Ahmet Öğüt

Steirischer Herbst | Graz, Austria

SAHA supports Steirischer Herbst within the scope of Ahmet Öğüt’s new project titled Sports of the Forbidden Colours. Intitled Never Again Peace, Curated by Ekaterina Degot, David Riff, Gábor Thury, and Pieternel Vermoortel, supported by Beatrice Forchini, Tobias Ihl, and Lukas Michelitsch, the 58th edition of steirischer herbst is on view between 18 September – 12 October 2025.

The 58th edition of steirischer herbst is inspired by Ernst Toller's satirical play " Never Again Peace" (1934–36): On Mount Olympus, Napoleon and Francis of Assisi argue about whether humanity prefers war or peace and send an enigmatic declaration of war to the mountainous Dunkelstein. The population immediately remembers an obscure "hereditary enemy" and takes action against foreigners.

In English, Toller's play is usually performed under the title No More Peace . However, this title fails to capture the intensity of the original and its reversal of the well-known interwar slogan "Never again war." "Never again" are also the words chanted by Buchenwald survivors shortly after the camp's liberation in April 1945.

Ahmet Öğüt (1981, Diyarbakır) is a sociocultural initiator, artist, and lecturer. Working across a variety of media, including photography, video, and installation, Öğüt often uses humor and small gestures to offer his commentary on rather serious or pressing social and political issues. Öğüt is regularly collaborating with people from outside of the art world to create shifts in the perception of the common. He has exhibited widely, and taught at several schools around the world, among which are Institut für Kunst im Kontext at Universität der Künste Berlin; Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht; Sandberg Institute Amsterdam; Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki; TransArts - Transdisziplinäre Kunst, Institut für Bildende und Mediale Kunst Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien; and DAI Arnhem.

 About Steirischer Herbst

Every autumn since its founding half a century ago, the festival has provided a platform for new productions, provoking and shaping public debates in various forms across disciplines and media. Reinventing itself many times over, steirischer herbst has always redefined the terms of the conversation about what culture might mean in a changing contemporaneity.

steirischer herbst was founded in the pivotal year of 1968, in opposition to the resurgence of nationalist cultural initiatives gaining traction at the time. This founding moment drew upon a tradition of international modernism in music, theater, and visual art, and the belief that it could (still) provide a bulwark against the deep-seated remnants of the totalitarian mentality in the world.