The Art of Assembly

Water is a main protagonist of all human mythologies, a metaphor for life itself – and at the same time subject of countless, very concrete and rapidly growing conflicts. The 29th edition of The Art of Assembly asks how water can be considered not as a commodity based on concepts like ownership and exploitation, but rather as a common good or even as a partner since lately several rivers in different countries have been recognised as ‘legal persons’: They can enter into contracts or even sue.

 

Indigenous activist, writer and scholar of legal anthropology Edson Krenak Naknanuk is concerned about the drought that is ravaging rainforests such as the Amazon and other biomes in South America, leading to a silent migration of indigenous peoples and other species to the cities. In her play The Water, writer Kathrin Röggla reflects on how a mixture of fear and repression, actionism and bureaucracy, empty political promises and personal interests are preventing targeted action against the climate crisis. The artist and philosopher Elisabeth von Samsonow is fascinated by the bifunctionality that separates water as a symbol of life and its disciplining in technology and industry.

 

 

The Art of Assembly is a nomadic series of talks on the potential and limits of assemblies in art, activism and politics, curated by Florian Malzacher.

 

 

Online Live Stream: https://art-of-assembly.net

 

 

In the frame of the exhibition The Way of the Water