4th international dada festival weeks / Sexkino, Zurich, 2005

Back in Zurich I found nary an available unoccupied property to be squatted as an inhabited sculpture. For the first time in my life in Zurich I was paying rent and continued to sell illegal cheap Portuguese beer from my bed during salon parties in the rented commercial space over “Sexy 2000” in the Sihlhallenstrasse. After the demise of the Plattenstrasse squat, the group of former Dada occupiers were homeless again, and some of them spent nights in police custody after unsuccessful squatting attempts.It was nearly February again and the next Dada festival weeks were due.

To express our indignation about the reopening of the Cabaret Voltaire as a Swatch Souvenir Shoppe, we resolved to surround the desecrated birthplace of Dada with actions at adjacent locations in the Niederdorf area under the plucky slogan “Sticking feathers up your ass does not make you a chicken.” Pastor Leumund discovered a suitable location for our stage program in the sex movie theater Stüssihof. As our base of operations for the festival weeks we targeted the empty gallery arcade in the Rämistrasse, soon to be converted into an art library. After taking over these locations two weeks before the start of the festival, I was able to sign a “user loan” agreement for a period of several months. The opening event took place in the Casabar, next door to the Cabaret Voltaire, whose operators supplied us with drinks from their beer cellar during the Cabaret times and with whom we enjoyed an excellent rapport.

Eight gallery ateliers in prominent locations rapidly mutated into bizarre parallel mis/adventure playgrounds for adults, incorporating individual artists as well as collectives such as Marks Blond, Bitnik, and the Hot Lobster Jazz Band.

Every day a new issue of “Chicken News” appeared featuring the outpourings of visitors recorded on open-to-all typewriters.

LOCATION
Rämistrasse 45 (am Kunsthaus)/ SexCinema Stüssihof (Niederdorf)

BUILDING TYPE
Empty shopping arcade, including a former lobster bar / Sex cinema ca. 70 seats

SIZE
3 shops a 2 floors a 60 m² / Sex cinema ca 150 m²

PROMOTION
Mayor’s Department of the city of Zurich, Kunsthaus Zürich

INFRASTRUCTURE
Tea room, 2 bars, disco, concert stage, cinema, inhabited sculpture, jazzclub, exhibition spaces

EVENTS
Theater, performance, concerts, dance events, readings,
happenings, cinema, readings
Free services: Workshops

CONCEPT AND ORGANISATION
Mark Divo, Pastor Leumund, Stini Arn, Boris von der Burg, Ernst Scholl, Marks Blond Projekt, bitnik, Svetlana, Thomas Leemann, DJ Gürü, Allan Mc Goldrick

GRAPHIC DESIGN
Svenja Plaas, Pastor Leumund

Participant artists:

Ajana Calugar (CH), Andrea Muheim (CH), Andreas Niederhauser (A), Bitnik (CH), Boris Von Der Burg (D), Chloe Nicolas dit Felix (CH), Christian Anderson (CH), Christian Fürholz (CH), Dima Bulnegyn /(RUS), Denis Stoffner (CH), Dogan Firuzbay (CH), David Renggli( CH), Ernst Scholl (CH), Florian Kalotay (CH), Franziska Koch (CH), Grrr (CH), Gabriel Serra (D), Habib Afsar (PAK), Jean-Claude Freymonde-Guth (CH), Kiilo (D), Lucien Samaha (USA), Lucia Schüriger (CH), Loredana Sperini (CH), Marcel Kühne (CH), Mark Divo (LUX), Pastor Leumund (D), Michael Schmacke (D), Mickry 3 (CH), Max Rheiner (CH), Hina Strüver (CH), Mauro Arnold (CH), Nina Weber (CH), Pascal Häusermann (CH) , Rockmaster K (CH), Raphael Perret (CH), Räto Jost (CH), Rachel de Rothschild (CH), Ricoloop (D), Barbie und Ken (CH), Sarah Kreuter , (CH), Svenja Plaas (CH), Svetlana Mazoulevskaja (CH), Tanja Rosic /(CH), Tereza Pereira (POR), Urs Lehmann (CH), Nicolas Geiser (CH), Veronika Ehrensperger (A), Zaccheo Zilioli( CH), Directantrieb (CH), School of Zuversicht (D/CH), Minimal Turntablists (A), Triphaze (D), Zizidää (CH), Barbie & Ken (CH), Anton Beton (CH), Wolga Gambit (CH), Mark Matthes (D), Die Wohnungsspezialistin (CH), Efa Hiltbrunner (CH), Frances Belser (CH), Frau Kraushaar (D), Alicenka Fiedlorowski & Katrijnka Kilchretchka (CH), Guerillia-Girls (CH), Hollow Man (CH), Smith & Smart (D), DJ Betty Bossa, Moshmosh (D), Samim (CH)