The House of Open Gates: An Enclave Between the City of Graz as it is, and as We Imagine it Could be

Abstract

In the middle of the so-called migration crisis and in face of neoliberal politics leading to an astonishing rise of fascism and xenophobia worldwide, cultural producers and artistic communities are responding with an intensification of critical discourses, artistic strategies and spatial tactics¬ that foster inclusion, social cohesion and empowerment of migrant populations towards mutual respect and acknowledgment of the richness of multiculturalism and diversity. Within this context, this article will examine a particular project named The House of Open Gates that took place in the city of Graz, Austria, in the autumn of 2016. This project was part of the Steirischer Herbst festival, entitled Narratives from the Arrival City. In this article I would like to make a short expedition between my artistic position (as a member of the curatorial and artistic team) and the used tactics, while addressing both the process in which the House of Open Gates was conceived and how it became a temporary space of openness and otherness in the city of Graz.