Gesellschaftsspiele: The Art of Assembly

A Series by Florian Malzacher & brut Wien

Art of Assembly

Whether in Tunis, Cairo, Madrid, or Lisbon, in Athens, New York, London, or Istanbul, in post-Fukushima Tokyo, in the midst of Niemeyer’s iconic parliamentary architecture in Brasilia, under the umbrellas of Hong Kong, or on the streets of Minneapolis: social and political movements of recent years have often been characterised by their search for alternative forms of gathering, of arguing and making decisions, of negotiating community and society. The potential of these assemblies lies in more than just the demands they put forward; many of them change reality merely by practicing radical models of democracy.

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The arts have also shown a renewed interest in concepts of gathering and creating public spheres in which society is not only mirrored but constantly tried out, performed, tested, reimagined, or even reinvented. There are court hearings on artistic freedom, religion, and censorship; tribunals on exploitation and violence; summits on climate change or cultural policy; parliaments allowing those who are usually silenced to speak... Theatre in particular has become a stage for assemblies on the fine line between art and reality, a democratic arena of radical imagination.

But what is the future this concept of gathering has ahead of it after months in a state of emergency that has thrown pretty much all areas of social life out of step? Gesellschaftsspiele: The Art of Assembly brings together protagonists from various fields of art, politics and theory to speculate on the future of assembly in a time of experiencing that nothing is certain – a time in which every form of physical togetherness has become precarious.

 

WITH FRÉDÉRIQUE AÏT-TOUATIAHMED AL-NAWASANDCOMPANY&CO., MARCO BARAVALLE, ANNA CLARA BASILICÒ / RISE UP FOR CLIMATE JUSTICEMERVE BEDIRCLAUDIA BOSSE, JUDITH BUTLER, JODI DEAN, DIE VIELEN, RADHA D’SOUZA, DIDIER ERIBON, BENJAMIN FOERSTER-BALDENIUS / RAUMLABORBERLINMAX HAIVEN, JAY JORDAN, OLIVER MARCHART, ALIA MOSSALLAM, CHANTAL MOUFFE, ANTONIO NEGRIMARINA OTERO VERZIERSIBYLLE PETERS, JULIA RAMÍREZ-BLANCO, MILO RAU, OLIVER RESSLER, SCHOOL OF RESISTANCE, JONAS STAAL, SARAH WATERFELD/STAUB ZU GLITZERNORA STERNFELDTHE CHURCH OF STOP SHOPPING, DANA YAHALOMI / PUBLIC MOVEMENT ET AL.

 

Florian Malzacher is a curator, dramaturg and writer. 2013-2017 he was artistic director of Impulse Theater Festival (Cologne, Dusseldorf and Mulheim/Ruhr), and 2006–2012 co-programmer of the multidisciplinary arts festival steirischer herbst (Graz). He (co-)curated e.g. the 4th and 5th International Summer Academy (Mousonturm Frankfurt, 2002 and 2004), “Dictionary of War” (2006/07), “Truth is concrete” (Graz, 2012), “Artist Organisations International” (HAU Berlin, 2015), “Appropriations” (Ethnological Museum Berlin, 2014), “Sense of Possibility” on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the revolution (St. Petersburg, 2017), “Training for the Future” (Ruhrtriennale 2018/19 with Jonas Staal), “After Supervising the Machinery” (2020). As a dramaturge he worked with artists like Rimini Protokoll (DE), Lola Arias (ARG), Mariano Pensotti (ARG), and Nature Theater of Oklahoma (USA). Florian Malzacher has edited and written numerous essays and books on theatre and performance and on the relationship between art and politics. His latest publications include Gesellschaftsspiele. Politisches Theater heute im Alexander Verlag Berlin. florianmalzacher.tumblr.com

Upcoming

Saturday, 29.01.2022
Online Livestream via brut-wien.at
19:00
Art of Assembly

With Milo Rau, School of Resistance & The Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination / Hosted by Florian Malzacher

Gesellschaftsspiele: The Art of Assembly XII – in cooperation with NT Gent / School of Activism

