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Educational Program  Educational Program 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 WHAT COULD/SHOULD CURATING DO?—WCSCD was initiated in 2018 in Belgrade as an educational platform focused around notions of the curatorial and is a registered civic association. WCSCD’s education program has been run on an annual basis every year since 2018. Till 2022 it was organized as a three-month program for practitioners situated in Belgrade. From 2023 program is organized as biennial working with program participants over longer period of time. Our participants were young practitioners from different parts of the world including the Balkans, EU, Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Latin America making it a unique program in Europe. WCSCD educational program has been learning through recent years to think what kind of citation could actively produce.Through carefully created mentorship program we are committed to think and practice what kind of knowledge we consider worth and how it gets prioritized creating new citations from the margins. [1] [1] Sara Ahmed, “White Men,” Feminist Killjoys Blog, November 4 2014, www.feministkilljoys.com/2014/11/04/white-men < Participants Educational Program Programs >

< Back On Bor’s Industrial Heritage 28 Aug 2020 Dragan Stojmenovic Introduction This year, two interesting research and art projects are being independently realized in Bor – and perhaps with a not so strange coincidence. One is international — “As you go. . . The roads under your feet, towards a new future” [1] , and the other is national — “Eighth Kilometer” [2] . With their topics, intentions and approach, they made me think about the reasons for their interest in Bor. Bor, as one of the most important industrial, mining and metallurgical centers in northeastern Serbia, is a city with an interesting history, alongside a specific natural environment and cultural heritage that is very difficult to summarize in a general article with facts that would show the current state – because this “current state” presents a stage within the perpetual change of all previous socio-historical, natural and cultural facts. Namely, these facts exist only in certain circumstances and contexts of their use, even when it comes to geological and geomorphological characteristics. Not to mention the ideological discourses of socio-economic formations of the different social systems, and the intentions of the politics of representation. Therefore, I could not write the kind of introduction that would simply describe the city of Bor. Instead, I would like to comment as a professional native who comes “from within”. We have yet to come to some relevant facts, though what is being offered to us must not be taken for granted. However, the aforementioned projects refer to, or confirm the fact that, the company for industrial production and processing of copper — Mining and Smelting Combine Bor , which was owned by the state – has now found its way to the New Silk Road , and that it has only been majority-owned by the new Chinese company for a year. The first mentioned international project is partly realized in Bor and will investigate changes within the aesthetics and practice of everyday life in the local environment, which have occurred with the arrival of Chinese investments. The second, is a project by the artists and architects who will represent the Republic of Serbia at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, responding to the question and topic of the International Architecture Exhibition, How will we live together? . It intertwines with the complex and comprehensive presentation of Bor, related to redefining the life-work relationship in the physical layout of the currently existing seven city zones, with a projection of common life in the future at the “Eighth Kilometer” (situated within the new circumstances of the minority strategic partnership with foreign investors from China, with whom we will live and work). As can be seen from the footnotes, the projects were well-timed and designed with flexible methodologies, which have adapted to our current global climate (primarily because they are based on planned ongoing research). In that sense, they are also interested in a more comprehensive understanding of local systems of definitions, classification and division – starting with the most impressive industrial landscapes, sections and developments of the city itself. Therefore, everything evolves from a singular starting point, which could have a zero degree of significance — from the old Bor mine…from the pit… Zero kilometer … fifth side of the world — for those whose level of understanding would require knowing the other seven points…kilometers…chapters. Industrial heritage in the heritage industry “The sublime words of Schiller’s Ode to Joy fell on the gloomy workers’ faces. No, no, no. Sorry. I repeat. They fell on the illuminated… Yes, yes… Illuminated workers’ faces.” [3] „Op mala, op, površinski kop!” (“Oi honey, oi, surface mining!”) [4] The term industrialization implies the use of techniques and technology for a mass, serial production of goods or raw materials; for personal or social economic interests of investors, with the distinct forcing of economic growth and development of organized production; often compared to some previous, technological, technical and “outdated” or “belated” organizational type of production, such as artisanal or manufacturing production. The precondition for performing the play of industrialization is the class privilege of those who possess and know certain techniques and technologies, and through applying them, some automatic authority is gained. In addition to the specialized class of engineers and investors, industrialization is enabled by workers and workers’ culture, with the direct interests of these two groups being realized from completely divergent ideological points of view — private and public, personal and collective. Industrialization brings certain cultural qualifications and processes of a modernization of “others”, and “underdeveloped and backward” areas, known today as “Eastern”, “Southern”, “Southeastern Europe” or “Third World Europe”. Unfortunately, such modernization qualifications and aspirations have long accompanied geographically oriented parts of Serbia that needed to be modernized; “discovered”, “renewed”, “introduced”, “developed”, “reborn”, “improved”. In comparison with their northern and western counterparts, the southern and eastern regions are considered corners of developed areas, or “appendages” of a healthy organism. Such a role was often imposed and lightly accepted, we assume with reasons, which we will look for in socio-political influences, existential impulses and the desire to play and learn. The starting point of the discussed topic is given by the content of the heritage institutions’ funds in Bor [5] and the facts, which in every respect, speak in favor of institutions based on workers’ culture and workers’ organization, logical upgrades and real needs for public institutions – not by the “modernization” and “industrialization” of exclusively privileged classes. We will not consider these initial positions important to show some progressive development of social institutions, but rather, to make an ideological distinction between the social potentials of real needs (necessities) and