Poetry to Power
Disegno Lectures / Poetic Operations
Workshops, Seminars and Open Lectures at the Academy of Visual Arts, Frankfurt.
No Democracy without Poetry
Workshop “Poetry to Power”
We’re putting politicians, young people, and artists in the same room.
No panels, no polite distance, no safe scripts — but following the practice of Poetic Operations.
This isn’t another discussion about democracy. It’s a test.
We use poetry—not as decoration, but as a tool—to intervene in how decisions are actually made in politics and culture.
If that sounds unlikely — good. That’s exactly the point.
“Poetry to Power” treats democracy as something you construct in real time, not something you talk about afterwards.
You are cordially invited.
Participation in the workshops is free of charge.
Join us in exploring how poetry can become a method for structuring democratic interaction and collective decision-making.
Places are limited. Registration required.
Poetry to Power
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No Democracy without Poetry
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Poetry to Power / No Democracy without Poetry /
Workshop Poetry to Power: “Wohnungsbauturbo”
In this Poetry to Power workshop, we take a concrete political decision made by the city of Frankfurt—the guidelines for the so-called Wohnungsbauturbo—as our starting point. This decision addresses a real and urgent problem: the shortage of housing.
Poetry to Power
The two-day workshop brings together politicians, young people, and artists to work through the practice of Poetic Operations.
Instead of discussing democracy in abstract terms, the group engages in a structured process that uses poetic material to reorganise how decisions can be made.
Poetic Operations – The eBook Series
These three books unfold the Disegno Lectures’ understanding of poetry not as expression, but as operation.
Poetry as Operational System develops the theoretical and practical foundations of Poetic Operations as the basis of all arts and forms of participation.
The Abstract Machine in Poetics draws on Deleuze and Guattari to explore poems as diagrammatic structures that organise perception, relation, and collective experience.
Agents of Poetic Operation examines how poetic articulation can transform culture, education, and democratic togetherness.
New Courses – 2026-26
The Workshops offer three intensive days of practice. Participants will receive an academic record of attendance worth three credit points upon completion of the course.
The Master Course consists of two parts, each three days of intensive practice. Upon completion of the course, participants will receive an academic record of attendance worth six credit points.
Fields of Deconstruction / Part II
Using Derrida's Deconstruction in Fields of Image Transformation
Fields of Deconstruction / Part I
Audio Deconstruction Fields: Spoken-word audio acts as force on four interactive grid-figure fields.
Each field auto-plays its assigned audio. Switch fields to switch tracks.