Gesellschaftsspiele: The Art of Assembly III. Assemblism

“Assemblism” is a term used by Dutch artist Jonas Staal to describe the role of art, performance and theater in the performative assembly of mass protests and social movements, which is central to his own artistic work. US-American political theorist Jodi Dean on the other hand emphasizes in her writing that social movements need to be translated into a new communist party if they want to become sustainable. So, what is the potential of art in not only investigating or inventing new forms of assembly but also in contributing to the process of transforming them into sustainable organizational structures? And how do recent political mobilizations – from anti-mask-demonstration up to the storming of Capitol Hill – change an often romanticized view on the assembling of bodies in space?

New World Embassy Rojava, © Erni Buts

The Art of Assembly is based on Florian Malzacher. Gesellschaftsspiele. Politisches Theater heute. Berlin: Alexander Verlag, 2020.

Curated by Florian Malzacher
Produced by brut – Koproduktionshaus Wien GmbH in co-operation with Münchner Kammerspiele and Wiener Festwochen