Technologies of Togetherness
Opening with the poetry collective performance: May 30, 2026, 7pm
On view until July 11, 2026
Visiting hours: Fridays and Saturdays, 2–6pm and by appointment
VBKÖ – Vereinigung bildender Künstlerinnen Österreichs
Maysedergasse 2/28 (4th Floor), Vienna
Technologies of Togetherness is a collaborative project that explores collective creation, shared knowledge, and community-based artistic practices. The project brings together two collective works: An Herbal Narrative, developed by Drága Cardo in collaboration with a group of street vendors from Augustin, and Where Our Voices Meet, developed by Mihret Kebede in collaboration with members of Schwarze Frauen Community (SFC). Selected through the open call, the projects approach artistic practice as a technology of community, a set of shared practices that heal, transmit knowledge, generate joy, and strengthen collective bonds.
An Herbal Narrative emerges from a series of workshops in which two Super 8 films are collectively shot and developed using plants growing in Vienna, facilitated by the artist duo Drága Cardo in collaboration with Augustin street vendors. The project proposes a novel view and relation to public space through the acts of foraging plants, performing in front of the camera, and shooting film collectively. Throughout the month of May, the traces of this process were displayed in the space of the VBKÖ, including the equipment necessary for developing, the recollected plants, notes about the developing process, etc. These fragments are completed in the final exhibition through the presentation of the two short films made by the group. The workshop and the exhibition function as a laboratory to explore both chemical processes as well as new and unexpected forms of togetherness.
Where Our Voices Meet is a collective poetry performance emerging from a shared process of writing, listening, and exchange, facilitated by Mihret Kebede in collaboration with members of SFC. Rooted in Audre Lorde’s understanding that poetry is not a luxury, the work brings together voices shaped by different languages, memories, and lived experiences. Through spoken word, rhythm, and moments of silence, participants weave individual and collective narratives. The piece embraces multilingual expression and layered storytelling, allowing meanings to unfold in more than one way. The intention is to create a space of presence and connection, where voices meet without hierarchy, and where poetry becomes a shared act of witnessing, resistance, and togetherness. This collaborative journey honors the power of poetry to transform our reality. It is a vital exploration of how we listen to one another; Here, we find the courage to speak, to hold space, and to exist.
About the artists and the collectives
Drága Cardo is an artist duo based in Bilbao and Vienna and formed by Camil Téllez and Eszter Katalin in 2024, who have been collaborating in various projects since 2020. Their work addresses queer and feminist ecologies and is dedicated to developing more sustainable ways to work with analogue film, particularly within the medium of Super 8. Their work has been exhibited so far in Spain, Argentina and Austria and they regularly organize workshops to transmit their knowledge regarding plant based film developers.
Mihret Kebede is a multidisciplinary artist and poet working across poetry, artistic research, and cross-cultural collaborations. She is the co-founder of Tobiya Poetic Jazz, Netsa Art Village Artists Collective, and the Addis International Video Art Festival. Her bilingual (Amharic–English) collection #EvolutionaryPoems, co-translated with Anna Moschovakis, was recently recognized by the New York Public Library as one of the 25 best poetry books selected from over 200 submissions. She is currently a PhD in Practice candidate at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
For three decades, the street paper Augustin has been a critical voice against social injustice – a platform for marginalised issues and voices that are all too often overheard. 50% of the sales go to the vendors, and 50% is used to finance the paper. This enables people who, for various reasons, are in precarious economic situations to pursue a self-determined activity.
Schwarze Frauen Community (SFC) is a grassroots organization supporting Black women, youth, and families across the African diaspora. It offers social and psychological counseling, trauma-informed spaces, and educational programs addressing racism, identity, and belonging. Rooted in community care and activism, SFC is a key space for empowerment within Austria’s Black communities.
This program has been organised by the VBKÖ members: Susana Ojeda and Mzamo Nondlwana.
