THE PRACTICE OF DEMOCRACY / THE ADVERSARIES (2024)

What do we mean, when we say that the current crisis of democracy relates closely to the fact that western societies disappear dissensus and passionate negotiation from public sphere? How could our differences be revealed and dealt with in an agonistic spirit? How could we train ourselves, as citizens, to confront each other in ways that do not end up in the dead-end of polarization?

The Adversaries is a participatory performance-installation that brings in conflict two small groups of people in a performative, playful way. These two groups are followed by a group of witnesses who offer their perspective on the conflict. The aim of the work is to provide space to participants to (self)reflect on the practice of conflict as a constitutive democratic practice. Through a step-by-step following of a series of instructions, the three groups are guided to detect an existing conflict between them and negotiate on it in a way that acknowledges the potential and possible limitations of such action. They, thus, attempt to co-create a new third space that emerges between them from the synthesis of their views, as they confront each other and themselves.