The Art of Assembly XIII
Designing Politics. Architectures of Deliberation and Decision-Making

Times may change, but not so the venues of official democratic decision-making: opposing benches, horseshoes, frontal classroom style, circles or semi-circles – nearly all parliaments across the planet follow one of these spatial logics. But the shape of plenary halls not only create metaphors of representation they also organize and influence very concretely how legislative bodies work. The 13th edition of The Art of Assembly looks at how architecture shapes decision-making – and at what alternatives there might be. David Mulder van der Vegt, who has researched the design of the parliament halls of all 193 member states of the United Nations, reflects on the correspondence between their layout and the type of democratic structure they represent; Gabu Heindl interrogates urban conflicts in order to imagine infrastructures that create room for radical democratic participation; Markus Miessen proposes the concept of “crossbenching” as a practice of independent individuals acting without mandate, and without having to respond to a pre-supposed set of protocols or consensual arrangements.

“The Art of Assembly” is a nomadic series of lectures and conversations investigating and speculating about the potential of assemblies in activism, art and politics.
All former lectures and conversation, podcasts, videos and additional material can be found on the website https://art-of-assembly.net

The Art of Assembly series is based on Florian Malzacher. Parlor Games. Political Theater Today. Berlin: Alexander Verlag, 2020.

Curated by Florian Malzacher
The Art of Assembly – Gesellschaftsspiele, a series by Florian Malzacher and brut Wien, in cooperation with Münchner Kammerspiele, Wiener Festwochen, Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Berlin), BIT Teatergarasjen / METEOR 2021, NT Gent and Goethe Institut / Performing Architecture