DEMOCRACY RELIES ON PEOPLE GETTING INVOLVED AND SPEAKING OUT

Interview with Helen Keller

Democracy and the rule of law are under pressure around the world. How resilient are democratic institutions in the face of growing political and social polarisation – in Zurich, across Switzerland and internationally? As a former judge at the European Court of Human Rights and Professor of Public Law, European and International Law at the University of Zurich, Helen Keller combines academic expertise with many years of international experience. Questions of judicial independence, human rights and the separation of powers are central to her work – most recently as a member of the scientific advisory board for the pre-enactment «Allianz der letzten Demokratien».  

Theatre after Liberal Democracy

Essay by Pascal Gielen

Many of the artistic works in this edition engage with questions surrounding democracy and community. They vividly illustrate how fragile democratic structures can be, but also the potential of collective action. The Belgian sociologist, art theorist and author Pascal Gielen has long explored the relationship between art, politics and society. In his essay, he describes democracy not as a fixed, unified system, but as a dynamic interplay of different practices. Gielen attributes a particular role to theatre – provided it no longer sees itself solely as a space for the free arts, but as a space of the common, as a «commonist» practice.  

How to go along with imbalance and play with it. I love that.

Interview with Vimala Pons

Multimedia artist Vimala Pons works as a performer, director, musician and circus artist. Her life moves between extremes: she presented a film at the Cannes Film Festival and, just one day later, performed a show in a prison in Marseille. A vast emotional and geographical gap that both grounds her and presents a constant challenge to maintain balance. In her work, she explores states of balance and imbalance across body, language and emotion – themes that also shape this year’s visual campaign as well as the festival opening «Honda Romance» at the Schiffbau.  

ART CANNOT SOLVE POLITICAL PROBLEMS, BUT IT CAN CHANGE HOW WE RELATE TO EACH OTHER

Interview with Nabil Al-Raee

The actor, writer, and director Nabil Al-Raee was for many years the Artistic Director at The Freedom Theatre, a theatre and cultural centre in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. Since 2006, it has created professional productions that have toured internationally and offered workshops and training in the camp and surrounding areas. The theatre became world-famous through the Dutch-Israeli documentary film «Arna’s Children». Today it is occupied by Israeli forces. In his documentary solo «Trapped in Hope», which will be presented at the upcoming festival in August, Nabil Al-Raee will share his story – as one example of many Palestinian biographies.  

Between Testimony and Responsibility

Interview with Diana Rojas-Feile

The artist and researcher Diana Rojas-Feile works at the intersection of performance and sound art. For the past three years, she has been researching political violence and the ongoing legacy of the civil war in Colombia, one of the longest and most complex armed conflicts in the world. The 2016 peace agreement marked an official end to the conflict after roughly 50 years, but it has not disappeared. It has taken on new forms – not least because former combatants continue to be persecuted despite assurances and, in some cases, have taken up arms again.  

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO IF THE WAR STARTS – FIGHT OR FLIGHT?

Interview with Agnietė Lisičkinaitė and Igor Shugaleev

On February 24, 2022, the Russian army launched its attack on Ukraine, also from Belarusian territory. The dancers Agnietė Lisičkinaitė (Lithuania) and Igor Shugaleev (Belarus/Poland) explore in their work how this war has shaken the entire post-Soviet region. For our online magazine, we spoke with them about living in the shadow of constant threat, about guilt, responsibility, and political labels – and about what neutrality really means today.  

More Articles in the Magazin 2025

To the interviews and essays of last year’s «Magazin», including those with Philippe Quesne, Nancy Fraser, Manuela Infante, Dorothée Munyaneza, Ulokcwinyu Ubia Hope, Juan Onofri Barbato and Ali Chahrour.