The “New Europe” and Controversy around the European Idea.
International Conference in Yerevan, Armenia, and Local Discussions and Interventions in Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.
Conference: March 30-31, 2019, National Museum-Institute of Architecture, Yerevan
Public Presentation and Discussion: August 3-10, 2019, CLB Berlin at Aufbau Haus, Berlin-Kreuzberg
The collapse of socialist systems in Eastern Europe and postcolonial moves to restructure the European periphery have brought conflict and even war in their wake, as disputes continue to erupt over the definition and form of national identities. The idea of Europe as a community and the European Union as a supranational and intergovernmental community of states have so far been, and still remain, important frames of reference.
In the cities and regions of Eastern Europe, the parallel processes of reconstituting a national identity and Europeanisation have sparked fierce debates over the European question: How does it relate to the respective history and (re)constitution of each country’s national identity? How can it contribute to forging complex identities? Who belongs to Europe? And when we say “Europe”, what exactly do we mean?
Particularly in cities, artists, activists and urban planners, among others who are vehemently committed to the democratic and European reorientation of their societies, have founded democratically enlightened civic initiatives. With “Wessen Europa? / Whose Europe?”, this fight will be discussed by a broad public and brought into the local discourse. At the same time, an international network of civil society actors will be established.
At a conference in Yerevan in March 2019, all project partners will present their initiatives, discuss their different perspectives and draw up an action plan. How might civic initiatives contribute to European unification? What might be the common ground for a “European civic society”?
The developed results will be discussed further with the respective local publics and will be made tangible through artistic-medial interventions as well as an online publication. A public presentation and discussion will present the results of the project in Berlin in August 2019.
A project by stadtkultur international e.V.
Concept and realisation: Kai Vöckler, Archis Interventions / Georg Schöllhammer, Michaela Geboltsberger and Larissa Agel, tranzit.at / Sally Below, CLB Berlin
Program : Whose Europe? The “New Europe” and Controversy around the European Idea,
Yerevan, March 30-31 2019
Fr, 29.3.2019
Arrival Participants
Sa, 30.3.2019
10:00 Internal Workshop (for participants, not open for public)
Venue: National Museum-Institute of Architecture after Alexander Tamanyan, Yerevan
Address: Hanrapetutyan Sq., Government House 3, 1st Floor
Presentation Language: English
Length of presentation: 10-15min
Introduction: Georg Schöllhammer and Kai Vöckler
Presentations of Local Interventions:
Armenia: Ruben Arevshatyan – Selective “Europe” / Typological and aesthetical transformations of urban space in post-soviet Armenia
Belarus: Sergey Shabonin –„St(o)res“ Intervention in Minsk
Georgia: Jesse Vogler –Displaced Geographies
Republic of Moldova: Stefan Rusu – Moldovan Cultural Context: Artists Projects and Profiles that Engages with Local and EU Identities
Ukraine: Anna Pohribna – Individual Freedom – How much is Ukraine ready to fight for the values?
16:00 Public Lectures
Venue: National Museum-Institute of Architecture after Alexander Tamanyan, Yerevan
Presentation Language: English
Length of presentation: 10-15min
Introduction: Georg Schöllhammer and Kai Vöckler
Reports from the Region:
Armenia: Nazareth Karoyan – From the Mass to the Flash Mob: the City as a Body of Political Desires
Austria: Georg Schöllhammer – The Trouble with Culture
Belarus: Olga Shparaga – How is “Europe” in Belarus Understood and Discussed und Social, Political and Cultural Conditions
Germany: Kai Vöckler – Europe, Forgotten Idea?
Georgia: Wato Tsereteli – Mainstream vs Responsive & Visionary Practice
Republic of Moldova: Vitalie Sprinceana – Occupy Guguta: an Example that Challenges European “Democracy” Standards
Ukraine: Vasyl Cherepanyn – Trespassing Europe: Towards the New International / Solomiya Borshosh – Neighborhood: Ukraine and EU – What Does “European” Mean to Ukrainian Citizen
Moderation: Ruben Arevshatyan
19:00 Dinner with Participants
So, 31.3.2019
10:00 Wrap Up Meeting
Location: NOVA Hotel Yerevan (10/5 Sayat-Nova Ave. 0001)
11:00 City Tour (around 1,5 hours)
Project Partners:
Armenia: Ruben Arevshatyan (AICA Armenia, National Association of Art Critics) / Nazareth Karoyan (ICA Yerevan – Institute for Contemporary Art Yerevan)
Belarus: Olga Shparaga (European College of Liberal Arts in Belarus – ECLAB) / Sergey Shabohin (Artist)
Georgia: Gaga Kiknadze (Architekt Architects.ge) / Jesse Vogler (Free University of Tbilisi) / Wato Tsereteli (Center of Contemporary Art – Tbilisi)
Ukraine: Olesia Ostrovska, Anna Pohribna, Solomiya Borshosh (Mystetskyi Arsenal Kiew) / Vasyl Cherepanyn (Visual Culture Research Center)
Republic of Moldova: Stefan Rusu ([KSA:K] – Center for Contemporary Art Chișinău) / Vitalie Sprinceana (Journalist, co-editor PLATZFORMA.MD)
The project is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office within the framework of the program “Eastern Partnerships”.
