Ruf gegen die Grenze

Barbara Holub and Paul Rajakovics (transparadiso) see the border between Upper Austria and Lower Austria as the testing grounds for “overcoming” borders. Borders should thus not be rationalized away. Their manifold manifestations (including thoughts and actions) should instead be thematized more often. Questions on symbolic or societal borders, exclusions, demarcations, containment, and the potential for overcoming borders also played a central role in many workshops with residents, musicians, authors, singers, everyday performers, and people interested in borders. The resulting texts and dialog inputs were collected and subsequently transformed into a literary/poetic/fictional/experimental text/music piece. This “Call Against the Border” will be performed over two special, large-format megaphones between the bank of the Danube River and the regional border opposite it. A border such as the one between Upper and Lower Austria may seem harmless and meaningless at first glance. However, the differing legal situations can produce certain absurdities over and over again in the everyday lives of the residents. transparadiso takes this as its point of departure for engaging with physical, actual, imagined or boundless borders.

A border defines identities and differences. A geographical border is proliferated as a symbol of difference for arguing exclusions. Meanwhile, borders do not only serve right-wing extremists. They also serve right-wing conservative parties by inciting fear. These exclusions have been socially acceptable in a large part of our society for some time now, and they frighten us with their “social coldness.”

Since the borders of some of the locations of the Festival of the Regions are fluid (they flow through the Danube), this incomprehensible/not precisely localizable border is an exciting starting place for the observation of a possible dissolution of borders. With “Call Against the Border,” transparadiso creates a public performance that allows the voices of the population, their concerns, and their potentially controversial positions to be heard. Fostering a culture of dialog – spanning across ideological and personal borders and interests – that places a new emphasis on listening, is essential for transparadiso in times of growing emotional and social coldness, for establishing new qualities of living together for the community – beyond personal interests.

“Call Against the Border” formally links to “Times of Dilemma,” which transparadiso performed for the European Capital of Culture Valletta 2018 in the framework of “The Island is What the Sea Surrounds” (curated by Maren Richter).