1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

How shamanism is changing art - Arts Unveiled

26:06

This browser does not support the video element.

December 2, 2023

Arts Unveiled takes a look at the origins of shamanism. Artists use ancient practices to explore themselves and the environment. But is everything titled shamanism the real deal?

Image: Martin Engelmann/imageBROKER/picture alliance

Whether in dance, the visual arts or music, shamanism is making an unexpected comeback. The emphasis is now on healing and being in tune with nature. Has the heyday of Western rationalism come to an end? Are artists using ancient practices, the new shamans? Or is shamanism just something Westerners are turning to out of weariness? Who needs healing more: the world or us?

Image: DW

Join Arts Unveiled on a transcendental trip with the Russian artist Igor Sakharov-Ross, the conceptual and performance artist Marina Abramović, the Greek theater director Dimitris Tsiamis, Berlin based Singaporean artist Choy Ka Fai, experimental folk music band Heilung (Healing) and the ethnologist Amélie Schenk. Is shamanism in art an ego trip or a new path to spiritual awakening?

Skip next section More from this show
Skip next section About the show

About the show

Arts Unveiled — Experiencing and understanding the art world

Arts Unveiled dives deep into the international creative scene, uncovering new ideas and explaining cultural phenomena that shape our history, present and future. Who are the artists? What are their greatest works of art? And how are they having an impact? Where can we find their exciting projects?

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW