A regional debate dedicated to practices of resistance and processes of decolonisation in artistic work and within cultural institutions across Europe.

The event will bring together artists, curators, and representatives of cultural institutions who will share experiences of their own resistance practices developed under conditions of political pressure, war, forced migration, and systemic limitations. The discussion focuses on examples from different parts of Europe, with particular attention to Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, and the Balkans, while remaining open to perspectives from artists and cultural practitioners working within other cultural and geopolitical contexts.

The debate addresses questions of how to sustain artistic work in times of crisis, how to transform public institutions in response to social and political tensions, and how to build international collaborations beyond established centre–periphery divisions.

Resistance is understood here not only as a symbolic gesture, but above all as an everyday practice embedded in methods of production, forms of collaboration, and organisational structures. Particular attention will be given to processes of decolonising the cultural field through the critical revision of dominant narratives, hierarchies, and models of cooperation, as well as through the search for more equitable forms of collaboration.

The aim of the meeting is to create a space for exchanging experiences and strengthening more conscious, responsible, and solidarity-based forms of artistic and institutional cooperation.

The event is part of the “RESISTANCE NOW TOGETHER” campaign initiated by Wiener Festwochen / Free Republic of Vienna and the European Theatre Convention — the largest network of publicly funded theatres in Europe.

The full programme will be published soon.