desires (aspirations). Do public social institutions fulfill the expressed necessary needs, or do they satisfy “desires”? In that sense, we will deal with industrialization and the industry, not only because of their specific material consequences and interests, but primarily because of their cognitive potentials that cause the fixation and recognition of a certain image of a city. That is, a certain, hypothetically derived, dominant attitude; expressed in public discourses surrounding the ideological predominance of the industrial over workers’ culture in Bor during the second decade of the 21st century. As an indicative example of the imposition of a new, distinctly dominant discourse, we will now examine the symbolic gesture of repositioning objects from the Park Museum along the main street in Bor during 2009 [6] , and the prevalence of a new public industrial discourse, at the expense of the discourse of workers’ culture and workers’ organization (which until then, as the dominant ideological formation, was clearly expressed in planned urban solutions and already arranged monuments as symbols of work and workers’ organization in the city center [7] ). We will consider these relocated and rearranged exhibits as a new discursive, syntactic structure that significantly changes the meaning of the exhibits and shows the processes of changing the politics of representation and shifting attitudes around cultural and historical heritage. More precisely, we will try to consider the influence of dominant ideologies on the configuration of the cultural and historical heritage of Bor within public space, alongside the materialization of expressed desires through that newly composed industrial heritage, and taking over the authority of institutions over that cultural heritage. In that sense, the implementation of a new representation policy in a symbolic formation, created by public monuments and redistributed exhibits, enables a new reading, an understanding and an attempt to revise historical facts, as well as expressing some “desires” of the presumed author of the new installation of exhibits and monuments. Firstly, the intention is to expose the “affirmative power” of discourse (Fuko 2007, p. 52) through the representation policy expressed in the mentioned symbolic structure; to use criticism as a “style of learned ease”, as opposed to an expressed genealogical “happy positivism” (Ibid.) (changing the image of the city through a campaign, “For a better Bor” [8] ) in order to understand what we’ve been “told” by the formation in public space. It would be sad if we admitted at the very beginning, that the recently experienced reality showed us the origin of such a materialized exhibition “expression”, so instead, we will further interrogate the topic by explaining and conceptualizing it in the form of a text. In the introduction to his lecture Order of Discourse , 1970, Foucault clearly states his hypothesis, which we will try to understand and apply here: “… in every society, the production of discourse is at once controlled, selected, organised and redistributed by a certain number of procedures whose role is to ward off its power and dangers, to gain mastery over its chance events, to evade its ponderous, formidable materiality ” (Foucault 2007, p. 8). We should emphasize the implementation of the process of “taming power and danger” within the already existing historical and ideological discourses of workers’ culture and workers’ organization of the past decade, as important for understanding the current suppression of these discourses. From a broader perspective, in creating a new “image of the city” based exclusively on the campaign strategy of “public relations”, the aim was to construct a new “collective identity”, which marginalizes or completely excludes the materialized ideology of workers’ culture from public space and life. What did the author of the aforementioned installation want to achieve, and what are the origins of their expression, which was subsequently materialized within a public space? Such a “general” image or display will be placed in direct relation to the creation and existence of real images or displays, such as photographs and films, as well as institutional and organized visualizations of Bor — which can lead to the identification of certain “commonplace” or locus communis (local “topoi”). In this case, this works to connect the obvious structural organization of urban areas marked by kilometers [9] (which represents the linear historical and communal development of the city) with the narrativization of the topic we will present. Knowledge on the topic of this paper, in that sense, is not limited exclusively to the effects of constructing positive or negative attitudes/images. It is also largely based on responsibility, and the experience and interpretation of the facts surrounding the disinterested and aimless wandering (for the sake of upholding a preventive way of maintaining the health of critical consciousness), in order to “discover the author or authors” of this kind of “optical hygiene”. The very topic of industrial heritage in the heritage industry was chosen to most effectively describe the current state of industrial heritage in Bor from the position of a “native ethnologist” [10] – perhaps more precisely: “professional native” – to explain one of its many possible perceptions. Such freedom of interpretation, of course, does not imply arbitrariness in approach, but obliges to the responsibility of understanding and interpreting real positions and facts, to produce a meaningful “self-critical” structure. It would be necessary, for example, with modern librarianship (due to the existence of an important institution, or the principle of desideratum in acquisition policy, i.e. planned and strategic replenishment of funds with missing materials or rare disciplinary approaches to certain topics). The topic is approached from a critical position precisely because the funds are systematically filled with historical material, while the prevailing expectations are directed exclusively towards the uncritical reproduction of historiographical and contemporary social facts by “innovative technologies”. From the professional obligations of the librarians of the Local History Department of the Public Library of Bor came the motivation to explore this topic; to understand, and to present a part of the industrial heritage preserved in the Library. This motivation not only emerged from the professional obligations of a local history librarian, but also from a collaboration with prof. Slobodan Naumović, (which takes place in several related and intertwined thematic areas through many years of his field work in Bor), on the analytical processing of photo documentation from the point of view of visual anthropology. This has inspired and encouraged multiple approaches, potentials and perspectives for new interpretations, focusing on the cultural-historical, labor and industrial heritage preserved in the mentioned institution. This “key resource” (Naumović, 2013, p. 75–111) with numerous implications in contemporary everyday life, reflected on contemporary creativity and discovering the approach to photography as a continuous practice of visual recording in Bor; pointing out the need to understand and reveal intentions, methodologies and messages that the authors convey with their visual projections. By introducing