The symposium of the Parasite School, an international artistic project that tests parasitic tactics as a contemporary methodology of resistant artistic practices. Contributors from the arts, philosophy, and the social sciences come together to develop and discuss strategies of infiltration, embedding, and irritation.

At its core is the figure of the parasite, not as a metaphor but as a methodology for operating within hegemonic structures and unsettling them through complicity. Through this approach, relations of power, processes of appropriation, and economic dependencies are rendered visible, their fragility exposed, and concrete possibilities for resistant artistic practice explored.

The symposium emerges out of the preceding Parasite School, conceived as a temporary workspace and rehearsal space in which six artists develop projects that, starting in July, will infiltrate existing host systems (companies and organizations). At Amazon, in management consulting, cash-in-transit services, or within the digital Gig Economy, the artists will begin undercover paid labour in order to test parasitic forms of artistic practice under real conditions.

Grounded in the case studies of economist Jana Costas and forthcoming interventions within On Parasiting, the panel formats on Day 1 focus in particular on the aesthetic-political dimensions of irritation, disruption, and resistance, taking existing sites, resources, and infrastructures as their point of departure. Contributions by sociologist and philosopher Oliver Marchart, curator Post Brothers, the activists and artists of peng!, and the artist and curator Jakob-Margit Wirth open up a space in which theory and practice intersect.

Registration for the symposium (non-binding, but very helpful for planning purposes) via: register@parasiting.net.

Program:
14:00 Curatorial introduction | Matilde Outeiro, Jakob-Margit Wirth
14:30 Case Study: “Cracks, Critique, Cooptation – What is the Role of Research?” | Jana Costas
15:15 Parasite artists introduce their future hosts
16:00 Coffee break
16:15 Stream: “The Aesthetics of Parasitic Art” | Post Brothers
“Shifting the aesthetic understanding with the Parasite” | Jakob-Margit Wirth
17:00 Keynote: “One minute of parasitic dancing” | Oliver Marchart
17:30 Panel discussion on the aesthetic-political understanding of Parasite Art | Oliver Marchart, Jakob-Margit Wirth, Post Brothers, moderated by Marina Resende Santos
18:15 Break with snacks
18:30 Short film screening and discussion | the peng! collective
19:00 Open dinner at diffrakt with bar

Day 2 focuses on the ethical-emancipatory dimensions of parasitic tactics and their consequences, with a particular emphasis on non-binary theoretical approaches. Four presentations on the upcoming artistic interventions within On Parasiting establish the basis for discussion, followed by contributions from artists Vincent Rumahloine and Suelen Calonga, art historian Tonia Andresen, and ethnographers Jen Clarke, Michael Degani, and Grace Zhou. The Parasite School concludes with the artistic case of Pilvi Takala.

Registration for the symposium (non-binding, but very helpful for planning purposes) via: register@parasiting.net.

Program:
14:00 Curatorial introduction & Parasite artists introduce their hosts | Matilde Outeiro & Jakob-Margit Wirth
15:00 Impulse Lectures on The Parasite and the Non-Binary | Suelen Calonga, Tonia Andresen
16:00 Coffee break
16:15 Parasite artists introduce their hosts
17:00 Stream: “The Ethics of Parasitic Art” | Michael Degani, Grace Zhou, Jen Clarke, Vincent Rumahloine
17:45 Panel discussion on the political and ethical opportunities and challenges of parasitic art | moderated by Chiara Garbellotto with Michael Degani, Grace Zhou, Jen Clarke, and Vincent Rumahloine
18:30 Break with snacks
18:45 Short film screening “The Stroker” and discussion | Pilvi Takala
19:30 Symposium recap | Matilde Outeiro & Jakob-Margit Wirth

More information on the symposium programme can be found here; on the overall project via the website parasiting.net, Social Media on.parasiting or the Newsletter.