A project by Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in collaboration with EXC 2020.

For the 2025 edition of Middle Ground, the annual series that invites literature festivals from around the world to explore literary and oralture practices and networks, HKW is pleased to cooperate with Festa Literária das Periferias (FLUP) from Brazil. Through this collaboration, Middle Ground continues its exploration of literary and oralture practices as a site where the past, present, and future intersect, inspired by Chinua Achebe's use of the term 'middle ground'.

Anchored in Rio's favelas, FLUP was founded in 2012 by Écio Salles and Julio Ludemir and works to counter a deeply entrenched hegemonic articulation of Brazil's literary world by spotlighting works by Black, favela-based, and peripheral writers. FLUP's programming continually reimagines how literature can promote communities often left on the margins of mainstream narratives. Through its hosting of debates, poetry slams, and community storytelling events, FLUP embodies the ethos of Middle Ground – creating dynamic relationships and redefining cultural and literary networks.