collaborative (shared) anthropology [11] into the process of interpreting photography – an integrated methodological approach to interpreting “inside” and “outside”, “mirrors” and “windows” – a necessary balance is established, and an essential connection between differing, subjective, and social views, evaluations and meanings is achieved. (See more in: Naumović, Radivojević, 2015). It is precisely the connections between “ life and work ”, “ collective and individual memory ”, “ different types of applied photography and industrial heritage ”, “ institutional and non-institutional visual recording ” that inspired the search for balance between industrial heritage and workers’ culture (Ibid., pp. 126-182). In the joint intention with prof. Naumović, during the elaboration of the topic Visualization of working culture and industrial heritage in Bor , the foundations of the view “from within” were to be established, in order to balance the relations between our current contemporary position of interpretation, and use of visual material. Thus, this text should articulate, set, and describe the reflective state, conditions, and perspectives of the interpretation of industrial heritage and workers’ culture in the “mirror” of modern local society and culture. On the other hand, the impetus came from the domains of librarianship and museology (museum studies), heritology (derived from a critique of museum studies and the need to create a science of heritage skills, and learning about memory skills) and thinking about strategies for selecting and representing cultural goods for the purpose of redefining identity elaborated by prof. Dragan Bulatović. (Bulatović, 2004, 2013, 2015a, 2015b.) The topological narrative of this paper, and the text that accompanies the division of Bor into kilometers, is incorporated into the well-known linear origin of the beginning and end, with minimal historicization to obscure, retain, and evoke “self-understanding” (not to mention environmental pollution) of authentic local expression and condition, that is interlaced into a kind of constitutive mythology. In that sense, it will be important to maintain a balance between the description of the condition and the process, accounting for the frequent slips and sudden braking caused by clumsy driving of a “heavy truck in reverse” – or by dancing “kolo” (circle dance) on the serpentine paths of Bor mines – so that we can “safely” park or dance with the topic. The blue cinemascope in the movie Op, mala, op! Centar za neformalnu komunikaciju – Nemušto, Bor, 2001. The First Kilometer The processes of the industrialization of Bor could be characterized as modernization during the administration of the French Society of the Bor Mines (the Concession St. George) from 1903 to 1941. It was then the intensive exploitation of ore began: metallurgical plants were built, and with a sudden influx of workers, a mining colony was subsequently formed. It is important to note that following only the interests of production, there was only the controlled development of the town and communal structures deemed necessary, in order to maintain the administrative status of the mining colony. “The French built what they had to in the settlement, but they resisted that Bor gains the status of a city, because then they would be obliged to build a lot more (primarily underground sewerage)…” (Jovanović, 1987–1990, p. 196). Until the liberation, and shortly after the Second World War, Bor was known exclusively as Bor mines. Although Bor gained the status of being a city in 1947, but the old name had already been in use for some time. However, it wasn’t until the next cycle of modernization (during the period of the First and Second phases of reconstruction [12] ), in a completely different socio-political system of self-managing socialism, that a new society was established – new metallurgical plants were built, new mines were opened and the city was urbanized. The recent process of industrialization and attempts at modernization can be characterized as a process of “retraditionalization”: the discovery of industrial heritage and local history from completely different political and ideological positions of liberal capitalism, in the period of transition and “reconstruction” during the second decade of the twenty-first century. Therefore, we focus on the trend toward deriving certain cultural characteristics of the dominant economic activities (mining and metallurgy) from certain natural determinations, i.e natural resources (forests, rivers, ores), in order to show historical depth, continuity, permanence or a certain “tradition” (see more in: Romelić, 2017). At the same time, we emphasize their constitutive potential related to modern understandings and uses of the terms “industrial heritage” and “workers’ culture”. Keeping this in mind, we will pay attention to the essential connections between this industrial heritage and workers’ culture, but also to the emphasis on the differences between them, or their tendentious division into two isolated categories. Their essential connection is in the fact that cultural heritage exists as a reality in the balanced interdependence of its tangible and intangible components, not in the selective interpretation of individual contributions. Therefore, we use this connection with a deliberate ideological implication — a “thread”: with industrial heritage as a material, and labor culture and organization as an intangible component of a unique cultural and historical heritage. It is a “thread” that is untied from either the “left” or “right” side. Considering the current situation of the predominance of material industrial heritage over workers’ culture, we can follow from which side, figuratively, the thread is untied – on workers’ boots or off the “fast” and comfortable sneakers of liberal industrial capitalism The thread is, of course, strongly tied on both sides, regardless of the footwear in question. However, according to the social position and responsibility towards cultural and historical heritage, preparation for work itself, (when it comes to work, we count on ambiguity associating the word “work” with the text you are reading) has shown that the most harmful thing for the local community is untying and taking off (visually unrepresentative) worn-out workers’ shoes. The real presence and potentials of industrial heritage and working culture in Bor therefore has a dark side; embodied in demagoguery, populist rhetoric, and the instrumentalization of cultural and historical heritage over the past decade. This resulted in the realization of the greatest fears of workers and citizens: the privatization of the company and granting concessions for the exploitation of natural resources. Privatization of important objects of cultural and historical heritage (e.g. an old building in which Head offices of the successive corporations were situated, or a memorial complex dedicated to the victims of the forced labour in Bor during WWII, which is in the vicinity of the new pit) happened at the same time. On this occasion, we aim to challenge, describe and analyze these different positions of the relationship between property and ownership of cultural goods within the “heritage industry”. The phrase “heritage industry” (Bulatović, 2015, p. 137) is transferred from the museological theory of prof. Dragan Bulatović, who mentions it in the “context of individualization