Dangerous Thoughts

18:00 Welcome Note 18:05–18:50 Talk by Katharina Brandl (in English) followed by Q&A Magical Resistance. Witchcraft and Contemporary Art Katharina's talk will examine five key reasons for the recent (queer-)feminist reception of and interest in witchcraft in contemporary art. She will present an "incomplete typology" of the phenomenon in order to map out the works of art witches in all their diversity. Furthermore, she will discuss the key differences between the recent "witch trend" in contemporary art and the interest of earlier generations of feminist artists. 19:00 Apéro Break 19:30 Reading by actor René Schoenenberger of poems (in German) by C.P. Cavafy (1863-1933) “Lascivious Pink Lips of Inebriation” René will read a selection of Constantine P. Cavafy's poems from the book So Unverwandt Bertrachtet (1997) published by Edition Patrick Frey. Illustrated by Dieter Hall, the book presents the homo-erotic dimension of a poet whom the Times Literary Supplement named "One of the greatest writers of our times." 19:45 Apéro Break 20:00 Interlude 1 by magician Basil Spiess 20:15 Apéro Break 21:00 Interlude 2 Basil’s Magical Interludes Basil will transport us into the world of wizardry. He will perform two short interludes. Experience enchanting stand-up magic up close and ask yourself: witchcraft or illusion?

Biographies

Katharina Brandl (b. 1986) is a researcher and curator; and since January 2019 the Artistic Director of Kunstraum Niederoesterreich in Vienna (AT). She studied Political Science (Mag.) and Art History (BA) at the University of Vienna, as well as Critical Studies (MA) at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Katharina Brandl has worked in research funding and communications and as researcher, writer, curator and manager in the arts, as tutor at the Department for Art History of the University of Vienna and as guest lecturer at the Zurich University of the Arts. She is co-founder of the Austrian NPO Sorority and was the executive co-director of the feminist festival Business Riot in Vienna. She lives in Basel since 2016, where she conducted her PhD research first at the University of Basel as a fellow of eikones – Zentrum für die Theorie und Geschichte des Bildes, and is currently Research Assistant at the Chair of Art Theory at the Seminar of Art History at the University of Basel.

René Schoenenberger (b.1946) is a Swiss actor. He studied at Otto-Falckenberg-Schule München. From 1966 to 1991 he performed in many theatre plays having for example played Vladimir in Waiting for Godot at Theater am Neumarkt Zürich. He has featured in roles in films such as Das Geheimnis meines Vaters (2006), The Tigress (1992) and Winter Sleepers (1997). His most recent engagements have been in television in series such as Kommissar Dupin (2018) and In aller Freundschaft - Zwei schwierige Herren (2018).

Basil Spiess (b. 1983) is a magician and an architect. His passion for magic and the art of illusion started early in his schooldays when he discovered a book of magic. In 2001, he joined the Magic Ring of Switzerland, the society of Swiss magicians, and since then has been committed to the secrets and development of magic art. In parallel to his career as a magician, Spiess studied architecture at ETH Zürich (2002–2008) and has worked for for Herzog & de Meuron in Basel (2008–13). In 2013 he founded the architectural firm Skop in Zurich.