Großer ungeordneter Aufmarsch der Holobionten
2026
On July 25, 2026, the “United Holobiontic Protection Alliance” will hold a collective march to advocate for the equal rights of all human and non-human beings and to celebrate the city’s green spaces. The march begins at 11 a.m. at the Vater-Rhein-Brunnen in Munich. The march will last approximately 3 hours and will include an opening rally and two stops featuring dance performances, manifestos, and a blessing of the green spaces. It will conclude with a holobiontic picnic at Maximilianplatz.
If you would like to become a member of the “United Holobiontic Protection Alliance,” participate in the march, or simply get more information about the project, I would be happy to hear from you at info@judithegger.com.
More details about the project will also be published on this page over the coming weeks.
Project details: In April 2025, the global grassroots movement “United Holobiontic Protection Alliance” (UHPA) was founded. Judith Egger donned a cockroach costume, while the other three holobionts* in the group were primarily made of organic material. Each of these holobionts represents a metaorganism that harbors many smaller organisms. It is an important part of the “web of life” that sustains us all. Most holobionts speak languages inaudible to humans, so the cockroach has volunteered to speak for them and advocate for their interests and rights. The first manifesto of the United Holobiontic Protection Alliance, which it presented to the audience in a universal spoken language, was an urgent call to respect the interests and rights of holobionts and to protect the fragile balance of life on Earth.
The UPAH advocates for a new relationship with all living things—one that is not characterized by dominance, separation, and subjugation, but rather by an understanding of mutual dependence and deep interconnectedness.
To underscore the urgency of this cause, a large gathering of holobionts and their sympathizers will head to several key green spaces in downtown Munich in the summer of 2026 and enliven them through interventions. The Holobionts’ procession thus addresses the great value of these open spaces by walking through them, honoring them, and activating them through artistic actions and new rituals (dance, music, singing, sprinkling water, holobiont invocations). In doing so, the holobionts express loving care and set the intention to protect and preserve the green spaces.
*“Holobiont” is a concept from biology that refers to a community of organisms living in symbiosis with one another and regarded as a single functional unit, a kind of ecosystem or metaorganism. The characteristics of a holobiont are unstable; however, there is an ongoing transformative dialogue between all the organisms connected within it. Humans themselves are a classic example of a holobiont. Animals, plants, and even the Earth are all part of a single, vast holobiont in which humans play only a modest role.
In April 2025, the global grassroots movement “United Holobiontic Protection Alliance” (UHPA) was founded. Judith Egger donned a cockroach costume, while the group’s other three holobionts* were made primarily of organic material. Each of these holobionts represents a metaorganism that harbors many smaller organisms. It is an important part of the “web of life” that sustains us all. Most holobionts speak languages inaudible to humans, so the cockroach volunteered to speak for them and advocate for their interests and rights. The first manifesto of the United Holobiontic Protection Alliance, which it presented to the audience in a universal spoken language, was an urgent call to respect the interests and rights of holobionts and to protect the fragile balance of life on Earth. The UPAH advocates for a new relationship with all living things, one that is not characterized by dominance, separation, and subjugation, but by an understanding of mutual dependence and deep interconnectedness.
To underscore the urgency of this cause, a large gathering of Holobionts and their supporters will head to several key green spaces in downtown Munich in the summer of 2026 and bring them to life through artistic interventions. The plan includes 25 full-body costumes and 15 partial costumes, as well as 5 rollable sculptures and 1 parade float. The Holobionts’ procession thus addresses the great value of these open spaces by walking through them, honoring them, and activating them through artistic actions and new rituals (dance, music, singing, sprinkling water, Holobiont invocations, and picnics).
In this way, the Holobionts express loving care and set the intention to protect and preserve the green spaces.
*“Holobiont” is a concept from biology that refers to a community of organisms living in symbiosis with one another and regarded as a single living entity or metaorganism. The characteristics of a holobiont are unstable; however, there is a continuous transformative dialogue between all the organisms connected within it. Humans themselves are a classic example of a holobiont. Animals, plants, and even the Earth are all part of a single, vast holobiont in which humans play only a modest role.
The itinerary:
We’ll start at the Vater-Rhein-Brunnen at 11 a.m., then head along the Wehrsteig and across Praterinsel to Maximilianstraße. We’ll bless the green spaces with water from the Isar. We’ll pass the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten and turn right onto Marstallstraße. A short stop on the Wittelsbacher Wiese behind the Marstall with a silent dance performance (the Holobionts have promised to be quiet since rehearsals are taking place in the Marstall!).
On to the second stop at the “Harmlos” sculpture near the Hofgarten. Here: dancing, singing, blessing, and refreshments.
Via Galeriestraße and Briennerstraße, then on to the finish at Maximiliansplatz. Here, the closing rally and the Holobiont picnic will take place.
We humans are not isolated points, but nodes in a global network. This insight must be
understood, embodied, and brought into politics. “Politics must take the form of art, of an experiment.
It must go beyond protesting against power and must create things.” (...) We need things that move us—art, music, festivals, social actions—but also “carnival,” as Akomolafe says with a smile. It is no coincidence that he chooses carnival, which dissolves all hierarchies, turns the world upside down, and allows for a creative play of identities.
The project is sponsored by PUBLIC ART MUNICH as part of the Focus Year Excursions series. More information here
