The research project analyzes the interventionist character of "assemblies" in contemporary art. Examining film screenings, projects in public space, and participatory exhibition formats, it poses the question as to how far protocols of communicative action can be reconfigured through such practices. From such a vantage point, the dispositifs of film spectatorship which seek to transform relations among viewers can be reconsidered as modes of assembly that form temporary communities (SP 1). In the Global South it seems this aspect is all the more pertinent, as is made clear by interventionist practices aimed at fostering democratic dialogue under the repressive conditions of military dictatorships in Latin America (SP 2). Negotiations of consensus and dissensus also provide recourse to formats of assembly such as tribunals, court hearings, talk shows, and conferences in contemporary art that seek to intervene into social orders and conventions by way of performative restagings (SP 3). As a whole, the project seeks to develop a notion of intervention which proposes that artistic forms of assembly based on the alternative (re-)partitioning of space and time hold the potential to forge connections with other social forces in the political space of appearance.

Head of Project

Prof. Dr. Eric H.C. de Bruyn (SP 1)

Doctoral Researcher

João Gabriel Rizek (SP 2)

Luise Marie Willer (SP 3)

Student Assistant

Martina Kutsch

Tobias Rosen (until July 31, 2023)