Jenseits der Parolen © Ricardo Roa
© Ricardo Roa

Creative dissent
 Stir it up

What to do when inner values and outer reality can no longer be reconciled? Ignore, despair, laugh at, protest? Gegenüber sheds light on the power of creativity and forms of resistance — and asks: When is the right moment to change the world? A transatlantic journey through society, history, and resistance.

A picture collage of a statue with a face and a hand next to a dog in a bishop's coat © Ricardo Roa

Stir it up Of Idiots and Other Saints

Nonsense as a radical strategy of unyielding resistance to social grievances — an uncompromising form of protest? Hardly a novelty. Leonhard Emmerling explores the revolutionary tactics of history’s most defiant nonsense-makers.

Leonhard Emmerling

Dada is the Clou - Collage from items that have Dada-references © Ricardo Roa

Absurdity against absurdity „Dada is the clou“

The Dada movement of the early 20th century emerged as a radical artistic rebellion against the chaos of war, the rise of technocracy, and the disillusionment of the era. Andreas Trojan traces its most significant milestones.

Prof. Andreas Trojan

In a world turned upside down, the madness they enacted became a mirror of a reason gone astray, and in that inversion, a memory of a truer, better, genuinely rational world was preserved.

Leonhard Emmerling

A collage with a microphone, a mouth, and a chair © Ricardo Roa

Migrant comedians
 Power To The Punchline People

Democracy under pressure: In Germany too, its foundations face internal threats. Is humorous protest naïve or irresponsible in such times? Not at all. Migrant comedians in particular show how humor can serve as a powerful tool for political expression and resistance.

Bobby Rafiq

Simone Jung: Pop journalism as intellectual protest © Ricardo Roa

Pop journalism as intellectual protest
 “As long as it pops”

Emerging in the 1980s, pop journalism evolved into an intellectual form of protest, challenging social norms and serving as a subversive cultural force.

Dr. Simone Jung

„Die Kunst muss in das Leben übergehen.“ © Ricardo Roa

Situationist International
 “Art must merge with life”

In the midst of post-war Europe, a movement of artists and students emerged that used exceptionally creative ideas to show that anti-capitalist resistance could be fun. It became one of the most influential political movements of the 20th century.

Michael Krell

Collage for the article on Satire as a form of protest. © Ricardo Roa

Satire as Protest
 Essay on the Satirist’s Townhouse

In a so-called bourgeois life, one is punished for what one does too much of, whereas the laws of satire add a new principle: they punish the satirist for what he does too little of—or not at all. In his profession, he is virtually not allowed to keep his mouth shut, no matter what he thinks.

Leonhard Hieronymi

gadji beri bimba
glandridi lauli lonni cadori
gadjama bim beri glassala
glandridi glassala tuffin i zimbrabim

Hugo Ball; from: “Dada is the clou“

A collage with a fan, a disco ball, and a stiletto © Ricardo Roa

Dance an Resistance Voguing and Ballroom: A Form of Resistance for Trans* Communities

Voguing and ballroom culture are far more than just aesthetic expression: they are acts of resistance, self-expression and solidarity for trans* and queer people. In a world that punishes their existence, dance becomes a place of refuge, an outcry, an act of remembrance, in short, a way of life.

Noah Jarillo González

So schnell geht die Kunst nicht unter... © Ricardo Roa

Artistic Freedom Under Pressure Art Doesn't Fade Away That Easily

Freedom of the arts and culture is no longer as taken for granted in Germany as we once believed. An appeal to artists: do not bury your heads in the sand in the face of the shift toward the extreme right — and take inspiration from those in neighboring European countries who have experienced oppression.

Norma Schneider

A collage consisting of a man with braided hair and 'We're the people' written across his face. A blue circle and a picture of a road sign in the background © Ricardo Roa/Tatjana Brode

Pine Ridge Reservation
 Indian Land: Art Is Survival

The Pine Ridge Reservation is a place of scarcity, but also the heart of the Oglala Lakota’s cultural identity. People here are fighting fo the future of their memories, traditions and shared values.

Tatjana Brode

Saturday Duty for Democracy © Ricardo Roa

Report on the “Grannies against the Right”
 Saturday Duty for Democracy

Every Saturday, Munich's “Grannies against the Right” defend democracy. With words, umbrellas, banners – and the firm conviction that democracy must remain visible. A story on what happens when 15 elderly ladies meet the public at the mall.

Daniel Hinz

A collage that depicts a mask and flowers that grow out of a tear. © Ricardo Roa

Feminist Stand-Up
 The Weird Survivor and Her Way Out

From firsthand experiences of violence to the founding of the first feminist stand-up workshop in Mexico, this report takes us through a female genealogy of humor, in which laughter is not an escape, but a form of denunciation, of healing, of rewriting the rules.

Arcos Itzel