Backslash Festival
24-26 November 2023
Gessnerallee 8
8001 Zurich
Switzerland
Friday, 19:00 to 06:00.
Saturday, 19:00 to 01:00.
Single day ticket: 25.– (or 15.– / 35.–)
Festival pass: 45.– (or 25.– / 65.–)
Tickets presale
The transdisciplinary Backslash Festival returns to the Gessnerallee for its sixth edition from 24 to 26 November. On Friday, the first evening of the festival, visitors can look forward to a long night of cross-genre works between performance, visual art, experimental music and non-conformist rave culture. The second evening on Saturday completes the programme with carefully selected performances and concerts that turn to a more introspective aesthetic. For the first time, the hall will be played in its full size, complemented as always by the characteristic surrounding stages and spaces.
Each year, we immerse ourselves in themes that resonate with the fringes of society, drawing inspiration from the uncharted territories of thought and the eclectic. The Backslash Festival emphasises inclusivity and invites diverse voices into the nocturnal tapestry. During the festival weekend, over 20 largely younger national and international artists will create a wide range of moments spread across three rooms, somewhere between contemplative introspection and ecstatic raves beyond conventional genre boundaries.
The festival night awakens with hushed conversations, the quiet rustle of anticipation and the rhythmic patter of footsteps, soon joined by bodies in movement and the sounds of the stages. As the night unfurls its velvet cloak, the stage takes centre stage—it becomes a space where emerging artists breathe life into their truths. The air is thick with the strains of instruments, the harmonious voices of souls laid bare, and the flickering lights that paint the atmosphere. The bodies intertwine, casting a spell of wonder that transports to the very heart of expression.
At its core, Backslash Festival is all about transcending boundaries. Through a meticulous curation that spans various artistic realms, we strive to create in-between spaces where distinctions between fact and fiction, touch and emotion, sound and sight, words and sensory information fade away. We are dedicated to weaving a tapestry that challenges linear time and disciplinary constraints. The festival's commitment is not limited to the stages—attraction forces are also to be created in the shared moments between individuals, in the unspoken connections amidst the audience. Here, labels and distinctions dissolve and make way for acceptance and empathy.
Embrace a journey that beckons you to step away from the cacophony of life and enter a world where the night is a canvas for the unscripted, where individuality thrives, and where the soul finds solace. The lights, the sounds, and the shared moments are our companions on this voyage, where the boundaries of reality blur. Those who embark on this nocturnal journey of discovery are invited to feel not only as visitors of a festival, but moreover to become part of an organic narrative. Welcome to the Backslash Festival.
The whole festival has been planned so that all spaces are accessible for wheelchair users.
The festival is organised by the non-profit association Tokyo Data Collective. The collective’s main focus is to develop projects setting up transdisciplinary symmetries between performing arts, rave culture and visual arts.
Association Tokyo Data Collective
Hofstrasse 142
8044 Zurich
Switzerland
info(at)backslashfestival.com
Archives
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2019
2018
2017
2016
With the kind support of:
Dr. Georg und Josi Guggenheim Stiftung
Ernst Göhner Stiftung
Landis & Gyr Stiftung
Migros Kulturprozent
Oertli Stiftung
Pro Helvetia
Südkulturfonds
Temperatio Stiftung
Design & website by Marco Buetikofer.
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