TOUCH THE REALITY. Rethinking Keywords of Political Performance

21 October - 03 December 2016
Opening on 20 October at 7:00PM
Kunstraum Niederoesterreich 
Vienna, Austria

Artists: Akram Al Halabi, Catrin Bolt, Tania Bruguera, Lana Čmajčanin, Miss G a.k.a. Giorgia Conceição, Pêdra Costa, Masha Dabelka, EsRAP , Kadir Fadhel, Fidel García, Markus Hiesleitner, Elvedin Klačar, Sylvi Kretschmar, Camila Lobos, Sandra Monterroso, William Ruiz Morales & Naïma Mazic, Leandro Nerefuh, Female Obsession, Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo, Jianan Qu, Dudu Quintanilha, Grethell Rasúa, Dania González Sanabria, Ela Spalding, Sofia Cruz, Anna Witt

Curated by Ursula Maria Probst

“We have to put Duchamp’s urinal back in the restroom.” — Tania Bruguera

Pussy Riot! Theaster Gates! Ai Weiwei! The Kunstraum Niederoesterreich is devoted to art that intervenes in politics and society. What effect can art have today and what means of articulation and scopes of action does it possess to face political and socio-economic conflicts? With “Touch the Reality. Rethinking Keywords of Political Performance” the Kunstraum takes a special look at art that strives for social and political change.

“Touch the Reality” showcases concepts and practices that transfer artistic work into a socio-political domain and how they employ an aesthetic of the performative, artivism, and the public space in the process. To what extent do contemporary performance practices affect a repoliticization of art and society? How can a discussion of these issues access new territories? How can new forms of articulation evolve in a direct exchange with artistic practices? A cause of present day conflicts, according to philosopher Jacques Rancière, can be found in an ambivalent understanding of democracy, which possesses a growing potential for conflict, as current political developments illustrate.

Exhibition and work in progress.

Pressrelease