Marny Garcia Mommertz

“What would Fasia say?” (2024)

Excerpt of “What would Fasia say?” 2024, Marny Garcia Mommertz.
Contains:
1. Tina Campt, Interview with Fasia Jansen in Oberhausen, 1992.
2. "Cerro, La Habana" (2022), Clémence Garcia-Lindenmeyer.
3. Drawing by Fasia Jansen in KZ Neuengamme.Courtesy: Fritz-Hüser Institut.
4. Sound: Femi Oriogun-Williams.

"What would Fasia say?" (WT) is a 21-minute montage film that weaves together public and archival material to reimagine Fasia Jansen, a Black German Holocaust survivor, singer and activist, in today’s Cuban society and German politics. The film’s main narration comes from a 1992 interview with Jansen, conducted by Tina Campt. Through visuals depicting Jansen in Afro-Cuban settings and in the context of Germany’s evolving political climate—marked by the rise of the far-right AfD and migration challenges—the film explores how her legacy continues to resonate across a diasporic network.

Currently exhibited at the LWL Museum in Dortmund, this work was funded by the NRW Exhibition Fund from the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Marny Garcia Mommertz is a writer, curator, and cultural producer whose work centers Afrodiasporic archives and histories, with a particular focus on connections between Germany and Cuba. She has created essays, video works, and photo collages on the legacy of Fasia Jansen, the Black German Holocaust survivor, activist, and singer. Her professional experience spans roles at the Goethe-Institut Salvador Bahia, HMKV (Hartware MedienKunstVerein), and as Managing Editor of C& América Latina Magazine.

Marny holds an M.A. in Curatorial Practice from the University of Bergen and an M.A. in Museum Studies from the University of Amsterdam. She navigates her work across multiple linguistic and cultural contexts, in German, English, Spanish, BR Portuguese and French.