The subproject Theatre in Conflict Zones focuses on spaces, regions, and zones that are affected by conditions of conflict and crisis. Specifically, we have chosen to look at both Palestine-Israel and at Greece. We begin with the assumption that the current situations in both regions can be characterized as crisis-laden; but the specific qualities of these crises need to be defined and clarified further over the course of the project.

We would like to ask about possible aims and roles art can have in these contexts – be it theatre, visual art, live art, public art, etc. On the one hand, we are interested in aesthetic interventions that are working specifically to overcome, to heal, to negotiate – in other words, aesthetic interventions with a more or less clear intention of bringing about change. On the other hand, and broadening the focus, we will examine reactions of art within and towards situations of crisis – how do artistic practices engage the local situations in which they are enmeshed?

Central to our approach are the following questions: How do artistic practices create (socio-political) reality? And which concrete tools and (ethico-political) consequences of this creation are perceivable within a public sphere?

• "Performing Arts in Greece Today: An Aesthetics of Exodus" (Dr. Natascha Siouzouli)
• "The 'Good Pain'. Artistic Practice in Conflict Zones" (Kristin Flade, M.A.)