The demonstrative artistic usage of an industrial vacancy in the wake of speculation, crises, and war
A temporary “organism of art” with active open studios, interdisciplinary exhibitions, performances, music, precAIRious residency, exchanges of ideas, and communication

The interim usage of over 1,000 square meters of commercial space at Plabutscherstraße 63 (former location of the Pilcher Möbel furniture store) has created a temporary “art biotope” containing work, production, and exhibition spaces for the APORON 21 group, which serves as an incubator for new forms of artistic work and life on Graz’s urban periphery. We are taking advantage of this structural change to explore—amid and with these precarious production conditions—what may be the last free opportunity for experimental art in a creative space that is “free from economic pressures in the short term.” In something akin to a reverse thrust to waves of gentrification, creative in-between spaces of contradiction are being made available. Expanded margins for maneuvering to change art and culture are introducing sustainable processes of social transition. The empowerment of artists in precarious positions supports the free practice of art and brings relevant, contemporary impulses and interpretations into the experimental space. The lively discourse between Graz and Novi Sad—the European Capital of Culture for 2022—is awakening culturally unifying collective memories and pointing to social transformation as an important form of bridge-building in efforts toward peace.

Link

https://2022.steirischerherbst.at/en/program/events/3854/aporon-prekarte