Steirischer Herbst Festival Confronts Far-Right Politics Through Performance and Installation
From September 20 to October 14, 2018, the Steirischer Herbst festival in Graz, Austria, was curated by Ekaterina Degot under the theme 'Volksfronten'. This event explored themes of blood-and-soil identity and the rise of the far-right, notably Austria's coalition with the Freedom Party. The festival opened with a procession by Bread and Puppet Theater, retracing Hitler's post-Anschluss path, followed by Roman Osminkin's 'Putsch' and concluded with an opera performance of 'Es Ist Zeit'. Laibach criticized the Austrian government at the ruins of a castle, while a group exhibition at Kulturzentrum bei den Minoriten featured kozek horlonski's 'Uninvited' and Henrike Nauman's 'Anschluss '90'. The festival merged agitprop with vaudeville, prompting dialogue on political engagement versus nuanced approaches to societal rifts.
Key facts
- Steirischer Herbst 2018 ran from September 20 to October 14 in Graz, Austria
- Curator Ekaterina Degot focused on critiquing far-right identity politics and Austria's government coalition
- Bread and Puppet Theater performed a procession along Hitler's post-Anschluss tour route
- Roman Osminkin's 'Putsch (After D.A. Prigov)' featured alphabet letters on mountain steps spelling revolutionary phrases
- Laibach performed at Graz's hilltop castle, desecrating 'The Sound of Music' soundtrack with ant footage
- A group show at Kulturzentrum bei den Minoriten included kozek horlonski's film 'Uninvited' exploring the uncanny
- Henrike Nauman's 'Anschluss '90' at Haus der Architektur used kitschy furniture from the Berlin Wall era
- Roee Rosen's 'Kafka for Kids' adapted 'The Metamorphosis' with musical performances and a deconstructive standup routine
Entities
Artists
- Ekaterina Degot
- Gil Scott-Heron
- Roman Osminkin
- D.A. Prigov
- Tony Chakar
- Nadim Mishlawi
- kozek horlonski
- Henrike Nauman
- Christoph Szalay
- Michiel Vandevelde
- Nâzim Hikmet
- Ekaterina Muromtseva
- Roee Rosen
- Igor Krutogolov
- Hani Furstenberg
- Franz Kafka
Institutions
- Steirischer Herbst
- Bread and Puppet Theater
- Kulturzentrum bei den Minoriten
- Haus der Architektur
- ArtReview
- Freedom Party
- Nazi Party
- Toy Orchestra
Locations
- Graz
- Austria
- Europaplatz
- Slovenia
- Berlin
- East Germany
- Turkey
- Soviet Union
- Israel