LoCD (Library of Civil Disobedience), supported by SHIFT, is a project dedicated to documenting, archiving, and connecting practices of civil disobedience through dialogue, artistic research, design, and collective building. Through the development of mobile and digital libraries, LoCD creates spaces for exchange between different groups and individuals while exploring the democratic significance of protest, resistance, and social justice.
On May 20, 2026, at Vienna Session vienna secession at 7 PM, we will present LoCD’s vision, achievements, and future goals.
LoCD – Library of Civil Disobedience (Die Bibliothek des zivilen Ungehorsams) Presentation and Discussion:
Wednesday, May 20th, 7 pm (Souterrain) Negin Rezai and Andreas Spiegl will present and discuss the Library of Civil Disobedience that is funded by SHIFT.
The development of laws and legal order in a democracy is inextricably linked to the history of hard-won rights: women’s suffrage, gender equality, freedom of sexual orientation and many more can be traced back to historical situations where these were still prohibited or prevented by law. For all those who fought for these rights, this meant living and engaging in political activism outside the legal framework and running the risk of being guilty of illegality. ‘Civil disobedience’ refers precisely to this socio-political engagement and action on the margins or outside the law with the aim of demanding and achieving the legal legitimacy and recognition of these claims. In this sense, the development of democracy and its legal system is inextricably linked to controversial or contested legal claims: ways of life that were previously condemned as illegal can now rely on legal protection, while others – such as the revival of activities that were once legitimate and generally accepted – are now punishable by law. Democracy means that what is illegal can become legal and what was once lawful can become unlawful. However, acceptance of the grey area of civil disobedience as a democratic means of asserting legal claims is coming under increasing political pressure, leading to the criminalisation of actions and practices that primarily question the justice and appropriateness of the applicable law itself. In this sense, civil disobedience raises the question of whether current case law still meets democratic ideals of justice and legal rights. A democracy that refuses to accept criticism of the appropriateness of the applicable law and tends to criminalise forms of protest, resistance and civil disobedience runs the risk of declaring an end to the development and change of society associated with every democracy: that democracy itself will thereby come to an end is inherent in this development. The Library of Civil Disobedience is therefore dedicated to the various forms of artistic and activist practices of civil disobedience, attempting to document, collect and archive them and highlight their significance for a democratic society. The collection and juxtaposition of different forms of resistance not only express the relationships between various concerns and issues from climate change to criticism of nationalist, racist or xenophobic tendencies – but also the commonalities in the commitment to a legal system that should meet the demands, including with reference to the Convention on Human Rights and the future of humanity. The Library of Civil Disobedience sees itself as an institution that seeks to recognise and communicate the implicit qualities of democracy and the corresponding legal systems in the various forms of protest and resistance. Discussions and events on civil disobedience accompany the programme.