Dada anyone? I might head down to Zurich for this, but even if I don't I figured it might be of interest to some. Most of the lectures are in English, a couple are in French but they do indicate which language next to the topic.

I took this from a mailing I received from the Cabaret Voltaire, which is located at It is located at Spiegelgasse 1 in Zurich, easy to find.

For those who don't know, Cabaret Voltaire was the birthplace of the Dada art/social/cultural movement, which grew into the Surrealist movement and has impacted virtually all corners of popular culture today. The Cabaret was saved from becoming a hotel a few years back.
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Saturday October 28 2006 10 - 16:30 SYMPOSIUM "DADA EAST? THE ROMANIANS OF CABARET VOLTAIRE"

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, We are happy to invite you to our upcoming conference on the exhibition "Dada East? The Romanians of Cabaret Votlaire".

Entrance free

Dada was officially born on 5 February 1916, when Hugo Ball and Emmy Hennings launched their literary cabaret with the name Cabaret Voltaire in restaurant Meierei on Spiegelgasse 1 in Zurich. Ball mentions in his journal “Flight out of Time” 1916, “an oriental looking deputation of four small men, with portfolios and paintings squeezed under their arms; bowing discretely umpteen times”: Marcel Janco the painter, Tristan Tzara, George Janco, and either Jules Janco or Arthur Segal. Tom Sandqvist's research presented in the book "Dada East - The Romanians of Cabaret Voltaire" (2006), that gives us a closer look at these Romanians and at their cultural and historical roots, which have influenced the activities in Zurich in a very eminent and peculiar way, is the point of departure for this conference. The author himself will present in a key speech his thesis, that Dada comes from Romania. With professors and art specialists from Romania - Ioana Both, Andrei Oisteanu, Ion Pop, Nicolae Tzone, Matei Bejenaru and Mihnea Mircan - we will focus on a historical search for traces of the conception of Dada and with these traces also give us a reason to debate the idea of “Dada East” in a contemporary context and to search vehemently after its potential and importance for the contemporary Romanian cultural scene and for the understanding of Dada in general.

Program:
10:00 Welcome: Adrian Notz
10:05 Key Speech: Prof. Tom Sandqvist: "Dada East - The Romanians of
Cabaret Voltaire" (in english) 11:00 Prof. Ioana Both: "Avant les avant gardes. D´où venaient-ils ces Roumains?" (en français) 11:30 Prof. Andrei Oisteanu: "The Romanian Avantgarde and visual poetry. From tradition to innovation" (in english)
12:00 Prof. Ion Pop: "Tristan Tzara avant dada" (en français)
12:30 Nicolae Tzone: "Tristan Tzara était déjà Tristan Tzara avant son
depart à Zurich" (en français)
14:30 Matei Bejenaru: "Holly stories are always on TV" (in english)
15:00 Mihnea Mircan: "Revenge of the Same" (in english)
15:30 Discussion in the Plenum: "What does Dada mean art history and in
contemporary art in Romania?" (in english)

For more informationen please contact Adrian Notz: adrian.notz@cabaretvoltaire.ch Or look here: http://www.cabaretvoltaire.ch/aktuell/aktuell.php?ID=50