Beyond Boundaries

When thinking about the "invisible" or absent audience, we cannot help but think about the absent spaces – and the disappearance of the cabaret.

Over the course of a seven-day workshop, the lab addressed the dynamics governing the interaction between artists and their audience. Through numerous sessions, they explored a system wherein artists' innovations become assimilated into the capitalist framework, thus commodifying their creativity. The contemplation of the often overlooked audience led us to consider the disappearing spaces that stand ready to embrace marginalized groups. The constraints and hurdles are evident, and the realm of impossibilities looms more palpably than ever. Yet, as they sketched this landscape, they simultaneously discerned a geography of potentiality that manifests itself.

The lab's orientation was not one of utopia or dystopia, but rather of protopia. The activities sparked inquiries, fostered creative dialogues, and even gave rise to performances that grappled with themes of queerness, elitism, and classism in the context of elucidating the absence of an audience. The day-to-day proceedings of the research lab were captured on film and will be compiled and presented in a 25- to 30-minute documentary.

BENSON, Black Pearl, Black Pearl, Dan Moura, Daniel Pietschmann, Dinc, DONDonna Selver, Evelyn a.k.a Ava, Géraldine Schabraque, Ghassan Makarer, JAFAR, Juha Hansen, Lars Rubarth, Leon Salner, Mageda El Hachem, Marek Meyer, Milan Meyer-Kaya, Moaeed Shekhane, Natasha Vergilio, Omar Turkman, Pascal Schmidt, Sames, Sarah Plochl, Sarjon, Seven, Shourouk El Hariri, Svea Kruse, Tash, Tilman Döne & Youssef Iskander