Contribution short abstract:

The researchers and curators examine how art resists anti-Muslim racism in Austria. Tracing instances of racialized state violence and discussing the Muslim*Contemporary art festival, they show how community-based art challenges oppression and reclaims public spaces for marginalized communities.

Contribution long abstract:

The lecture by Asma Aiad and Anahita Neghabat is based on the 2020 police raid in Austria, in which over 60 Muslim households were targeted. This police raid against the Muslim community in Austria, known as Operation Luxor, was ultimately declared a failure, a mistake that shook and broke the Muslim community in Austria. The first edition of the art festival Muslim*Contemporary (organized by Asma Aiad and Salam Oida and supported by the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna) in Vienna in 2021 critically addressed Operation Luxor through visual art and archival material. The 2021 festival's response to this case of state violence was politically attacked by the right-wing ruling party, which accused the festival’s artists of promoting "political Islam" and "left-wing extremism."

Aiad and Neghabat will discuss the historical continuities of state violence against racialized communities in Austria, including Black, Roma and Muslim groups. They will highlight their work that demonstrates how art serves as a powerful tool for resistance and transformation in a post-migrant context. Their insights will include the history and current state of anti-Muslim racism, structural discrimination and racialization processes in Austria and beyond. Understanding the colonial roots of contemporary anti-Muslim racism is crucial to understanding the marginalization of Muslim communities, who are often excluded from mainstream discourse and leadership roles despite their longstanding presence since the 10th century and their official recognition in Austria since 1912.