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An Art and Cultural Project on Conviviality
in the Neighbourhood of the Annenviertel in Graz and Beyond
From April 2021 in the frame of
the Graz Cultural Year 2020
How is a sense of unity—”we”—actually
created? What relationships and networks are behind this in a neighbourhood?
What promotes conviviality, living together based on relationships and
cooperation?
The art and cultural project The School
of the We takes place at five locations across the Annenviertel area
and in the premises of the art centre < rotor >. Outdoors, artists
will create “islands of conviviality” at each of the locations.
These are offered for use to all Grazers and guests of the city. As seating
furniture, a place to lie down, for picnics, to meet friends, as a playscape.
Places to stay, to come together, to linger, but also for reflection,
inspiration or simply relaxation will emerge—and, as soon as it
will be possible again, places for organised events!
Design by studio ASYNCHROM for the project “wir senden weiter…”
at Metahofspitz
The School of the We is inspired
by a number of thinkers and practitioners. At this point, Berlin-based
Mathias Heyden should be mentioned in particular, who introduced the phrase
‘School’ of We in a text on urban commoning. Thinking
about commons and communities in the city beyond all logic of market and
state then also leads further to comunalidad. This is a term
coined collectively by indigenous intellectuals from Mexico that combines
both the commons and the community. Now it is no coincidence that another
crucial concept also has its origins in Mexico, the conviviality
already mentioned. After all, various forward-looking forms of coexistence
have been developed in the Latin American country that radiate throughout
the world.
Exercise during a round table on project preparation (Photo:
Karin Lernbeiß)
In the premises of < rotor > in Volksgartenstraße, spaces
designed by artists will be on display—or rather, experienced—as
part of The School of the We. This is because there is a special
focus on perception through all the senses, some of which have been suppressed
in times of pandemic.
The School of the We is conceived as a sphere
of learning, unlearning and uplearning. Thinking about and experimenting
with solidarity-based forms of living together is intended to broaden
the horizons of the imaginable. And this is happening in a time marked
by radical change and unpredictability. In view of this, The School
of the We refers to models that allow the unforeseeable to emerge
as a formative element alongside the unambiguous and defined..
Working on the exhibition design of < rotor > (Collage: Daniela
Brasil)
Participating artists:
Nayari Castillo, Aleksandra Czerniawska, Catherine Grau / Zoe
Kreye,
Grossi Maglioni,
Karin Lernbeiß, minipogon, Nikolay Oleynikov,
Eliana Otta, RESANITA, studio ASYNCHROME et al.
Project conception:
Daniela Brasil, Alessandra Pomarico, Margarethe Makovec & Anton Lederer
and numerous contributors of brainstorm meetings, round tables
and talks in the neighbourhood.
From end of April 2021
at < rotor >, Volksgartenstraße 6a, 8020 Graz
From May 2021 at Marienplatz, Lendplatz, in front of
the Orpheum, at Metahofspitz and at Platz der Begegnung—all in the
Annenviertel neighbourhood, 8020 Graz.
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Documentation
from the project preparation
Thinktank 1, 11.12.2019
Thinktank
2, 15.1.2020
Thinktank
3, 4.3.2020
Thinktank
4, 30.11.2020
Research visit Nikolay Oleynikov, January 2020
Research visit Eliana Otta, January 2020
Research visit minipogon, Jan./Feb. 2020
Research visit Aleksandra Czerniawska, February
2020
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