of cultural property” for the development of, for example, cultural tourism, whose priority is to emphasize economic interest, and the main feature: serial production, based on models in the field of management within liberal economics and culture, aimed at construction of “desirable images” (Bulatović, 2013, p. 12) or a positive reputation. An adequate example of this selective conceptualization and instrumentalization of industrial heritage happened during the campaign of the company RTB Bor “For a better Bor”. In our case, to achieve this “desirable image” of the company and the city, we resorted to already defined and cultivated cultural goods and museum artifacts from the Technical Collection of the Museum of Mining and Metallurgy in Bor, as well as deliberately neglecting to show real and constructive contributions of workers’ culture and workers’ organization. However, at that very moment, when the company’s new public relations strategy indicated the need to produce a “positive reputation” of the company and the city, it reached for the “desired” component of the instant market economy — the already organized, systematically raised, and collected cultural and historical heritage in the Park Museum [13] . Why exactly that? Perhaps because in showing some “genealogy” or continuity of industrial activity, its “historical depth” revealed the enablement of a modernist, linear view of the “progress” of industry (as well as of the industry itself), emphasizing its constitutive contributions, (though while doing so, deliberately neglecting the contribution of workers’ culture and organization)? Because of the forced and unauthorized appropriation of industrial heritage, the imposition of only one option in the “managerial strategy” of the city’s representation (the marginalization and ignoring of the professional activities of local heritage institutions)? Museums, libraries and archives carry out their activities based on the belief that cultural goods, under the protection of heritage institutions (the “owners” who use and manage them), are inalienable. That is, according to Article 14 of the valid Law on Cultural Property, they can be “alienated” under the conditions previously determined by the Law, but the “right of ownership” cannot be acquired over them (Law, 1994, Article 14). In the case we will consider, there was an unauthorized alienation of cultural goods that had had a great impact on the development of society, culture, technology and science, which consequently were under the protection of the Museum (Ibid. Article 5). The alienated objects were rearranged and dislocated from the Park Museum to the main street in Bor with the intention of “telling the story of the development of Bor”. Given the obligation of a comprehensive approach to the topic of industrial heritage, choice of methodology, and manner of presentation, it would be necessary to pay attention to this process of unauthorized “industrialization” – this instrumentalization of heritage outside of heritage institutions, to consider the ways in which the heritage has been incorporated into market relations, and how a “positive reputation” of the city/company and their “branding” have been created. In that sense, the “heritage industry” was used to describe in detail the current state of manipulation of cultural and historical heritage, in order to construct an alternative public discourse on the more important characteristics of the city, and the possible influences on creating a new, more positive “city reputation” in 2009-2019. The use of tradition and retraditionalization are processes characteristic of societies in transition. “Having found suitable ground for a society with disrupted, but not completely stopped currents of modernization, for such a society that perceived its situation as a crisis in key areas of activity, such as economy, international relations, ideology or culture, the practice of using tradition as a means of adapting to consequences, and overcoming the causes of the crisis, has spread from the domain of politics to almost all areas of social life in Serbia” (Naumović, 2009, p. 10). On the other hand, in such a situation of presenting the public use of “alienated heritage”, we must resort to a certain cynicism in interpreting the problem. Primarily because in such a situation we must not allow cultural goods, although alienated, to be considered “property” (with exclusive rights to personal vision and their interpretation), whatever newly composed construction they should present in these emerging contexts. prof. Dragan Bulatović problematizes the processes of “branding museum heritage”, showing completely opposing positions of cultural goods within institutions (in charge of their upbringing and preservation) relating to market relations and market logic, which are increasingly applied in those institutions. Representative exhibition activities of cultural institutions are spectacularized thanks to marketing that offers “unique opportunities” for viewing — viewing and access to funds – but: “offered is not available (museum vaults are inalienable, unique, unrepeatable, and sometimes, unfortunately, untouchable)” (Bulatović, 2004. p. 146). “The usual metaphoricality of the slogan should grow into a condensation by which the subject expresses the repressed meaning of his desire (Lacan), and the chosen symbols would have to be replaced by a metonymic movement denoting what desire is – the desire for something else that is always missing.” (Ibid., P. 146). We therefore live the consequences of fulfilled desires (not the needs of social institutions) which we have expressed in recent history. Fulfilled by an unfounded, materialized, symbolic arrangement of cultural goods in public space (which should have a real “historical depth” and wider social significance) in fact, represents an unlit tunnel through a hill of accumulated problems, dug with a concrete intention and hope that in the end, we will be liked by the foreign investors who will allow us to be “reborn” from our womb. What kind of tradition and industrial heritage do we have if our heritage is a constant confiscation and appropriation of cultural and historical values, make-up, and temporariness, while we hold onto the hope that the rich inheritance will eventually be excavated for us? What happens in the end, when cultural goods are used as the “secondary raw material” of daily politics? We must remember that a period of just over a century is still young. Incredibly alive. Usable and dynamic. So paradoxical and brilliant, that it was possible for the miner, Paun Meždinović, who had discovered the ore in 1903 as a working boy, and retired in the 1950s to work as a security guard at the Museum in Bor [14] . Why are we “ashamed” of workers, workers’ culture and workers’ organization today? What led us to have the industrial heritage of machines and technical means collected for the needs of the Park Museum, only to be appropriated and instrumentalized for the purpose of selling what we thought we would inherit — what built us? Such dynamics of uncertainty, impotence of profession, negligence and misunderstanding of the founders of public institutions towards the public good, and active privatization of social property, can be important reasons why Bor is omitted from the review, analysis and strategy of presenting historically relevant potentials of specific (tangible and