evening on 18 November 2021 for the Afghan Volunteer Women’s Association and his foundation, the Roger Willemsen Stiftung. His friends and companions will share their very personal impressions of Roger Willemsen as a person. A showcase exhibition affords a glimpse of his extensive estate. With Matthias Brandt, Jürgen Hosemann, Nadia Nashir, Insa Wilke and Julia Wittgens.

Event details
One Person – One Event – One Joy
Roger Willemsen. Archive Opening
Thursday, 18 November 2021, 7 pm
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Berlin
Admission 6/4 €, ticket reservations: 030 200 57-2000; ticket@adk.de 
Online tickets: www.adk.de/tickets 
Press tickets: reservations available from presse@adk.de or tel. 030 200 57-1514

For enquiries concerning the Roger Willemsen Archive
Dr Gabriele Radecke, head of the Literature Archive, Tel. 030 200 57-3200, radecke@adk.de  and literaturarchiv@adk.de