Artistic Research

MAPPING DYSTOPIA

Dystopian Thinking as a Dialectic Strategy of Politically Engaged Performing Arts

PhD Project by Sonja Kessner, Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna

Is there a dialectic relationship between dystopian thinking and a potential utopian Political Imaginary and if so – how can the understanding of this interconnection be used to enhance both artistic strategies and public discourse around the experience of world endings and crisis? Even though utopian thought and image production have a long and productive legacy in art history, there seem to remain a list of unsolved problems regarding for example positionality and perspective, a suspected incompatibility of freedom and equality, the problem of utopian concepts‘ unalterability and the danger of totalitarianism. Although dystopian artworks have been valuably criticised in many ways, the research follows the hypothesis that dystopian art can be especially effective in responding to contemporaries‘ variously shaped experiences of crisis. Reasons for that may lie in their dialectic operating principles that incorporate contradictions and paradoxes and that do justice to the urgency of the experienced problems whilst solutions can occur as collective scenarios within the audience’s imagination. “Mapping Dystopia“ therefore aims to research, develop and apply dystopian thinking as a strategy for politically engaged performing arts as a resource of unexpected Imaginaries of the future(s).

Events and Presentations:

Salon TrickStar in cooperation with the University of Erfurt, 7th of June 2026. More Information here.

Dark Literacy Laboratories in cooperation with students of the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna and Schauspielhaus Wien. Public Event on 26th of June 2026 at Schauspielhaus Wien. Save the Date!

Dark Literacy – Paper Presentation at Drama Boreale Conference, Uniarts Helsinki, August 2026. More Information here.

Past Events:

Studio Research Presentation/ Performance Premiere „Paradise on your Shoulders“, Theater Erfurt, May 2026

Photos: Alice End