Das Lied der Straße (The Song of the Street)

Whether individual or collective, voices are rising in the streets. A song sounds. This song is an instrument that makes itself heard and interrupts the usual course of events. In these voices, we hear the will for self-determination. Energy is released. Unforeseen encounters intensify the potentiality of public space: Confrontations are triggered, cohesion arises spontaneously. Both stage and witness to our present, the street is a constant site of divided attention and conflicting interests. This space fosters an understanding of tipping points and upheavals; speculation on past and future aspirations, declarations of conflict, and compromises. Insurmountable differences go hand in hand with solidarity. 

The location, course, and shape of a street immediately reveal (geo)political, economic, and social conditions. A street can draw borders or create connections. It is a strategic means of mapping territory and power, and thus, the will of higher authorities is made manifest. Normative forces materialize in the infrastructure and become entrenched in learned and codified behaviours that are enforced to maintain the social order.  As soon as the song sounds, it becomes the counter melody to a normative setting. It surges into the street, demands attention, and will be heard. It moves us and sweeps us along. Finding your voice means finding the song—formulating an intention and breaking new ground.  

Curated by Paula Kommoss.

Participating artists 
Ayo Akingbade, Samar Al Summary, Halil Altındere, Danielle Arbid, James Gregory Atkinson, Maximiliane Baumgartner, Dara Birnbaum, Cudelice Brazelton IV, Eva Eisenlohr, Alia Farid, Maryam Ghasemi, Rebecca Grundmann, Deborah Joyce Holman, Kirti Ingerfurth, Anas Kahal, Amal Kenawy, Klein, Nikifor Krynicki, lo.me (Loren Tschannen and Mélissa Biondo), Hemansingh Lutchmun, Medienwerkstatt Freiburg, Shaun Motsi, Henrike Naumann, Vera Palme, Phung-Tien Phan, R.E.P. (Ksenia Hnylytska, Nikita Kadan, Zhanna Kadyrova, Lesia Khomenko, Volodymyr Kuznetsov, and Lada Nakonechna), Lotty Rosenfeld, Finnegan Shannon, somebody*ies (Anna Byskov, Christina Krys Huber, Hannah Kindler, Stella Meris, and Nika Timashkova), Hito Steyerl, Maria Toumazou, Matt Welch, Yong Xiang Li & François Pisapia. 

Locations 
Kunstverein Freiburg, Museum für Neue Kunst, Kaiserwache, Kommunales Kino, Pförtnerhaus, Schwabentorbrücke Station, Stadtbibliothek Freiburg, Stadtgarten, DELPHI_space/außenstelle, Klarastraße, Ferdinand-Weiß-Straße Station, Seepark.

Admission is free. On the opening day, June 16, the exhibition venues are open from 12–6pm.

Symposium: Nervous Infrastructures, Acts of Resistance
Saturday, July 8, 2023, 10am–5pm at Kommunales Kino

As the central nervous system of a society, infrastructures unite the flows of traffic and information, the circulation of goods, people, and data. Social life takes place on and in them—but not without irregularities, fluctuations, and frictions. Normative forces materialize in its infrastructure and become entrenched in learned and codified behaviors. A minimal intervention can have a maximum impact: Bodies join together, interrupting its smooth and normative functioning. Spontaneously or planned, a counter-public is formed, giving rise to a new space: a space for acts of resistance and solidarity.

Speakers include Jessica Aimufua, Alejandra Coz Rosenfeld, Polina Stohnushko, and Prof. Dr. Stefan Trüby.

About the Biennale für Freiburg 2 
Under the title Das Lied der Straße (“The Song of the Street”), the second edition of the Biennale explores the street as a political realm and as a place of lived publicness. The Biennale takes place across twelve locations in Freiburg. The program began in February with a PROLOGUE featuring film screenings, street talks, and performative interventions, devoted to specific locations as well as to stories surrounding the street. Artists, researchers, and practitioners from different fields were invited to share their perspectives on the street and examine the circumstances of specific urban contexts. The events opened a space to reflect on the potentials of social movements and to sharpen the focus on the historical and contemporary layers of meaning, (in)visibility, and (in)accessibility of public space.  The Artistic Director of the Biennale für Freiburg 2 is Paula Kommoss. 

Collaborators 
aka-Filmclub, Here and Black, Archiv Soziale Bewegungen, Feministische Geschichtswerkstatt e.V., freiburg-postkolonial, Architekturforum Freiburg, CRAC Alsace, Perrrformat, Bürgerhaus Seepark, Medienwerkstatt Freiburg e.V., Fundación Lotty Rosenfeld, Sammlung Zander, The Amal Kenawy Estate, Michael Storr, Slow Club, Poolbar. 

Team
Paula Kommoss (Artistic Director), Valentina Ehnimb (Curatorial Assistant), Lea Assies (Intern). 

For press inquiries, please contact Ann-Charlotte Günzel at: press@biennalefuerfreiburg.de