The project by the multidisciplinary collective with Spanish origins, Todo por la Praxis, who are invited as residents in June 2015, breathes new life into a public space which has been abandoned as such within the heart of the city of Luxembourg (where the boulevard de la Pétrusse and the Passerelle/Viaduc meet).
Here, the artists are offering an alternative approach to conventional architecture by setting up a Temporary Autonomous Zone (TAZ): an ephemeral space, newly constructed and made up of elements which may or may not serve their main function. The three floors are given over to experimentation and experience (in the construction itself as in its use), meetings and learning.
Since the collective's creation in 2005, Todo por la Praxis, through references to the writings of anarchist writer and poet Hakim Bey (in fact, the name, TAZ - Temporary Autonomous Zone, is borrowed from him), have been offering strategies with a cultural and social vocation which shake up public spaces. Governed by the principles of self-sufficiency, community work and knowledge-sharing, the TAZ are intimately linked to growing, bottom-up citizens' initiatives.
To familiarise visitors with how the TAZ works, Todo por la Praxis are organising an "archive" on the first floor of the structure to be set up to document similar initiatives throughout the world. Open to everybody, the Luxembourgish project works, on a small scale, as a Temporary Autonomous Zone which the public can use through simply visiting it or through participating in the various activities which it offers.
The renovation of the ground floor makes it suitable as a reception area, and it is used as a meeting and discussion room. Workshops, film screenings and concerts are also organised there. A local community garden is set up on the second floor. We should point out that today we are seeking a network of people who know how to keep it alive. All that remains is to call upon the responsibility of everyone to make this converted public area work and evolve!
Here, the artists are offering an alternative approach to conventional architecture by setting up a Temporary Autonomous Zone (TAZ): an ephemeral space, newly constructed and made up of elements which may or may not serve their main function. The three floors are given over to experimentation and experience (in the construction itself as in its use), meetings and learning.
Since the collective's creation in 2005, Todo por la Praxis, through references to the writings of anarchist writer and poet Hakim Bey (in fact, the name, TAZ - Temporary Autonomous Zone, is borrowed from him), have been offering strategies with a cultural and social vocation which shake up public spaces. Governed by the principles of self-sufficiency, community work and knowledge-sharing, the TAZ are intimately linked to growing, bottom-up citizens' initiatives.
To familiarise visitors with how the TAZ works, Todo por la Praxis are organising an "archive" on the first floor of the structure to be set up to document similar initiatives throughout the world. Open to everybody, the Luxembourgish project works, on a small scale, as a Temporary Autonomous Zone which the public can use through simply visiting it or through participating in the various activities which it offers.
The renovation of the ground floor makes it suitable as a reception area, and it is used as a meeting and discussion room. Workshops, film screenings and concerts are also organised there. A local community garden is set up on the second floor. We should point out that today we are seeking a network of people who know how to keep it alive. All that remains is to call upon the responsibility of everyone to make this converted public area work and evolve!