An explosive conversation about the political power of art – and the price one must be willing to pay for giving the system the finger.

Maria (Masha) Alyokhina is a conceptual artist and political activist. As a member of the art collective Pussy Riot, she is considered one of Russia’s most prominent dissidents. For the “Punk Prayer” performed with her fellow activists in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in 2012, she served nearly two years in a Russian penal colony under extremely harsh conditions. Her most recent book is Political Girl – a concise and surprisingly humorous account of her life and experiences in Putin’s Russia.

The director, author, and artistic director of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen), Milo Rau, is known for his work at the intersection of art and activism (e.g. The Congo Tribunal). Through his international theatre and film projects, he brings real political conflicts to the stage, exploring the boundary between documentation, accusation, and artistic form. His works have been voted among the best of the year in critics’ polls in over ten countries; in 2019 he received an honorary doctorate from Lund University, followed by another from Ghent University in 2020.

The discussion will be moderated by Florian Malzacher, curator and dramaturge and Professor of Dramaturgy and Curatorial Practice at HfG Karlsruhe, whose work focuses on the intersection of theatre, art, and political activism.