Political Girl: Reading with Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot and Eric J. Breitenbach

Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) Karlsruhe, Friday, April 17 at 07:00 PM GMT+2

Political Girl: Reading with Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot and Eric J. Breitenbach

Maria Alyokhina, a member of Pussy Riot, and Eric J. Breitenbach are coming to HfG Karlsruhe for a reading of Political Girl—Life and Fate in Putin’s Russia.*

When/where: April 17, 2026, 7 pm. HfG, 1. OG (Reling)

In her recent book, Maria reflects on the years 2014–2022 in Russia — the period between her release from prison and escape from the country after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine — about love and friendship, resistance and repression, and about life under increasing political pressure.
Maria has become an important voice in global protest culture. With their Punk Prayer in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in 2012, Maria and her fellow activists warned of the dangers of Russian authoritarianism. They paid for this courageous act of non-violent protest with imprisonment. When Russia’s war against Ukraine began, Maria and her friends continued to protest. Facing another prison sentence, she fled Russia in 2022.

Eric J. Breitenbach toured with Pussy Riot in 2025. As a drummer and multimedia artist, he accompanies the reading with improvised soundscapes composed in real time. By using electronic production, sound design, and improvised music to create an atmosphere that reflects the themes and tone of the book, Eric transforms the reading into an immersive performance that combines literature, music, and activism.

The reading will be held in English and will be followed by a Q&A session. Entry is free.

Organised by the Department of Art Theory and Mediaphilosophy and Community Toolkit Workshop.

* Berlin Verlag, German translation by Nina Frey & Stephan Pauli

Image credits: Eunsoo Choi and Max Beller

https://keepkarlsruheboring.org/event/political-girl-reading-with-maria-alyokhina-of-pussy-riot-and-eric-j-breitenbach

when people come into anarchy/anarchism from social media they sometimes see it as more aligned with liberalism than it is

i came into it that way, but i also spent time in activism/organizing, read classic literature and modern zines, familiarized myself with the current milieu, etc.

the beautiful idea has always been considered dangerous. it's never made everyone happy at once or offered a single conception of liberatory possibilities

#Anarchy #Anarchism #Autonomy #AntiAuthoritarianism

You Can't Fight the System while Feeding it.

YOU CAN'T FIGHT THE SYSTEM WHILE FEEDING IT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWlf9X5OIOI&t=203

#fascism #eattherich #anarchism #action #communitybuilding #walkthetalk #sdismantlezionism #antiauthoritarianism #conciousness

Is Europe repeating Chamberlain? Not yet. No territory has been conceded, no U.S. claim over Greenland accepted. But prolonged restraint in the face of escalating coercion risks recreating the logic of appeasement: when pressure carries no cost, it invites more pressure. History’s warning comes before repetition.
https://bit.ly/4sJvMTo

#Democracy #RuleOfLaw #AntiAuthoritarianism
#Appeasement #Europe #StandUp
#ForeignPolicy #Greenland

The Register: How hackers are fighting back against ICE surveillance tech . “Clever hackers and digital privacy advocates are fighting back against the snooping activities of Kristi Noem’s masked agents. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has rounded up several of these counter surveillance projects, and perhaps unsurprisingly many of these have to do with Flock, best known for its […]

#StudioGhibli and #Solarpunk - The environmental and humanist themes of the famous #Anime studio

by Mia Milne, Jan 11, 2025

"This past summer, I watched most of Studio Ghibli’s films. The studio or it’s main creative force, #HayaoMiyazaki, are often mentioned as major influences on the solarpunk genre. It’s not a coincidence that one of their composers did the music for the solarpunk-inspired yogurt ad. Despite how connected Studio Ghibli seems to be to solarpunk, I found that only two of their 20+ movies have substantial solarpunk imagery or worldbuilding. Even so, it’s clear that these films were highly influential even if they’re weren’t solarpunk films. The influence comes from Studio Ghibli’s constant themes of environmentalism, humanism, community, anti-authoritarianism, and pacifism."

Read more:
https://solarthoughts.substack.com/p/studio-ghibli-and-solarpunk

#SolarPunkSunday #SolarPunkArt #Anime #AntiAuthoritarianism #Environmentalism #WorldBuilding #Nausicaä #CastleInTheSky