intangible) cultural heritage encompassed by this recently identified industrial heritage. We can continue to look for these reasons. But first, we must oppose the diminution of the authority local heritage institutions hold over public cultural and historical heritage spaces, as well abolish the ingrained prejudice that dictates places of heavy industry “have no history or tradition” – that they are young, artificially and forcibly created only for the temporary satisfaction of our basic needs (proverbial “to seek one’s fortune”). Living and working in the same place – a segment of culture related to the production, exploitation and the routine of everyday life, burdened by the noise of machines, and the smell of polluted air and land – contradicts the intended outcome of “market logic”. Of rational calculations of civilizational achievements, and an agreeable representational image. By that logic, this image should not seem threatening to foreign investors or tourists. The picture of everyday life in Bor consists mainly of fatigue, mechanically organized routine, hard labor, sickness, and vague and divided emotions, all laid out upon landscapes with serpentines on tailings, reminding us that we are only here temporarily, to earn and survive. This contrasts heavily with the “positive” and “beautiful” characteristics that would benefit the desired image of progress. Local authenticity is lost when the social needs met by public institutions become somebody else’s instrumentalized desires. The intentions of these desires are to be what we are not – or, if we adopt them, to portray us, just as we are. The processes of adopting desires can be silent and gradual, until eventually agreed upon; while the presentation or manifestation of intentions that fit into a certain social praxis, can be considered a “play”. The play itself can absorb and include us to be a part of it – but it also maintains a certain distance, so that the understanding of our spatial position relating to that play is framed by ourunderstanding of the relationship between positions of representation and real conditions; between adopted joint representation and the fulfillment of functions of compensating (or compensation) for certain expectations, shortcomings and needs. The director of such a play may or may not plan the audience’s participation, but he certainly counts on its passive observation. Therefore, a critical consideration of social needs is a corrective in the realization of the activities of public institutions, which, in part, regulate the realization of the expressed desires of individuals. Meanwhile, important facts are being hidden and forgotten. Something was left somewhere to be here. Something important was taken to be as it is now. We suppress and forget something important. Something constantly reminds us that things should really be better than they are – not just look better or prettier. Why must an “aesthetic” criteria be allowed to impose the polarization of citizens: if we are not “for a more beautiful Bor”, we are automatically destined for that “less beautiful Bor”? Additionally, a primary organic attachment – closeness to the landscape and homeland – has been silenced and suppressed. It is “self-evident” and quite obviously present, based on the very choice to be here, even if we have just left from an outdated train at railway platform. We are here, after all. Everyone around us came from somewhere. We are all “foreigners” — natives of “non-places” [15] . “This need to find meaning in the present, and perhaps in the past, is the price we pay for the abundance of events in what we might call the ‘super modern’, to express its essential quality: excess” (Ože M. 2005, pp. 31–32). Augé determines the state of supermodernity through “the figures of excess”. One of them concerns time — exaggeration in the sense of the abundance of time (Ibid., P. 32). Paradoxically, we find this “excess of time” in the already mentioned visualized assembly procedure: in the installation of redistributed industrial machines and public monuments along the main street, which vacuums the history of Bor and explodes in our contemporaneity and everyday life. More precisely, the abundance of “unauthorized alienated”, rearranged objects of the Park-Museum show us the desired state whose intentions we “do not read”. The second, important exaggeration that Augé points out, is spatial. Related to the accelerated crossing of distances and the transmission of images, only one image “possesses a power far in excess of any objective information it carries” (Ibid., P. 32). Meanwhile, Augé warns us of the “false familiarity” that images on screens, or in public spaces, can create. (Which, frankly and outside of the topic of this essay, everyone is currently relying on, to some degree). “The spatial overabundance” is expressed in the abundance of “images and imaginary references, and in the spectacular acceleration of transport (Ibid., P. 36). Such an abundance of images and traffic, we assume, may be a consequence of certain aspects of industrialization (such as the concentration of population in cities and increased population movement), with which Augé introduces us to the “non-places”: “The installations needed for the accelerated circulation of passengers and goods (high-speed roads and railways, interchanges, airports) are just as much non-places as the means of transport themselves, or the great commercial centers, or the extended transit camps where the planet’s refugees are parked.” (Ibid., P. 36). The aforementioned “liberating” phrase — natives of “non-place” — should allow the author and the reader to understand what is read, lived, interpreted, present, here and now in the text, or in the subject itself. It partly “liberates” the author as a “typewriter”, confirms and justifies his position, but paradoxically, also enables the recognition of the production of “commonplaces” (in the text or subject of study) striving to show the authenticity of a given culture and community. In that context, we do not forget that sociologist, Cvetko Kostić, pointed out in 1962 the existence of functional urban zones — “residential aggregates” within several categories of social aggregates – as “a characteristic of a modern city and city life” in relation to Bor. Besides residential aggregates, social aggregates also include crowds, masses, and audiences (Kostić, C. 1962, pp. 97–100), which points to similar characteristics with Augé’s “non-places”. Perhaps this kind of liberating cynicism of being a natives of “non-place”, based on the continuity of “residential aggregates” of workers / citizens, could offer us an adequate critical apparatus to be present in the text or subject, as we would be in our room or workplace. Based on institutional legal regulations and the “reflexive” approach to cultural heritage demonstrated in the texts of prof. Dragan Bulatović [16] (the mentioned balanced, discursive and comprehensive approach to industrial heritage); and the work of prof. Slobodan Naumović, inspired by anthropological and museological theories; as well as library theory and practice, we will use the local spectacularization of the “industrial heritage” in the era of “tourism and the renaissance”, as a contrast when scanning the current situation before setting out to “unwind the film” away from our contemporaneity. Industrial heritage as a “key resource” is still not recognized as a special