Loving Shedhalle - Resonance: 40 Years of Shedhalle Zurich

A celebration of a beloved artistic and social space on its fortieth anniversary.

Zurich's Shedhalle is a space for process-based art located on the grounds of a former textile mill known today as the Rote Fabrik (the red factory), a cultural site that emerged from the struggles for independent non-commercial spaces in Zurich of the 1980s. Since its inception in 1985, the Shedhalle has been a place where independent artists, communities, and activists come together and work. New exhibition formats, as well as artistic practices and forms of knowledge generation, have evolved here, often ahead of their time. Strategies and formats unfolded that aimed at making art effective beyond art itself.

Loving Shedhalle marks the venue's fortieth anniversary, reflecting on its history, its artistic and curatorial strategies, and the concerns negotiated here over the years. The title reflects the idea of love as an affective practice: causes are deeply interwoven with emotions, convictions, and decisions. The volume brings together voices from people involved with Zurich's Shedhalle in various ways and roles, from the early days until the present. It highlights the place's visionary potential and explores how the present is moved by echoes of the past that continue to inspire artistic, curatorial, and sociopolitical impulses.