09 May 2010

Festival SOHO IN OTTAKRING in Vienna

'KICK THE HABIT / PFEIFF DRAUF! Racism as a Vent'

In 2010, SOHO IN OTTAKRING focuses on a 'bad habit' that is widespread around the world: thinking in racist patterns. SOHO 12 will approach this field and its problems from two sides:

One will be a survey of the status quo, a new, report-like examination on racism that will be as open as possible, or put more specifically, it will be an assessment of the different forms of racism. These manifest themselves at many different levels and at the same time they are part of a long, bitter historical tradition: structurally, economically, in language, the media and in everyday social life. The 'quality' of racist argumentation has changed over the last 20 years as a result of massive political and economic change. 'Culture' as a term has come to the fore with increasing frequency. Awareness for class conflicts has faded in the pubic debate.

SOHO 12 will itself also be a testing arrangement for the issue of whether art can develop political effectiveness here and now and thus contribute to enlightenment as a project not yet concluded, art whose current form is always primarily synonymous with the search for self-enlightenment: Where and in which form can racism be recognized to begin with? What can be achieved against racism?

Unfortunately surveys show that most Austrians' view of this subject is very different to the view of our project team and those of many artists and intellectuals. A clear majority of those allowed to vote rejects immigrants, want to stop immigration as it stands in the present, and would prefer to reverse the immigration that has taken place over the last 40 years. The election results and political strategies at a national level since the late 1980s reflect this stance. Those parties whose programs can be summarized in a few words that claim the 'foreigners' are to blame for the respective misery have gained votes steadily.
The accusation voiced against those like us who reject racism is that we fail to perceive the problems related to immigration due to our ideological blindness. It is also claimed that we never come into contact with migrants anyway, and therefore never have to compete with them (for a job, on the sidewalk, on the playground hardtop, etc.).
Aside from whether this claim is justified, it does nonetheless point towards major aspects in our opinion, these being is the socio-economic background of the existing problems. This notwithstanding, it can be established that the politics of alienation and racism are morphing into ' a policy of safety' that is increasingly gaining a foothold in mainstream political life, instead of being met with the necessary social and economic response.

The gap between these opposing ends of the varying perspectives creates a seemingly unsolvable problem: the 'enlightened forces' feel the need to open the eyes of the 'common man' – and vice versa. Such pedagogic attempts naturally tend to fail. Many works of art that address this theme tend towards self-affirmation when it comes to their political effectiveness. They are 'preaching to the converted' as this phemonenon is called in the USA. Although this may not have anything to do with the quality of the projects, it might be time for a practical attempt with new forms, and taking this a step further, it might be time to consider the purpose and aims of 'anti-racist' art.
What remains is the unqualified rejection of the simplification of socio-political problems into a racist formula. This is about the effort to create new dynamics among the political positions and powerful artistic practice.

Since we are serious about going beyond the narrow borders of the arts, the SOHO 12 team sees a chance of encouraging a long-overdue social discourse and taking it a step further: KICK THE HABIT!


SOHO IN OTTAKRING 2010/ concept team: Ula schneider, Beatrix Zobl, Wolfgang Schneider

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SOHO IN OTTAKRING is an art and urban district project that was started in 1999 as part of an artist initiative. It extends across the Brunnenviertel area of Ottakring, Vienna´s 16th district.
The Brunnenviertel is located close to the 'Gürtel' a densely developed urban area surrounding the Brunnenmarkt street market. It has an area of c. 20 ha and a population of c. 8000 inhabitants. The percentage of immigrants in the population is 36%.

SOHO IN OTTAKRING has contiuously focused on aspects such as urban living, urban development, artistic intervention and possibilities for participation in the local environment as well as the question of participation and co-determination in public life. A key aspect is the cooperation between artists and theoreticians at a national and international level with various local groups and institutions such as the Gebietsbetreuung Ottakring, schools in the area, youth insitutions, businesses and businessmen and residents, as well as the pro-active use of public space during the yearly two-week festival in May.

The variable field created by the different residents and interests in the area in which SOHO takes place creates the grounds – sometimes the cultural media – for artistic work. The breadth of these works is great and ranges from 'classical' exhibitions to socio-political projects with a concrete commitment that take up the implications of the area as a model of social problems and put them on centerstage. This artistic practice has been given particular support for some time.

The dedication to supporting and strengthening socio-political art projects will continue. The concentration on social problems that can be identified in the area and the current issues is of particular concern.

SOHO IN OTTAKRING also strives to pursue exchanges with projects that have similar aims in other European cities.