Art and Education Collective

Library of Civil Disobedience

Schriftzug

Die Geschichte der Demokratie ist untrennbar mit einer Geschichte des zivilen Ungehorsams verbunden. Die Entwicklung des Rechts und Rechtmäßigen steht mit jedem Schritt vor der Frage nach der Gerechtigkeit. Der zivile Ungehorsam meldet sich genau in diesem Zwischenraum aus Recht und Gerechtigkeit zu Wort, um manchmal unrechtmäßig erscheinenden Lebensformen Recht zu verleihen und ein andermal die Ungerechtigkeit eines Rechts sichtbar zu machen. Die Bibliothek des zivilen Ungehorsams oder Library of Civil Disobedience (LoCD) verfolgt das Ziel, eine künstlerische Forschungsplattform zum zivilen Ungehorsam und zu verschiedenen Formen des politischen und künstlerischen Widerstands aufzubauen und den entsprechenden (schon vorhandenen oder entstehenden) Archiven Raum zu geben. Performances von Künstler*innen und Aktivist*innen an verschiedenen Orten in Wien werden die Grenzen zwischen dem Legalen und Illegalen aber trotzdem Legitimen künstlerisch ausloten.

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The history of democracy is inextricably linked to a history of civil disobedience. The development of law and legality is faced with the question of justice at every step. Civil disobedience makes its voice heard precisely in this interstice of law and justice, sometimes to lend justice to seemingly unlawful ways of life and at other times to make the injustice of a law visible. The Library of Civil Disobedience (LoCD) aims to establish an artistic research platform on civil disobedience and various forms of political and artistic resistance and to provide space for the corresponding (existing or emerging) archives. Performances by artists and activists at various locations in Vienna will artistically explore the boundaries between the legal and illegal that nevertheless appears to be legitimate.

Team

The Library of Civil Disobedience’s Team is carried by a core team and an expanding network of collaborators.

At its heart are Negin Rezaie and Emma Dirnhofer, with Andreas Spiegl accompanying the project as a consultant and observing voice.

From the very beginning, the library has grown through collaborations with different groups of artists and activists:

Zoe Gudović, with whom we have initiated a collaboration between Radio Zenergija and LoCD, producing a radio podcast on forms of resistance (launching in September) alongside video podcasts that document each dialogue.

Ovidiu Anton, he is developing a mobile archive that expands the library beyond fixed walls.

Susanna Ojeda, who shares with us on questions of decolonial practices.

Marimba Hwati, who explores with us the performative power of silence as language of resistance.

Kweku Okokroko, who unfolds poetry and music as a field of resistance.

The library is conceived as digital, physical, and mobile platform – a growing constellation of knowledge, practices, and interventions. It is not a static structure but a living process. Over the course of the project, the team will expand to include artistic researchers, artists, activists, and many others who will shape and inhabit the library.

By moving into public spaces and cultivating unexpected encounters, the library seeks to become a shared platform where different forms of resistance find a place of intersection and solidarity. The project will be be archived, performed, and reimagined.