The Autonomous Schule Zürich (ASZ) will continue its courses with immediate effect in part of the former ZHdK premises at Sihlquai 125. The self-organized migrant education project has thus found a space in the middle of the city for its continued existence. The ASZ is willing to continue talks with the city. A longer-term stay at Sihlquai is also a good option for them.
Please circulate: PDF to print out, put in letterboxes, flyers etc.!
Dear residents of the city of Zurich,
In the middle of last week, we, the Autonomous School Zurich (ASZ), found ourselves on the street. Contrary to the assurances of representatives of the city, there were no offers from the public sector that would ensure the school’s continued existence with immediate effect. The offer of the Werkerei space in Schwamendingen – which was made to us a week before we moved out – has shattered as a possible immediate solution from the city. As the city representatives of the ASZ informed us in an email last Thursday, the rooms that could be used at short notice have, contrary to the city’s plan, been sublet to another tenant from next Monday by the real estate company responsible. According to the city, the other rooms in the Werkerei cannot be occupied until spring 2016 at the earliest. These are the rooms that currently house the Blue Lion business development project.
This highlights how hastily the Werkerei’s offer was set up. It was intended to put pressure on the school and publicly discredit it as being too selective. We strongly oppose this accusation and call on all parties involved to move away from power games and return to a substantive discussion about shaping our urban space. From ASZ’s perspective, it is a political issue that the offer in Schwamendingen exists against the backdrop of the city’s economic development project, Blue Lion, involving players like Swisscom and ZKB. This project is set to move into a municipal interim use property at Sihlquai, organized through the city’s real estate exchange. This exchange is supposed to provide spaces for projects and individuals who otherwise cannot afford to rent in Zurich. Last year, the ASZ was already sidelined in its application for the Sihlquai premises, as it could neither afford the rent of 85 CHF per square meter nor compete with the lobbying efforts of other projects. This was reflected in a pro forma offer, which we could only reject. In addition to the excessive price, the offered space was too small and completely unsuitable for a school operation. The space was a 260 m² room. During the inspection, it became clear that renovations would likely not be allowed. How can one run a school in a single large room? We had a strong impression that our project was not truly welcome at Sihlquai or, at best, was to be placed in an “integration floor” in spaces too small, as a token of urban diversity. In our rejection, we detailed all these concerns. The city never responded.
The offer in Schwamendingen once again underscores that the city government evidently prioritises bringing economic development projects like Blue Lion into affordable city-center properties while relegating migrant projects to the outskirts.
The situation becomes even more absurd when considering that the BlueLion Foundation is officially registered as a nonprofit association. In contrast, this year, the Verein Bildung für Alle, which operates the Autonomous School Zurich (ASZ), was denied nonprofit status. Is this truly the logic of societal and public benefit we want to live by? We say no. We must resist these developments.
Recent days have again shown that the limited urban spaces remaining in Zurich—still not seized by real estate speculators (while thousands of unused square meters of office space sit empty purely for speculative pricing)—should be used to provide space for people and projects advocating for open, critical discourse and dialogue. Those attempting to pressure a project like the Autonomous School Zurich through power plays have failed to understand the sociopolitical importance of the issues this school represents.
All across Europe, societies are grappling with political solutions for addressing the many people fleeing from various war and crisis regions. In Switzerland, there is once again an eerie silence. Amid societal suppression, right-wing populists score points with their campaigns, while political consensus enacts accelerated procedures and stricter deportation policies that, upon closer examination, are deeply troubling. Since its inception, the Autonomous School Zurich has been dedicated to critically addressing deportation and asylum policies. It is a place of solidarity and resistance against a national logic that claims no alternatives exist. For these unrecognized alternatives, we stand—utopian, idealistic, and very concrete. We are a community space without reservations about origin, gender, or social status. Our motto is “Education for All.” Anyone encountering the Autonomous School Zurich feels that it expresses the vision of a world of tomorrow: “All who are here, are from here.”
With this open letter, we call on all residents of Zurich to stand in solidarity with us—for the revival and defense of a critical and political space in the heart of this city that fosters encounters breaking free from the constraints of our time and society, silence, and suppression; that asks questions that are uncomfortable but necessary; and that provides a place for those who, under current laws, are forced into invisibility and voiceless conformity.
We will not be displaced!
The Autonomous School Zurich