ADENAUER SRP+
In the book ‘Es ist 5 vor 1933: Was die AfD vorhat – und wie wir sie stoppen können’, the Center for Political Beauty, led by action artist Philipp Ruch, has compiled 2,000 pieces of evidence of the AfD’s hostility to the constitution. With the ‘Adenauer SRP+’ campaign, the artists’ collective has staged a bus as a prisoner transporter and is travelling to AfD election campaign locations with it. Equipped with anti-aircraft searchlights, sirens, a fog system and laser projectors, the vehicle provides a spectacular stage against the erosion of democracy. The premiere took place at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in 2025. A short time later, in collaboration with Led by Donkeys, the group criticised Elon Musk’s support for far-right parties in Europe with a video projection on the façade of the Tesla factory in Grünheide near Berlin.
ZENTRUM FÜR POLITISCHE SCHÖNHEIT
The Zentrum für Politische Schönheit (Center for Political Beauty, ZPS) is an activist collective of over 100 action artists and creatives led by philosopher and performance artist Philipp Ruch. The group sees itself as a think tank merging human rights advocacy with political performance art, aiming to raise awareness of humanitarian crises, genocide, refugee movements, and political inaction through provocative artistic interventions.
ZPS operates on the belief that political apathy and cynicism dominate Germany, leading to indifference toward global humanitarian crises, such as those in Syria and North Africa. Their interventions are designed as “moral pressure chambers”, forcing urgent discussions, even if they provoke controversy. Their approach prioritizes long-term ethical impact over immediate political gains, challenging Germany to rethink its moral responsibilities and global privileges.
Philipp Ruch describes ZPS’s work as creating “counter-realities” through art, blurring the line between fiction and reality to expose uncomfortable truths. The collective has gained significant media attention, with coverage from outlets like 3sat, Spiegel TV, and international news organizations, particularly for their 2009 commemoration of the Srebrenica Massacre victims.
LINKS
politicalbeauty.de
@political_beauty
BEITRAGBILD
zentrum für politische Schönehit: Adenauer SRP+. Berlin 2025. Photo: Zentrum für politische Schönheit.
PROTESTS BY NIGHT: LIGHT FOR FREEDOM
Documentations of Art Projects — curated by Thomas Schielke.
