27th “Art of Assembly” debate in Aarhus with Glenn Bech and others:
“The Arts as Playground for the Urban White Middle Class?”
The Department of Dramaturgy at Aarhus University and Teater Svalegangen bring the 27th edition of “The Art of Assembly” to Aarhus, on Tuesday 19 March. Moderated by curator Florian Malzacher, author Glenn Bech, the co-leader of the Aarhus Teater Studio Sigrid Johannesen, German interdisciplinary performance artist Sahar Rahimi from the collective Monster Truck and Julia Wissert, the first Black-German artistic director of a German city theatre, will discuss, inspired by Glenn Bech’s manifesto and its recent theatre staging at Aalborg Theatre, why the arts still mainly assemble an urban white middle class – and how to deal with that.
TUESDAY 19. MARCH 2024, 19:00 CET
TEATRET SVALEGANGEN, NY SAL, ROSENKRANTZGADE 21, 8000 AARHUS C
TICKETS – 120 kr, students 70 kr., available at https://events.au.dk/theartofassembly2024/sign-up-for-art-of-assembly
For years, theatres, museums and other art institutions have been trying to broaden their audiences – with limited success: the (Western) art field still mainly assembles a white, urban middle class by protecting its borders through distinction and offering cultural capital to those who find access. The 27th edition of “The Art of Assembly” takes an intersectional look at persistent exclusions and privileges: Author and psychologist Glenn Bech, who used to be ashamed about his working-class roots, confronts a homophobic society as much as an urban arts scene that seeks to appropriate the gay writer from the provinces. Theatre-maker Sahar Rahimi raises the question of why classism is rarely openly discussed in the cultural sector: Is her work more determined by her working-class background or her refugee biography? Playwright and theatre director Sigrid Johannesen has taken to both regional venues and public spaces to explore how theatre can offer counter-narratives to the self-contradictions of the bourgeois individualism of her millennial generation. Julia Wissert, the first Black director of a German city theatre, tries to turn Schauspiel Dortmund into an open, safer, and diverse space – backstage, onstage, and in the auditorium.
„The Art of Assembly“ is a nomadic series of lectures and conversations on the potential of gatherings in art, activism and politics. Among the guests of the previous debates that have taken place in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland, the USA, Switzerland, Norway and initially during the Covid-Pandemic online, were Claire Bishop, Tania Bruguera, Judith Butler, Jodi Dean, Radha D’Souza, Didier Eribon, Michael Hardt, Edit Kaldor, Oliver Marchart, Renzo Martens, Chantal Mouffe, Antonio Negri, Ahmet Ögüt, Milo Rau, Tino Sehgal, Jonas Staal, Nora Sternfeld, Lotte van den Berg, and Dana Yahalomi (More information and a full archive on https://art-of-assembly.net/)
Café Svalegangen opens at 18.30.
Art of Assembly XXVII is co-produced by Aarhus University’s Dramaturgy department with Teater Svalegangen, and supported by Aarhus University Research Foundation and Goethe Institut Denmark.
27. “Art of Assembly” debat i Aarhus med Glenn Bech m.fl.:
“Kunsten som legeplads for den hvide middelklasse i byerne?”
Afdeling for Dramaturgi ved Aarhus Universitet og Teater Svalegangen bringer tirsdag den 19. marts den 27. udgave af debatserien “Art of Assembly” til Aarhus. ”Art of Assembly” vil blive modereret af kurator Florian Malzacher i selskab af forfatteren, Glenn Bech, medleder af Aarhus Teater Studio Sigrid Johannesen, den tyske tværfaglige performancekunstner Sahar Rahimi fra kollektivet Monster Truck,og Julia Wissert, den første sorte-tyske kunstneriske leder af et tysk byteater (Schauspiel Dortmund). Panelet vil diskutere, inspireret af Glenn Bechs manifest og dets nylige teateropsætning på Aalborg Teater, hvorfor kunsten stadigvæk hovedsageligt samler en urban hvid middelklasse – og hvordan man kan håndtere det.
TIRSDAG 19. MARTS 2024, 19:00 CET
TEATRET SVALEGANGEN, NY SAL, ROSENKRANTZGADE 21, 8000 AARHUS C
BILLETTER – 120 kr., studerende 70 kr., https://events.au.dk/theartofassembly2024/sign-up-for-art-of-assembly
I årevis har teatre, museer og andre kunstinstitutioner forsøgt at udvide deres publikum – men med begrænset succes: det (vestlige) kunstfelt samler stadig hovedsageligt en hvid, urban middelklasse ved at beskytte sine grænser gennem distinktion og at tilbyde kulturel kapital til dem, der finder adgang. Den 27. udgave af “The Art of Assembly” tager et intersektionelt kig på vedvarende udelukkelser og privilegier: Forfatter og psykolog Glenn Bech, der plejede at skamme sig over sine arbejderklasserødder, konfronterer et homofobisk samfund lige så meget som en urban kunstscene, der søger at tilegne sig den homoseksuelle forfatter fra provinsen. Teaterskaberen Sahar Rahimi rejser spørgsmålet om, hvorfor klassisme sjældent diskuteres åbent i kultursektoren: Er hendes arbejde mere bestemt af hendes arbejderklassebaggrund eller hendes flygtningebiografi? Dramatiker og teaterinstruktør Sigrid Johannesen er taget til både regionale spillesteder og offentlige rum for at undersøge, hvordan teater kan tilbyde modfortællinger til selvmodsigelserne i den borgerlige individualisme i hendes tusindårsgeneration. Julia Wissert, den første sorte leder af et tysk byteater, forsøger at gøre Schauspiel Dortmund til et åbent, mere sikkert og mangfoldigt rum – bag scenen, på scenen og i salen.
“The Art of Assembly” er en nomadisk serie af foredrag og samtaler om potentialet af forsamlinger inden for kunst, aktivisme og politik. Blandt gæsterne ved de tidligere 26 debatter, der har fundet sted i Tyskland, Østrig, Belgien, Finland, USA, Schweiz, Norge og oprindeligt under Covid-pandemien online, var Claire Bishop, Tania Bruguera, Judith Butler, Jodi Dean, Radha D’Souza, Didier Eribon, Michael Hardt, Edit Kaldor, Oliver Marchart, Renzo Martens, Chantal Mouffe, Antonio Negri, Ahmet Ögüt, Milo Rau, Tino Sehgal, Jonas Staal, Nora Sternfeld, Lotte van den Berg og Dana Yahalomi (Flere oplysninger og et komplet arkiv på https://art-of-assembly.net/)
Café Svalegangen åbner fra kl. 18.30.
Art of Assembly XXVII er co-produceret af Aarhus Universitets Afdeling for Dramaturgi med Teater Svalegangen, og støttet af Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfond og Goethe Institut Danmark.
Contacts for Further Information
AU – Professor Peter M. Boenisch, Aarhus Universitet Dramaturgi, peter.boenisch@cc.au.dk
Art of Assembly – Florian Malzacher, malzacher@posteo.de