School of Resistance: Why Theatre?

Confronted with the question ‘Why theatre?’, 100 activists, artists and intellectuals worldwide reflect on the current state of theatre and performance. Covering the genres of the utopian manifesto, the invented dialogue and the memoir, the book Why Theatre?, a project initiated by the city theatre of Ghent NTGent and the Berlin publisher Verbrecher Verlag, spans the rich diversity of the performing arts. Why is this art form so unique? So indispensable? Why theatre?

The fourth episode of School of Resistance starts off with a very special speech by theatre director Milo Rau. Drawing from the 100 contributions that comprise the book Why Theatre?, Rau composes a global polyphony of voices and makes a strong case for theatre in emergency. Following the speech, the performance artist Nora Chipaumire and the political theorist Chantal Mouffe engage in a dialogue about their personal reflections on the state of the performing arts in 2020.

Nora Chipaumire is a choreographer and performer born in Zimbabwe and currently based in New York. With her work she challenges and embraces stereotypes of Africa and the black performing body. She is a Guggenheim fellow (2018) and three-time Bessie Award winner.

Chantal Mouffe is a Belgian political philosopher, especially known for her agonistic theory of democracy, currently teaching at the University of Westminster in London. She has held research positions at Harvard, Cornell, The New School, Princeton, the University of California at Irvine, the French National Centre for Scientific Research and the College International de Philosophie in Paris. Her last book, For a Left Populism, was published by Verso in 2018.

The School of Resistance is a discourse format with experts on change from around the world: artists, activists, politicians and philosophers

On 20 April 2020, the price of oil fell below zero for the first time in history. It was not the only world record caused by Covid-19. In only a few months a malicious virus succeeded in doing what worldwide protest marches and general strikes could not: slowing down our planet. Correction: slowing down all human activities on this planet. Suddenly we as a society remember the importance of "economy" as a way to support life and not to make profit at any price.

But how can we shape the future of our planet without falling back into old, destructive patterns? In order to solve the problems we face today and to find valuable alternatives for the future, the School of Resistance creates a platform of experts on change around the world: artists, activists, politicians and philosophers. The IIPM continues together with NTGent its work on the contradictions of the global economy: using the means of activism and art, the aim is to create a blueprint for a politics of resistance. The debate series consists of a bi-weekly livestream and will be concluded with an event in February 2021 at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin.

+++ The livestream takes place every two weeks on Thursdays at 18:00 (CET), smaller time shifts are possible depending on the residence of the guests and will be announced. +++