How is protest stored in our bodies? Which protest gestures do we pass on to the next generation? How can a movement of resistance be passed on, look and sound?

In view of the worldwide rise of national-socialist movements, the performance project ‘We can go to the woods*’ examines protest gestures by women* against nationalist movements and hierarchical and hegemonic structures. Based on the unprocessed estates of the American anarchist Kate Austin (1861-1902), Viennese anarchists of the early 20th century and interviews with contemporary activists, the performance brings together women* to perform an archive of protest gestures for and with each other.

Kate Austin published in various anarchist magazines (Free Society, Lucifer – The Lightbearer, etc.), proclaiming free love and intersectional feminism and breaking stereotypical images as a farmer* and mother* herself. The ‘Viennese’ anarchists campaigned for the eight-hour day and mindful child-rearing, published in various anarchist magazines (Ver!, Revolution! etc.), were also active as gardeners, graphic designers, strikebreakers, spies and mothers – and thus exploded stereotypical ideas about what women* are allowed and should do in society. They were loud, but the ‘Viennese’ anarchists often remained invisible in (inter)national historical archives. In international comparison, they mainly took on the responsibility of care work within the scene and cultivated the international network and romantic friendship. From an anarchist perspective, romantic friendship is a liberation from the clutches of the desiring male* gaze, from mass consumption and from the deceptive illusions created by the medialisation of modern women*. The historical text material is reinterpreted as a recurring and performative act and juxtaposed with the performers’ physical memories.

A non-linear, individual research freely based on Ursula LeGuin’s ‘carrier bag theory’, which embodies everyday caring gestures of ‘STOP’ and ‘hold’ instead of heroine gestures and stories. Heroic deeds are simply put in the pocket. The project questions famous image politics such as ‘the raised left fist’ as a gesture of resistance traditionally associated with socialist and anarchist movements and aims to create a space for a queer-feminist visual language.

We can go to the woods* refers to the beginnings of the workers’ and anarchist movement in Chicago, US (Haymarket Riots) and in Vienna and poses political and artistic questions with regard to the current regression of flexible working hours and care work in Austria and Europe.

‘*We can go to the woods*…and take what we want, take fish from the fish pond, and game from the forests; we’ll have our will in the woods…’
Excerpt from ‘The Caliban and the Witch’ by Silvia Frederici