Peace So Far

At the center of the interactive concert performance stands the Oder as an example of a border river contested for centuries, which at the same time has always served as a link between both banks. As a natural space and political arena, as a projection surface for national narratives and real violence, the river becomes the starting point for a multi-layered artistic-scientific performance.

With PEACES SO FAR, FrauVonDa// continues its collaboration with the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries for the third year. The collective of Czech, German, and Polish artists, biologists, historians, and philosophers focuses on the Oder as a place of possibility for peace and reconciliation.

From the diverse perspectives of the project partners, a space for dialogue emerges in which the river’s past, present, and future are renegotiated.

Viewing the Oder as a historically significant war zone, FrauVonDa// discusses in her new format senSONICtalk©, together with the audience, the massive disruption of aquatic ecological systems—caused by pollutant inputs from weapon systems as well as by the use of rivers as weapons and transport routes.

Recent developments on the Dnipro, where the ecological consequences of military actions are impressively documented, demonstrate that this issue is highly topical.

FrauVonDa// weaves together regional perspectives from border regions into an investigative and associative plea for sensitive, sustainable communities. PEACES SO FAR is at once a concert, a space for discourse, and a collective reflection—an invitation to rethink the river not as a border, but as a connecting element and a fragile lifeline.

Participants:

• Wojtek Blecharz | Composition
• FrauVonDa//
• Claudia van Hasselt | Artistic Director, Voice, Field Recordings / Vibration Score
• Nicolas Wiese | Artistic Direction, Video, Field Recordings / Live Electronics
• Daniel Eichholz | Percussion
• Roland Fidezius | Double Bass, Electric Bass

Guests:

• Schneider TM (DE) | Guitar & Electronics
• Łukasz Jastrubczak (PL) | Electronics, Synthesizer
• Magdalenà Manderlova & Michal Kinderney (CZ) | Sound art
• Peter van Huffel | Saxophone
• Rudi Fischerlehner | Percussion
• Scholars:
• Simon Teune | Sociologist / Protest and social movement researcher, FU Berlin
• Karol Chwastek | Historian, SCWiS Katowice
• Hanna Schudy | Philosopher/Environmental Ethicist, University of Wrocław
• Oleksandra Shumilova, Christian Wolter, David Bierbach, Martin Pusch | Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin