tranzit 20+ past, present, future

tranzit.org is a network of autonomous initiatives for contemporary art based in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. Each tranzit operates under its own conditions and in its own local sociocultural contexts, using different formats and methods to contextualize, generate, or host theoretical, artistic, and activist debates around urgent topics.

tranzit.org turned twenty years old in 2022.

The aim of this publication is to take stock and reflect on both this history and ongoing conversations. The five main chapters are centered around key concerns- institutional critique, radical education, ecology, the legacies of neo-avant-garde art, and the future

-that each tranzit has addressed extensively over the years, while also offering a critical rethinking of these shared topics' relevance going forward.

Accordingly, the chapters unfold not only through existing texts but also through newly commissioned contributions and updated/re-edited essays. Through a variety of formats ranging from academic writing to interviews, letters, diagrams, drawings, photographs, and film stills, they create generative, open-ended conversations. The book opens with an interview the editors conducted with the current tranzit leaders and concludes with a timeline of each tranzit in their own chosen format.