Play Public

Demonstrations against “Stuttgart 21”, mass protests during the Arab Spring, the “Occupy” movement – all of these phenomena are characterized by the radical use of urban spaces, in which dissatisfaction, dreams and desperation are expressed.
Participation in shaping the public sphere, its rules and playing venues in urban living spaces today were the central themes of the international festival “Play Public”. The artists collective Invisible Playground and the association Kulturkontakte have teamed up to develop an exhibition programme comprised of different types of site-specific games. Specially developed by international designers, artists and architects for the Computerspielemuseum in Berlin, the project organizers have sent the visitors out to the playing venues nearby to explore the possibilities of laying claim to public space. The festival programme was accompanied by a symposium and workshops which highlighted the political dimension of urban playing venues as well as the artistic perspectives of game development. The aim of the project was to use the cultural form of games to test new possibilities of public action.

Artistic directors: Sebastian Quack and Josa Gerhard
Artists: Anthea Moye (ZA), Arjan Dhupia, Duncan Speakman (GB), Eric Zimmermann & Nathalie Pozzi (US), Gigantic Mechanic (US), Copenhagen Game Collective (DK), topografie Lodz (PL), SlingShot Effect (GB) and others