Spaces of Resistance in Dictatorship and Democracy

How do spaces of resistance emerge – and what happens to them when political conditions change? In her lecture, Erfurt-based artist and author Gabriele Stötzer addresses the question of how individual and collective forms of resistance can unfold in different social systems. Based on her own experiences as an opposition activist in the GDR and her later work in a democratic society, she examines the role that places, communities and artistic forms of expression play in the struggle for freedom and self-determination.

Stötzer shows that resistance is not only a historical category, but also a contemporary attitude. Spaces of resistance emerge wherever people find the courage to question social constraints and stand up to injustice, violence or political despotism. She is not only interested in political action, but also in the power of Arts, language and solidarity. These can open up spaces – both real and symbolic – in which new forms of thought and action can develop. "We don't live in a vacuum," says Stötzer, "but as much as space limits us, we can shape it by making it our space." Her lecture combines personal memory, artistic reflection and political analysis to create a powerful encouragement to take responsibility – for oneself, for others and for the common democratic future.

Other guest speakers will be Matthias Gehler, speaker of the last GDR government, on 10 December and the historian Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk on 29 January.

The event starts at 6.15 pm, admission is from 6 pm. All interested parties are cordially invited. Admission is free, but registration is requested at www.thueringer-allgemeine.de/ringvorlesung.

(text: Thüringer Allgemeine)