OPENING DAYS SUMMER 26’

Adolfstr./Schererstr. 13347, Berlin

15.08 – 16:00 to 20.00

28.08 – 18:00 to 21.00

12.09 – 16:00 to 20.00

25.09 – 18:00 to 21.00

German and Spanish translation below

After months of intense collective work, we are happy to invite you to the opening of ABERRANTE.

In times when digital isolation and extreme control over public spaces are at the center of the state’s agenda, we see an encounter with books in a library as an encounter with others. An encounter with different ideas. We hope that the library will grow into a space of constant exchange, and that moments of self-reflection will also be moments of connection with others.

That is why, from the very beginning, we have invited you all to help build this library collectively by donating books. We hope that every book in the library will serve as a means to challenge our comfort zones, to engage in self-criticism, and to sow new fields of thistles.

Like any large city, Berlin tends to give rise to separatist tendencies and to define centers where much activity is concentrated. When we think of political spaces and events, the vast majority takes place in just a few neighborhoods, of which Wedding is not necessarily one. However, Wedding is a neighborhood where many feminists live in, and projects take place. Opening a library here means building solidarity from the private, reclaiming public space, and reshaping the political through meeting each other. Berlin is home to a wide range of feminist struggles, and we would like ABERRANTE to serve as an excuse to come together despite the alienating dynamics that this city tries to impose on us.

Here we see the potential of a neighborhood that still has a vibrant social fabric. A working-class neighboorhood where solidarity and anarchxfeminist ideas take on meaning through building connections, inhabiting our everyday spaces, and self-defending against patriarchy.

We see ourselves as anarchxfeminists today, building on past struggles and histories that still feel present. We do so by engaging in discussions about our disagreements. Above all, we would like to build ourselves as part of the existing social fabric. For this reason, we envision the Library as a space for coming together. A place where other complicities and affinities can emerge. A place where labels or broad terms are not a tacit agreement but rather a constant collective effort reaffirmed through practice, mutual care, and everyday solidarity. We find ourselves belonging to that part of society that is deemed “other,” that is alien to power, that is understood as ABERRANTE.

In that same line, we see ourselves as just one more project among the many (fortunately) that exist in town, and among those that will hopefully come. We consider ourselves comrades of the other anarchist libraries, through our agreements and disagreements. We are grateful for the exchanges that have been possible so far and, above all, for the support we’ve received from those who were genuinely happy to see an anarchxfeminist library come to Wedding.

Not everything has been a positive experience, and even if only briefly, it’s important for us to mention that the last few years haven’t been easy in this city. We’ve found ourselves discussing the same patriarchal ideas over and over again, with some people refusing to acknowledge them.

We don’t believe that ABERRANTE can be oblivious to this. On the contrary, we want it to be a place where there is no fear of discussing anti-punitive feminism. A place where we can address structural issues that transcend us but also include us. A place where we can discuss social dynamics and personal attitudes, with all our contradictions, but without downplaying the former or focusing solely on the latter.

For us, anarchxfeminism is a constant practice. It is care in our relationships. It is understanding differences without competing for positions or places, it is to fight against heteronormativity and binarism. And therein lies our connection with those anarchist or feminist projects and comrades who understand that anti-patriarchal struggles are at the heart of a search for different worlds. That anti-colonialism is the root of our feminism. And that cooperation with the state will never be an option, because the state does not represent us.

Our hope is that the Library will grow thanks to the contributions of everyone who wants to further anarchist and feminist practices of dialogue …