The Art of Assembly XXXI
Neigbourhoodly Constellations
10. September 2025, Stadtbad, Chemnitz/Germany, 6-8:30 p.m.
With Ulf Bohmann / University of Technology Chemnitz, Alexander Koch / New Patrons & Anna Rispoli / artist
The Art of Assembly is a nomadic series of talks on the potential and limits of assemblies in art, activism and politics, curated by Florian Malzacher. Following the event, all presentations will be available as videos and the entire evening as a podcast: https://art-of-assembly.net
What kind of assembly is a neighbourhood? Partly choice, partly coincidence, partly shaped by market forces, class and politics, we find ourselves living in proximity to people we often, if at all, barely know. And yet, there is an expectation embedded in this closeness: the neighbourhood helps construct a sense of home, it is part of our social environment, it is even symbolically charged – a synonym for social care as well as social control. What responsibilities does it entail? What possibilities for shared agency does it offer? And how can artistic strategies contribute to the constantly shifting constellations it comprises?
Sociologist Ulf Bohmann looks at spatial relationships, power relations and civil society of the East German city of Chemnitz and beyond. Artist Anna Rispoli is known for her long-term, socially engaged projects that activate communities and transform public space. Alexander Koch, co-founder of Neue Auftraggeber (New Patrons), presents a model of democratic commissioning that repositions art within the structures of everyday life. The 31st edition of “The Art of Assembly” reflects on neighbourhood as a space of negotiation, imagination and shared action.
The Art of Assembly XXXI takes place within the flagship project programme Living Neighbourhood in Chemnitz European Capital of Culture 2025.