PITFALLS OF REPRESENTATION: ASSEMBLIES IN THEATRE

lectures, discussions, online platform / Talk
brut- series
in English
Online livestream here at brut-wien.at / No registration necessary

Thursday, 10.02.2022
Online Livestream via brut-wien.at
20:00
Art of Assembly

With Edit Kaldor & Julian Warner / Hosted by Florian Malzacher

CANCELLED: Gesellschaftsspiele: The Art of Assembly XIII – in cooperation with Theater Neumarkt Zürich

SAFE VS. BRAVE? ART SPACES BETWEEN SANCTUARY AND CONFRONTATION

lectures, discussions, online platform / Talk
brut series
in English
Cancelled due to health reasons.

Tuesday, 31.05.2022
Online Livestream via brut-wien.at
19:00
Art of Assembly

Hosted by Florian Malzacher

Gesellschaftsspiele: The Art of Assembly XVII in Cooperation with Uniarts Theatre Academy Helsinki – ASSEMBLING KNOWLEDGE

with Satu Herrala, Ahmet Öğüt & Lotte van den Berg

lectures, discussions, online platform / brut series
livestream: brut-wien.at (free of charge)
in English
livestream here at brut-wien.at (free if charge)
March 2024
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
        01 02 03
04 05 06 07 08 09 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31

brut all over Vienna

brut nordwest

accessible

Nordwestbahnstraße 8-10, 1200 Vienna
Subway: U1, U2 (Praterstern), U4 (Friedensbrücke), U6 (Dresdnerstraße) Tram: 5 (Nordwestbahnstraße) Bus: 5A (Wasnergasse)

April 2024
Handle with care with Mzamo Nondlwana
April 2024
Mzamo Nondlwana
Turning Point
April 2024
Daniela Georgieva
Fluscia
May - June 2024
Nesterval
The Pink Triangle

Meeting point: Gasthaus Hansy at Praterstern

accessible 

Heinestraße 42 , 1020 Vienna
Subway: U1, U2 (Praterstern) / S-Bahn: S1, S2, S3, S4, S7 (Praterstern) / Tram: 5 (Praterstern)

May - June 2024
Out and about featuring QWIEN
The Nameless of Leopoldstadt

brut at Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien

accessible

Freyung 8, 1010 Vienna
Subway: U1 (Stephansplatz), U2 (Schottentor), U3 (Herrengasse) / Tram: 1, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 (Schottentor) / Bus: 1A, 2A (Herrengasse U), 3A (Renngasse)

June 2024
Aldo Giannotti in Collaboration with Karin Pauer
HOUSE OF CONSTRUCTS

Rote Bar at Volkstheater

accessible

Arthur-Schnitzler-Platz 1, 1070 Vienna
Subway: U3 (Volkstheater) / Tram: 49 (Volkstheater) / Bus: 48A (Volkstheater)

June 2024
Arno Böhler, Susanne Valerie Granzer, Sabina Holzer & Florian Reiners
RED MATTERS OF THE *HEART*

brut at Sportplatz 1210

accessible

Jedlersdorfer Platz 25, 1210 Vienna
Subway U6 (Florisdorf) / S-Bahn: S1, S2, S3, S4, S7 (Floridsdorf) / Tram: 30, 31 (Brünner Straße / Hanreitergasse) / Bus: 30A, 32A (Toni Fritsch Weg)

June 2024
Theater im Bahnhof
RUNNING OUT

studio brut

not accessible

Zieglergasse 25, 1070 Wien
Subway: U3 (Zieglergasse), Tram: 49 (Westbahnstraße / Zieglergasse)

April - May 2024
Claudia Lomoschitz
Vibrant Void

brut nordwest – rehearsal space

not accessible

Nordwestbahnstraße 8-10, 1200 Vienna

May 2024
Handle with care with Jaskaran Anand
June 2024
A temporary collective of students and artists from the Department of Site-Specific Art / University of Applied Arts Vienna
Exactly as Imagined