segment of cultural heritage within the current Law on Cultural Heritage (Law, 1994), but it is a constitutive element and has been the basis of all heritage institutions in Bor since their founding. “One of the current definitions is offered in the so-called Nizhny Tagil Charter for the Industrial Heritage. The charter was adopted in Moscow in 2003 by the Assembly of Representatives of the International Committee for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage (TICCIH). According to that charter, industrial heritage can be considered objects and structures built for industrial activities, processes, and means used within them, as well as the cities and landscapes where they are located, together with their tangible and intangible phenomena, of fundamental importance” (Naumović, 2013, p. 76). As an example, technical heritage and objects of technical culture, that are kept in museums and universities, are most closely related to objects and the concept of industrial heritage. Due to the advancement of technology and techniques, more and more instruments, equipment and tools are being overtaken by newer, more efficient, higher quality, faster and more precise means; thus there is a need to preserve old technical objects that are no longer in use. The real fear of the transience and obsolescence of technical objects is equally valid for industrial heritage. Consider: cities and the geographical formations of landscapes and panoramas (as a broader term of industrial heritage which can move beyond a laboratory or factory and into ambient units) and the depths of their impact on people’s lives and their existence. Unlike the idea behind technical heritage, the industrial heritage, in addition to “transience”, implies additional fears related to the alienation of workers from the means of labor, the sale of resources, and the privatization of social property. Reflexive attitudes towards labor, means, and products and production, is the most important because it allows for the recognition of their social values. Such a reflective relationship can also be the basis for understanding workers’ culture and organization as an intangible form of industrial heritage. “Industrial heritage as a concept, and as a field of professional activity, arose when a number of emotionally interested people became faced with the rapid destruction of everything that would later be united by that concept; which was then understood as a set of ugly, naturally scattered waste, or as a remnant of old times that hinders the development of new forms of business, a new industrial cycle” (Naumović, 2013, p. 77). “Heritage exists only when it acquires the status of property in the consciousness of an individual. […] only good knowledge of one’s own property…an awareness of the values we ascribe to the material world, can help plan production activities. Then, a wealth of memory becomes crucial in strategic investment. The latter implies that any individualization of cultural property transpires in order to achieve progress within the life of the community, which [subsequently] forms economic patterns [from] the good sense of memory and inheritance of each other’s own cultural property” (Bulatović, 2015a, p.137). However, Bulatović further points out and warns that “culture is a matter of continuous construction and should not be inherited, as opposed to material remnants of the past that are necessarily part of the hereditary suitcase” (Ibid.), that by inheritance law is possible to have a titular “without culture”, without “sense of heritage”. We will remind you again of the valid Law on Cultural Property, according to which cultural goods are those whose laws and regulations prescribe the value which should be preserved for the public good, and that they are owned by the state, and the institutions who own cultural goods manage, preserve, and make them available under certain conditions. In our case, there is such a titular, or so-called local sheriff, who gives himself the right to participate in the management of cultural goods; placing himself above institutions, above the law, and above a powerless, decent culture “with a bun”, who ultimately has no strength to oppose the newly composed raw, political power. Of course, we can assume the outcomes of the interests of such a titular. Unfortunately, and due to institutional inertia, everything occurs with the newly composed verses “ne može nam niko ništa, jači smo od sudbine” [17] and representation policy of a dominant group of manipulators, so that only the darkest premonitions come true (and always in their favor), leaving us to think about what we have left and what is melted down, lost and sold out. “If it is clear that the civic museum offers a way of understanding time and its stock market value — the surplus value of the time of a capitalist economy – and it is clear that it is vulnerable to the inside, only if the reality whose image it generates changes radically. Any intention to situate the idea of intertwining the conception of reality within his own conception, comes as a side of the order of values which he follows” (Bulatović, 2015, p. 58). We must note that Professor Bulatovic considers “heritage industry” from the standpoint of cultural tourism in the context of the individual and family initiatives who see only the economic side of the economy. “Usually, small initiatives are taken as models of solutions in economically hopeless areas, and in that sense, they act as necessary – often the only – bridges in the current situation” (Bulatović, 2015, p. 157). It could be said that economically “hopeless situations” can befall industrial giants, and so a similar strategy of “bridging” (in fear of deindustrialization) was applied in Bor – only that the real fear of privatization was overcome, in part, thanks to a touristic “heritage industry”. Simultaneously, we could notice that cultural goods, in accordance with the transitional practices of the gray market, are “creatively” viewed as a “secondary raw material” suitable for recycling. This conceptual approach can be recognized, not only in every attempt at non-institutional instrumentalization, historical revision, revitalization, or reconfiguration of heritage, but also the occasional falter of heritage institutions on the waves of their modernization, renewal, and uncritical adoption of innovative technologies imposed by cultural industry agendas. Industrial heritage and the heritage industry, with their arsenal of control machines, are aimed at neglecting the workers’ culture, passivation of workers, and the workers’ organization, in order to achieve their final goal without resistance —privatization. Hence, the urgent need for a polemical view of the current situation, with the use of “contrast when scanning” our current situation, and these issues. — to be continued Photographer: Markovic N. Mihailo 1920 Bor Photo documentation French Society of the Bor Mines. Collection of Ljuba Markov. 18 x 24 cm COBISS.SR-ID512424632. Dostupno na:linku: https://plus.sr.cobiss.net/opac7/bib/nbb/512424632#full WORKS CITED Булатовић, Драган. 2004. „Баштина као бранд или музеј као економија жеље.” Годишњак за друштвену историју (2–3): 137–148. Bulatović, Dragan. 2013. „Kriza muzejske proizvodnje identiteta.” U Muzeologija, nova muzeologija i nauka o baštini, ur. Angelina Milosavljević, 11–25. Beograd: Centar za muzeologiju i heritologiju Filozofskog fakulteta Univerziteta u Beogradu; Kruševac: Narodni muzej. