When does the lecture Unicorns take place?

The lecture takes place on Sunday, November 1, 2026, from 19:30 to 21:30.

Where does the event take place?

The venue is Nr. z. P. at Große-Kurfürsten-Straße 81, 33615 Bielefeld.

What is the admission fee?

Admission to the event is free.

Who gives the lecture?

The lecture is given by Annekathrin Kohout, a PhD cultural scientist and freelance author.

What is the content about?

The focus is on the changing meanings of the unicorn in queer free spaces, internet culture, consumption, and the start-up economy of Silicon Valley.

Is there a book basis?

The lecture is based on Annekathrin Kohout's book Unicorns, published by Klaus Wagenbach Verlag.

Annekathrin Kohout reads Unicorns Bielefeld 2026

Name: Unicorns – From Candy Mountain to Silicon Valley
Start: 2026-11-01T19:30:00+01:00
End: 2026-11-01T21:30:00+01:00
Location: Nr. z. P.

When the unicorn becomes a cipher of the digital present

On November 1, 2026, Annekathrin Kohout invites you to a cultural science lecture at the Bielefeld venue Nr. z. P. about the recent cultural history of the unicorn. Under the title From Candy Mountain to Silicon Valley, she examines how a mythical creature has transformed into an icon of internet culture, a consumer phenomenon, and ultimately into the embodiment of billion-dollar start-up companies.

From queer free space to digital projection surface

In this lecture, the unicorn appears not merely as a fantasy creature but as a mobile sign of societal change. Kohout traces its changing appropriations: from queer free spaces to the colorful internet culture of millennials to conservative cultural fears and a right-wing vibe shift. The narrative journey thus leads directly into the tension fields of pop culture, net feminism, and digital society.

Candy Mountain, Erasure, and the Aesthetics of the Net

Candy Mountain opens up a space for the exuberant, colorful imagery that characterized the early internet. The lecture connects this visual culture with an Erasure soundtrack, making audible how closely music, meme culture, identity, and digital self-presentation are intertwined. The unicorn becomes a projection surface for desires, belonging, and the search for a new social language.

From mythical creature to unicorn start-up

In Silicon Valley, the motif takes on a new form. There, a unicorn refers to a start-up valued at over one billion US dollars. Annekathrin Kohout shows how the fairy-tale symbol develops into an economic promise, and what notions of innovation, success, and the future become visible within it. Thus, the reading connects scientific analysis with a precise view of the language art and image politics of the present.

An informed encounter with the author

Annekathrin Kohout is a PhD cultural scientist and freelance author. She is a co-editor of the book series Digital Image Cultures at Wagenbach Verlag, as well as the magazine POP. Culture and Critique. She writes about internet culture for the taz. Her topics include net feminism, hyper-reactivity, nerds, and K-Pop. The lecture is based on her book Unicorns, which was published by Klaus Wagenbach Verlag.

Conclusion: Digital society as cultural narrative

The audience can expect a concentrated, image-rich lecture on pop aesthetics, digital public spheres, and the surprising shifts in meaning of an old myth. The reading atmosphere at Nr. z. P. promises a direct author encounter with a voice that accurately places cultural phenomena between the internet, literature, and society. Admission is free – an invitation to reconsider the unicorn as the key to the present.