How can we form part of a community even if the others are strangers? From January to May interdisciplinary artist Dávid Somló invites us to a five-session free school: a participatory research, or as he calls it ‘lecture workshop’ that explores the nature of ritual in our everyday lives. The first session will be based on the writings of the popular South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han, and held in Trafó’s main hall, seen by the artist as a sacral space.

How do rituals create a community without communication? What happens to our attention and perception of time when we no longer have methods for pausing or closure?

In his five-session lecture workshop series, Dávid Somló explores what remains—or what is missing—from community rituals in the accelerated everyday life of contemporary society. The artistic and theoretical starting point for this shared reflection is Byung-Chul Han's book The Disappearance of Rituals, while its practical form is inspired by elements of Somló's participatory art practice. The sessions unfold between thought-provoking theoretical discussions, participatory exercises, and impulses from invited guests (artists, researchers and others) on the topic.