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dFlEOtEMVW1LyzgJAOd3YosM4aKD-wiA/view . Bulatović, Dragan. 2015a. Od trezora do tezaurusa: teorija i metodologija izgradnje tezaurusa baštinjenja [e-book]. Beograd: Filozofski fakultet, Centar za muzeologiju i heritologiju. Acessed 10. 2. 2020. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8_S5L87l0-eMV9MUmYyRDVxUFYxWUdLZlNtVldtaUp2Rk9n/view . Bulatović, Dragan. 2015b. „Studije baštine kao temelj očuvanja humanističkog obrazovanja.” Andragoške studije(1): 41–64. Fuko, Mišel. 2007. Poredak diskursa. Loznica: Karpos. [Foucault, Michel. 1981. “The order of discourse,” translated by Ian McLeod. In Untying the Text : a Poststructuralist Reader, ed. by R. Young, 48-78. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul.] Kostić, Cvetko. 1962. Bor i okolina: sociološka ispitivanja. Beograd: Savremena škola. Миленковић, Милош. 2003. Проблем етнографски стварног : полемика о Самои у кризи етнографског реализма. Београд: Српски генеалошки центар. Naumović, Slobodan. 2009. Upotreba tradicije u političkom i javnom životu Srbije na kraju dvadesetog i početkom dvadeset prvog veka. Beograd: Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju: „Filip Višnjić”. Наумовић, Слободан. 2013. „Ресурс од кључног значаја: индустријско наслеђе Бора виђено из перспективе индустријске археологије, етнологије рударства, политичке антропологије и визуелне антропологије.” Добро је за мишљење али је компликовано за јело, ур. Драган Стојменовић, 75–111. Бор: Народна библиотека Бор. Наумовић, Слободан и Радивојевић, Владимир. 2015. Борски алманах – улична фотографија као заједничка антропологија. Бор: Народна библиотека Бор. Ože, Mark. 2005. Nemesta : uvod u antropologiju nadmodernosti. Beograd : Biblioteka XX vek : Krug. [Augé, Marc. 1995. Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity, translated by John Howe. London, New York: Verso.] Romelić, Živka. 2017. O rudarskoj kulturi u Boru: tradicija kao podstrek = The Mining Culture in Bor : tradition as a stimulus. Bor: Narodna biblioteka Bor. Available at: http://digitalnizavicaj.org.rs/index.php?query=ispisTextaIzKolekcije&idTexta=413#ad-image-0 . Sorenson, Ričard E i Džablonko, Alison. 2014. „Istraživačko snimanje događanja koja se prirodno odvijaju: osnovne strategije.” U Načela vizuelne antropologije, priredio Pol Hokings, 71–80. Beograd: Clio. [Sorenson, E. Richard and Allison Jablonko. 1995. “Research filming of naturally occurring phenomena: basic strategies“. In Principles of visual anthropology, edited by Paul Hockings. Berlin ; Mouton de Gruyter. Click to read Serbian version Dragan Stojmenović is local history librarian in Public Library Bor. [1] http://old.wcscd.com/index.php/2020/01/07/as-you-go-the-roads-under-your-feet-towards-a-new-future/ [2] https://www.gradnja.rs/bijenale-2020-osmi-kilometar-anketni-konkurs-iva-bekic/ [3] One of the leaders at the beginning of the film “Man Is Not a Bird”, by Dušan Makavejev, dictates to journalists the report from the concert of the 4th movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which the choir and symphony orchestra performed in the company’s metallurgical plants on the occasion of the smelter. [4] The author of the refrain and the title of the Bor “folk” song is Srba Stančić, first recited within a circle of friends in 2000. It was first filmed and performed publicly in the amateur film Op, mala op! by the Center for Informal Communication Nemušto (2001). The song was then developed, sung and arranged by the local band Duo trojica (2006) for the film Mining Opera (2006) by Oleg Novković and Milena Marković. The authors of the composition and the text under that title are Miroslav Mitrašinović and Saša D. Lović. [5] This is due to the fact that the institutions for the preservation of cultural and historical Heritage in Bor– the Department of Historical Archives of Negotin; the Museum of Mining and Metallurgy; and the Public Library Bor–have their funds mainly based on local economic, geographical, and culturally historical specificities related to workers’ culture, workers’ movements and the industrial heritage since their establishment. As for the Public Library Bor, within its fund organization and systematization is its Local History Department, which collects, processes, preserves and makes available library material created in Bor, and whose authors were working or living in Bor; or which is thematically related to Bor and its surroundings, regardless of the place of origin,. The Library and the Archive collect, process, preserve and make use of this movable cultural heritage, while the Museum, in addition to the movable heritage, also takes care of the immovable cultural heritage. See more about the funds: http://www.arhivnegotin.org.rs/news/item/34 ; http://digitalnizavicaj.org.rs ; http://www.muzejrudarstvaimetalurgije.org [6] A systematized and illustrated overview of the working-mining culture in Bor and its current state is available in the publication of Živka Romelić The Mining Culture in Bor: tradition as a stimulus, Bor 2017. http://digitalnizavicaj.org.rs/index.php?query=ispisTextaIzKolekcije&idTexta=413#ad-image-0 [7] Later in the text, the old and new locations of individual monuments and exhibits will be described in more detail, but for this note we will single out the relocations of Miner with a Drill, and the monument to trade unionist, Petar Radovanović, as the main symbols which have been moved from their original locations to the beginning or end of the new outdoor setting along the main streets in Bor. This will be discussed in more detail in the text. Both sculptures are currently on the newly built roundabouts: Miner with a Drill was placed on the Fourth Kilometer, while the monument to Petar Radovnović was placed on the conditionally said First Kilometer. Photos from the ceremonial rally on the occasion of the unveiling of the monument to Petar Radovanović on August 6, 1981 can be seen on the following link: http://digitalnizavicaj.org.rs/index.php?query=ispisTextaIzKolekcije&idTexta=431#ad-image-0 A photograph of the monument Miner with a drill or Bor miner, photographed at the original location in 1960 can be seen at the following link that is part of the catalog description: https://plus.sr.cobiss.net/opac7/bib/512720056#full [8] The initiator of the campaign for social responsibility “For a better Bor” is RTB-Bor. See example on the link: https://kolektiv.co.rs/novi-rudarski-eksponat-u-park-muzeju/ [9] The division of the city into kilometers from the old surface mine (grope, hole, gaura or the commonly understood, zero kilometer) was probably conditioned by the first urban solutions that foresaw the further development of the city from the north to the south. The expansion of the colony began with the construction of the “New” or Southern Colony in 1928. At the end of the mid-20th century, Bor further developed urbanistically, generating the Second and Third kilometers, and by 1965, the Program of urban-technical conditions, for a detailed solution of the settlement on the III and IV kilometers in the city of Bor, formalized the framework zoning of the city. This division of the city is widely accepted in the informal communication of Bor’s natives, which, with the formation of the city cemetery at the 7th kilometer, produced a linear understanding of the development and life of the city