On a daily basis we are flooded with images of suffering and pain. While some respond to this with solidarity and empathy, others complain of “compassion fatigue”. In my talk I will address the role of aesthetic practices in pursuing post-imperial global ethics and politics.

Art is long, life is short. This thematic space deals with the bigger issues: What are the values that artists share? What tasks do they pose to themselves? Where are we heading, when spaces for action begin to blur?

In this thematic space, we will be speaking about things in the arts that matter, but cannot be calculated in numbers. We will deal with need-oriented support for artists, conditions of artistic production and more.

This thematic space is dedicated to the public spheres created by performing arts, as well as to the subjects of providing access to the arts in rural areas, what audiences really want and the ways in which artists face their audiences.

“We collect sorrows, stuck energies, and grief from the community. They are written down on slips of paper. We create a ritual space with a chalk circle and ritual tools, including costumes, within it. Following a simple score, we work to transform the energy of each of the sorrows using our bodies, our creativity, and the tools within the circle. We work until we feel the ‘click’ of the energy of the sorrow being transformed into new energy.“

In addition to the live collecting Once We Were Islands have an online site where people can send anonymous sorrows in advance, that get emailed directly to them.

https://cargocollective.com/karma_accelerator

New movements challenge politics and society. What role does art play in this process? How do spectators become audience? What public sphere/s emerge/are created? And what changes can such processes initiate or accompany?

Helen Varley Jamieson, networker of the worldwide Magdalena Project, talks about the artistic practice of women. In which structures do they work? Which themes, which aesthetic vocabulary, which images does their work produce? Which forms of organization reflect women's experiences and political priorities?

“Supermarkets steal – we snatch back”. A Peng!-collaborateur reports on a recent Peng! Kollektiv campaign and discusses art in battle mode, the interfaces of subversive actions, civil disobedience and the aesthetics of political campaigning.

Populism and nationalism put a strain on civil society. Fear of the “Other” is being invoked, while a friend or foe mentality gains ground in political discourse. At the same time, the freedom of art is being called into question: should it take on mandates such as identity politics. Where is art heading in times, in which its scopes of action are growing increasingly unstable? How do artists claim and defend spaces of artistic freedom? Where are aesthetic forms of expression that can be read in political ways being created – forms that reach beyond thematic bullet points or (self-imposed) mandates? And: what is the position of cultural politics and funding institutions?

In five thematic rooms, artists* present current projects and talk about their work. The focus is on intentions, special challenges, work processes, aesthetic questions and exchange with the audience. In three of the five rooms, projects that have emerged from flausen+research residences will be presented.

What topics are missing? What hasn’t been addressed yet? The Night Camp opens the flausen+bundeskongress#2 for everyone. For new questions, for meeting and greeting or sharing knowledge, for initiating projects … Topics are defined by the participants themselves.

What significance do the Arts have in a Europe, whose political forces of mutual attraction are dwindling? Is art a resource for solidarity, beyond borders? Can alliances and networks provide initial impulses for visionary forms of cooperation? Artists from various countries discuss these questions and more with conference participants.