Instead of printing the logos of sports teams or other stadium-compatible products, the “Prater Koozies” are adorned with announcements for initiation rites that have already taken place: a graduation ceremony, a bar-mitzvah, a liberty toes dance party, etc. The date of these events is always the same, April 27th 2018, the day the prohibition of alcohol at Praterstern was put into practice. Like the notorious "brown paper bags" in the US, the commemorative Koozies obscure what’s inside of them and confuse the users’ ideas on what’s being denied or affirmed. They instead raise questions surrounding social agreements, individual freedom, and the effectiveness of prohibition.

‍An edition of 40 commemorative Koozies will be given away throughout the course of Parallel Vienna. This year’s venue (Lassallestrasse 1), sits on the boundary line of the Praterstern alcohol ban; its frontal plaza being located just inside of the ban, while the building itself sits just beyond it. -----------Claudia Slanar