Kilometer Zero

Kilometer Zero emerged in Paris in 2000 from a meeting and organizing effort at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. It was formed as a collective rather than as a conventional publishing company or theatre organization, bringing together artists, writers, and cultural participants from different countries. Its name alludes to the kilometre-zero marker in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral, a symbolic point from which distances from Paris are measured. The name therefore combines a distinctly Parisian origin with an international outlook. The collective established an organizational structure under France’s law of 1901, which enabled it to function as an association. Its activities crossed several cultural forms. Magazine publishing gave the group a continuing editorial platform, while theatre and live performance allowed it to address political and social issues through events in physical public spaces. The magazine was designed to be free of advertising, positioning it as an independent creative and political forum rather than a consumer publication dependent on commercial placement. The magazine’s contributor network included prominent writers, political commentators, and artists. Among the names associated with the publication are Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Dennis Cooper, Tom Tomorrow, Daniel Stedman, C. D. Wright, and Sparkle Hayter. This mixture of literary, political, and visual voices reflected Kilometer Zero’s broad editorial ambitions and its interest in connecting cultural production with public debate. During the early 2000s, the collective developed a series of projects that made intervention and public participation central to its practice. The Robin Hood Project, presented in summer 2002, took the form of a product-placement sting. Major designer labels were duped into donating goods to French charities, turning the language and mechanisms of commercial promotion toward a charitable purpose. The project exemplified the group’s interest in satire, institutional critique, and practical redistribution. In March 2003, Kilometer Zero produced an adaptation of Lysistrata in the context of an anti-war statement made by theatres around the world. The choice of Aristophanes’ play connected a classical comic text about women withholding sex to contemporary opposition to war, using theatre as a vehicle for collective political expression. The group expanded its geographic reach with Pssst... America! in October 2004. The project was a seven-city political barnstorming tour in the United States that focused on social inequality in the period leading up to the 2004 presidential election. Rather than limiting its work to a magazine audience, Kilometer Zero used a mobile event format to bring its political and artistic concerns to multiple locations. In May 2005, the collective opened the Dashanzi International Arts Festival in Beijing with The Short Step. Approximately 400 Western participants wore traditional Chinese factory uniforms as part of the performance. Chinese officials interrupted the event, creating a direct encounter between the collective’s international performance practice and local official control over public cultural activity. Kilometer Zero’s early history was also preserved in literary form. Jeremy Mercer’s 2005 novel Time Was Soft There, published by St. Martin’s Press, documents the group’s founding environment and association with Shakespeare and Company. The available reference material does not establish a later leadership structure, ownership arrangement, financial profile, current website, or confirmed continuation of activity. Consequently, the collective is best described as a historically documented Paris-founded arts association whose present status requires verification.

• 2005

  The Short Step opens the Dashanzi International Arts Festival

  [1]Kilometer Zeroen.wikipedia.org

  The collective opened the Beijing festival with a large performance that was interrupted by Chinese officials.

• 2005

  Collective documented in Time Was Soft There

  [1]Kilometer Zeroen.wikipedia.org

  Jeremy Mercer’s novel Time Was Soft There, published by St. Martin’s Press, documented the formation and early environment of Kilometer Zero.

• 2004

  Pssst... America! tour

  [1]Kilometer Zeroen.wikipedia.org

  A seven-city American tour addressed social inequality before the 2004 presidential election.

• 2003

  Lysistrata anti-war production

  [1]Kilometer Zeroen.wikipedia.org

  Kilometer Zero produced an adaptation of Lysistrata as part of an international theatrical anti-war statement.

• 2002

  The Robin Hood Project

  [1]Kilometer Zeroen.wikipedia.org

  The collective carried out a product-placement sting that resulted in designer goods being donated to French charities.

• 2000

  Collective founded in Paris

  [1]Kilometer Zeroen.wikipedia.org

  Kilometer Zero was founded at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris and organized as an association under France’s law of 1901.

An independent, politically engaged arts and publishing collective that combines international writing, advertising-free media, theatre, and experimental public performance.

• Magazine and independent publishing

  Kilometer Zero magazine

  The Kilometer Zero magazine was created as an advertising-free creative and political platform. It brought together literary, artistic, and political contributions and was associated with writers and commentators including Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Dennis Cooper, Tom Tomorrow, Daniel Stedman, C. D. Wright, and Sparkle Hayter. Its editorial model emphasized cultural independence rather than conventional commercial publishing.

• Theatre · 2003

  Theatre productions

  Kilometer Zero produced theatrical work as part of its broader political and artistic practice. Its documented repertoire includes an adaptation of Lysistrata presented in March 2003 as part of an international anti-war statement involving theatres in multiple countries. The group’s theatre work connected established dramatic texts with contemporary political concerns.

• Performance art

  International performances

  The collective created live performances and public interventions in Paris, London, Brooklyn, Amsterdam, Marseille, Beijing, and other locations. These works often relied on mass participation, theatrical imagery, satire, or direct engagement with social and political questions. The Short Step, performed in Beijing in 2005, is one of its best-documented large-scale projects.

• 2005The Short Step

  China

  Kilometer Zero opened the Dashanzi International Arts Festival in Beijing with approximately 400 Western participants dressed in traditional Chinese factory uniforms.

  Outcome. Chinese officials interrupted the performance.

  Source
• 2004Pssst... America!

  United States

  A seven-city political tour used artistic and public-event formats to emphasize social inequality before the 2004 United States presidential election.

  Outcome. The project extended Kilometer Zero’s political performance model across multiple American cities.

  Source
• 2003Lysistrata

  International

  Kilometer Zero produced an adaptation of Lysistrata as part of a coordinated anti-war statement by theatres around the world.

  Outcome. The production contributed to an international theatrical protest against war.

  Source
• 2002The Robin Hood Project

  France

  Kilometer Zero staged a product-placement sting in which major designer labels were persuaded to donate goods to French charities.

  Outcome. The project redirected donated designer goods toward charitable organizations and highlighted the collective’s use of commercial satire for social purposes.

  Source

• 2005

  Stage a large-scale intervention at the Dashanzi festivalOther

  Background

  Kilometer Zero was invited to open the Dashanzi International Arts Festival in Beijing.

  Action taken

  The collective assembled approximately 400 Western participants in traditional Chinese factory uniforms for The Short Step.

  Aftermath

  Chinese officials interrupted the performance.

  Source

• 2002

  Use product placement as a charitable interventionOther

  Background

  The collective sought to challenge commercial branding practices while benefiting French charities.

  Action taken

  It conducted The Robin Hood Project, persuading major designer labels to donate goods through a product-placement sting.

  Aftermath

  Designer goods were directed to French charities, although the available source does not provide financial or organizational details.

  Source

• 2000

  Adopt an advertising-free publishing modelStrategy

  Background

  The collective created its magazine as a creative and political platform rather than as an advertising-supported commercial publication.

  Action taken

  Kilometer Zero excluded advertising from the magazine’s stated platform.

  Aftermath

  The approach reinforced the collective’s independent, politically engaged positioning.

  Source

1. 1Kilometer Zeroen.wikipedia.org