10.–19.06.2005
Leipzig – Plagwitz and Schaubühne Lindenfels
WESTEND 05 KNOW YOUR RIGHTS was a ten-day festival in the former industrial and working-class district of Plagwitz on the western periphery of Leipzig.
WESTEND 05 KNOW YOUR RIGHTS claimed: Democracy is endangered by capitalism. And asked the following questions: Is a democratic social system based on participation, justice and freedom compatible with a society shaped by capitalist structures? Is democracy only generated by the unrestricted freedom of the market? Or does the question arise differently? Does not the will for more democracy cause the end of capitalism?
In a historical perspective, capitalism is seen as a precondition for the development of democracy. On the other hand, democracy as a regulating authority prevents the free development of capitalism. Both models are in a mutually determining relationship. This balance of power becomes unstable when capital influences democratic decisions and determines politics, as can be observed globally at present. Through the globalisation of financial flows, the change of our value system becomes transparent under primarily economic aspects. In the process, a noticeable powerlessness of the state arises before the far-reaching decision-making power of multinational corporations that are no longer territorially bound.
WESTEND 05 KNOW YOUR RIGHTS had invited international and local artists, theorists and artists who negotiated with their works the relationship between subject and society in a situation of upheaval marked by the term globalisation. The artistic works criticised a defined social consensus that is defined by rules, language regulations and the reinterpretation of values shaped by economic interests. Dance, theatre and performance companies were invited, who, due to their working methods and the conflicts they negotiated, thematised essential positions of this confrontation. The works for the public space were created in concrete reference to the location of the festival, the post-industrial Plagwitz. The artists intervened with their projects in the urban space and everyday life of the neighbourhood.
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WESTEND 05 KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: Space is the result of social construction. It is not given and unchangeable, but is created by social, economic and political conditions and is given a changeable allocation of meaning. At the same time, however, the social, economic and political is also spatial, i.e. the way society functions is spatially structured. The category of spatialisation is therefore inherent in both democracy and capitalism.
WESTEND 05 KNOW YOUR RIGHTS referred to a concrete geographical space – Plagwitz, a district in the west of Leipzig. Plagwitz has been shaped by industry and business like no other space in Leipzig. While Plagwitz had developed into one of Germany’s most important export locations in the course of industrialisation in the 19th century, since 1989 it has been considered a problem area struggling with the consequences of job losses and technological developments. The changes in Plagwitz showed that urban space is not a space of consensus, but is shaped by conflicts. In the manageable environment of a city district, art can at first temporarily question traditional views and patterns of action. The aim of the festival was to link and bundle places and actions with new interpretations and to initiate new activities.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT WITH GUITAR
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS ALL THREE OF THEM
NUMBER ONE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT NOT TO BE KILLED
NUMBER TWO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO FOOD MONEY
NUMBER THREE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH
LISTEN TO THIS
RUN *
* Know your rights / The Clash / Combat Rock / 1982
“The method of democracy is to bring conflicts into the public.” John Dewey
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Beteiligte Künstler_innen und Theoretiker_innen:
Antony and the Johnsons (New York)
Marius Babias (Berlin) Kunst und Öffentlichkeit
Sezgin Boynik (Prizren)
Jan Brüggemeier (Weimar)
Barbara Büscher (Leipzig)
Franz Anton Cramer (Berlin/Leipzig)
Dieter Daniels (Leipzig)
DJ cfm (repertoire / propellas) (Leipzig)
Till Exit (Leipzig)
Forced Entertainment (Sheffield) QUIZOOLA!
frankfurter küche (Leipzig) directory 2: the eporue diary
Gerhard Friedl (Berlin)
Marina Grzinic (Ljubljana)
Myriam Gourfink (Paris) RARE
Thomas Groetz (Berlin) Punk auf der Bühne
Daniel Guischard (Weimar)
Bertram Haude (Leipzig) revolution,-
Joachim Hirsch (Frankfurt/Main) Das Ende der liberalen Demokratie
Alfredo Jaar (New York) Requiem for Leipzig
Wolfgang Kil (Berlin) Mapping Histories: Plagwitz 2
Stephan Kurr (Berlin)
Barbara Kraus/ Zahra Mani / Mia Zabelka (Wien) Microsonic blow up
Joachim Krausse (Dessau/ Berlin)
Xavier Le Roy (Berlin) Project
LIGNA – Ole Frahm / Torsten Michaelsen (Hamburg)
Roberto Ohrt (Hamburg)
Martine Pisani (Paris) slow down
Reinigungsgesellschaft (RG) (Dresden) The City of Cool
Britt Schlehahn (Leipzig) Mapping Histories: Plagwitz 1
Ulrich J. Schneider (Wolfenbüttel/ Leipzig)
Bernard Sissan (Frankfurt/M.)
Hito Steyerl (Berlin, London)
Milica Tomic (Belgrad)
Myriam Van Imschoot (Brüssel) invites: Dieter Lesage (Brüssel), Dimitry Masyn (Alicante) MAJORITY
Videogruppe (Leipzig)
Joëlle Zask (Marseille)
Team:
artistic direction and management: Heike Albrecht
curator performance, music, forum, framework program: Heike Albrecht
curatorin public space: Lilian Engelmann
Concept salon: Heike Albrecht, Lilian Engelmann, René Reinhard
concept UMLEITUNG (détournement) – aktuelle Entwendung situationistischer Praktiken. Gespräche über Differenzen: Barbara Büscher
concept film: Carolin Luc Ziemann
organised by action:variation (a:v)
coproduced by Schaubühne Lindenfels
production management: Barbara Greiner
technical direction: Jens Sergel
public relation: Bettina Baltschev
grafic: Katja Fliedner
founded by:
Kulturstiftung des Bundes
Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen
NPN Nationales Performance Netz
URBAN Gemeinschaftsinitiative Leipziger Westen
Goethe Institut, München
AFAA / Bureau de Théâtre et de la Danse
Sparkasse Leipzig
Generalkonsulat der USA, Leipzig
Institut Français de Leipzig
Österreichisches Kulturforum, Berlin
Bildungswerk weiterdenken in der Heinrich Böll Stiftung e.V.
Thank you for your support: Hotel Ratskeller Plagwitz
