THE PERFORMATIVE CITYSCAPE. A Conversation with Sasha Marianna Salzmann
MiNZ&KUNST exhibition from 24.01.-14.03.26 in the hilda5 at kulturaggregat
The Cityscape as Performance: A Conversation with Sasha Marianna Salzmann
Who is visible in public spaces, and who is invisible? Aesthetic notions play a role in political discourse that should not be underestimated, as was most recently evident in the so-called “cityscape debate” of 2025. These notions are by no means innocent; rather, they set standards, exclude certain groups, and thereby create realities. This makes the role of art all the more important, as it simultaneously reflects on these processes and intervenes in them.
In her own writing and artistic practice, Sasha Marianna Salzmann has been exploring questions of visibility and marginalization—as well as the activist potential of literature and theater—for many years. In a taz article, Salzmann writes: “In the current political climate, Merz’s statement is not an unfortunate choice of words, but a declaration.” On this evening, Salzmann will speak with Cornelia Pierstorff about the role of literature and theater in the public sphere, in political discourse, and in shaping a participatory, open society.
A year ago, remarks by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz regarding an alleged ‘problem’ in the cityscape sparked public outrage. The Young Academy for Cultures and Societies Research at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies is marking the anniversary of this statement as an opportunity to critically examine and reclaim the concept of the cityscape. Under the motto “Unser Stadtbild – Our Stadtbild,” it is hosting a two-day symposium that brings together academia and the Freiburg public in dialogue.
Sasha Marianna Salzmann is a playwright, essayist, novelist, and curator. Sasha Salzmann was a co-founder of the culture and society magazine freitext and served as artistic director of Studio Я at the Maxim Gorki Theater. Salzmann’s theater works have received numerous awards and have been translated into over 20 languages. Both of her novels, *Außer sich* and *Im Menschen muss alles herrlich sein*, were nominated for the German Book Prize and received numerous honors, including international ones. Together with Max Czollek, Salzmann curated the Desintegrationskongress, the Radikalen Jüdischen Kulturtage, and the Utopie Osteuropa festival. In 2024, Salzmann was awarded the prestigious Kleist Prize, which honors an author’s entire literary oeuvre.
Cornelia Pierstorff is a literary scholar at the University of Zurich and a member of the Young Academy for Cultures and Societies Research at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies. Pierstorff’s research focuses, among other things, on sexualized violence in German-language literature, vulnerability, and literature and society in general.
Photo: Svenja Wiese
Doors open: 7:00 p.m.
Start: 8:00 p.m.
Admission by donation
