A democratic society needs a democratic culture of memory. How are marginalised narratives and narratives of resistance addressed? Which narratives of history support the ongoing existence of forms of dominance and exploitation? How do such phenomena relate to the political situation in which we find ourselves today? The event “Memory Conflicts” traces anti-fascist narratives that are often suppressed and forgotten in post-Nazi Austria.

These questions are investigated in the exhibition “Žensko ime odpora / The Female Name of Resistance” (23/04–08/05/2024), which commemorates women who were a part of the resistance against the Nazis. In March 1943, 80 years ago, with the Second World War raging, the Slovenian Anti-Fascist Women’s Front (Antifašistična fronta žena) formed a Carinthian branch in Eisenkappel/Železna Kapla. Drawing on this, curators Helena Verdel, Vida Obid, Elisabeth Rausch and Elisabeth Holzinger conceptualised an exhibition, commissioned by the WerkStattMuseum, about the resistance of the Slovenian women in Carinthia in connection with further examples of resistance against National Socialism across Austria.

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The sound work Up/or takes historical sound recordings of the Koroški partizanski pevski zbor (Carinthian Partisan:innen Choir) as a starting point for a de- and recontextualisation of the political audio material.
What is heard is intended to draw connections between the original recordings and the reinterpretations, thereby giving space to questions about resistance (Slovenian Upor) in the here and now.
How and where is the perpetual anti-fascist struggle located and which acoustic narratives go hand in hand with it? From voice to noise - disruptive factors against political oppression.

A sound work by Philipp Pettauer and Samo Zeichen.

Collaborators / Sodelavke*ci:
Alina Zeichen (vocals, lyrics)
Marija Zeichen (vocals)
Rozvita Demšar (vocals)
Samo Zeichen (production, lyrics)
Philipp Pettauer (production)
Veronika Zeichen (vocals)

Original recordings:
Koroški Partizanski Zbor