and its citizens. There were several signs of this informal zoning, one of which is on the fountain at the Second kilometer, which was marked after its construction in 2002. This linear concept was used in the amateur film Op, mala op, Surface Mine!, 2001; 0 KM, 2012: an exhibition of photographs by Hervé Dez, Marija Janković and Vladimir Radivojević; and most recently, Eighth kilometer: Survey competition, 2020/21, that will represent Serbia at the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2021, led by Iva Bekić. See more about the exhibition Zero kilometer: http://digitalnizavicaj.org.rs/index.php?query=ispisTextaIzKolekcije&idTexta=260#ad-image-15 http://digitalnizavicaj.org.rs/index.php?query=kolekcijaTekstova&idKolekcije=30 More about the Eighth kilometer project: https://www.gradnja.rs/bijenale-2020-osmi-kilometar-anketni-konkurs-iva-bekic/ [10] A native ethnologist (ethnographer or anthropologist) is brought up in the culture or environment that they study and to which they belong. (See more in: Milenković, M. 2003, pp. 255 – 259) [11] Also referred to as reflexive anthropology from Jean Rouch. The concept of collaborative (shared) anthropology in this context arose from a kind of “digressive search”, which is not programmed (with previously established goals) or opportunistic (unexpected or coinciding with events without adequate understanding), but complementary, to fill segments that contribute to modern understanding of photographing and presenting a certain environment. (On digressive search, see more in: Sorenson and Jablonko 2014, 71–80). It was used to emphasize the importance of researchers’ cooperation with the community they study and community members’ participation in the realization and presentation of research results. [12] The First and Second phases of the construction and reconstruction of the mine were preceded by two five-year plans from 1947-57, when the program of the first phase was adopted and launched, within which new equipment for pit and surface ore exploitation was procured. The transport of mineral raw materials was modernized. A new ore warehouse was built to meet the capacity of the mine to expand to the one in Majdanpek (which started operating in 1961): equipped with five fry furnaces, a new flame furnace and three large converters. A dam was also built to create a new artificial accumulation of industrial water – Lake Bor. A new sulfuric acid factory was also built, simultaneously with the super phosphate factory in Prahovo. The first phase was completed in 1961. The second phase began in 1966, immediately after the economic reform of 1965, which expanded the production capacities of sulfuric acid and precious metals in Bor and Majdanpek. The Bor-Majdanpek railway was built, alongside a new ore transport system, a new electrolysis, a foundry of precious metals, a new smelter, and two more sulfuric acid factories. The second phase of construction and reconstruction lasted until 1971. (See more: Erić, 1975, 113–130) [13] Opening of the Park Museum in 1997 in Bor (settings of the Technical Collection of the Museum of Mining and Metallurgy in Bor) Author of photos: Ljubomir Markov. See more on the following link: http://www.digitalnizavicaj.org.rs/index.php?query=ispisTextaIzKolekcije&idTexta=428#ad-image-0 [14] On the occasion of marking the fiftieth anniversary of the mine, a celebration was organized at which the first miners were solemnly sent to a well-deserved retirement. Plaques and letters of thanks were awarded to deserving miners, including Paun Meždinović. See more on the following link: https://plus.sr.cobiss.net/opac7/bib/512722872 [15] The phrase was created by merging the concept of the notion of the non-place of Marc Augé and the feelings of the author of the text, brought up towards important characters from the films of Wim Wenders. The inspiration for this “liberating” phrase can be found in Marc Augé’s anthropological essay The Near and the Elsewhere. [16] “Preservation has two faces: material (treasury) and reflexive (thesaurus). The distinction is actually drawn by the so-called boundaries of memory – representative (monuments) carriers of documentaries (sources of truth) – and they are embodied in national, state apparatus-protected, cultural vaults. The reflective face has the role of a window into the vault. Through which, every bearer of new life stares into or, to concretize, every material and spiritual activity that arises because of forgetfulness, works in favor of the adoption of a common linguistic and, consequently, lexical fund – thesaurus forgets to permanently preserve the cultural values of the past. ” (Bulatović, 2015, p. 48) [17] Part of the refrain of a newly composed song performed by folk singer Mitar Mirić. Translation: “no one can do anything to us, we are stronger than fate.” Previous Next

Open call: What Could Should Curating Do educational program 2022 Open call: What Could Should Curating Do educational program 2022 Duration of the program: August to November 2022 Applications for 2022 open now Deadline for submission: March 30th 2022 WCSCD education program from 2022 From 2022, the WCSCD program will be framed towards a targeted approach to working in the new covid world, finding ways to stay connected, produce knowledge and retain physical encounters as an important part of the program. While the acceleration of online courses and shifting education fully online, gives priority to the upper body, head, eyes and brain, this program will activate the edges of the body, especially our feet, reminding us of the importance of walking together. Walking as way of staying safe, staying outdoors and mobilized, but also as a proposition for creating new paths towards new modes of working based on interdependence, a need that the pandemic reminded us of. One of the main concerns structuring the new program is the inequality that has been accelerated by the pandemic. Both inequality in economic means, but also in vaccination access, as borders remain closed for many. These markers of inequality also directly reflect who has access to education and equal participation, and on what terms, which is another central concern of the program. Since the establishment of the program in 2018, we have had an international focus and our mode of working and existing allowed young people from the margins to access the program. The new program will be structured as follows: The new educational program format will have its core in Belgrade with online participants Focus of the program: The main focus of the program will be thinking and practicing modes of instituting and working within the art field in the new world unfolding in front of us, with questions related to how we can practice being different kinds of humans, starting from the different roles that we embody, including those of artists and curators. The program will have a focus on modes of practicing commons, different ways of coming together based on horizontality and equal participation in sharing resources based on interdependence. The program will have a special emphasis on hands and movement through workshops designed as learning by doing including workshops on vernacular architecture and mud housing in Serbia workshop , among others. It will focus of land and possible future relationship between soil, arts and countryside. We will learn from peers who bravely experiment new modes of being where I can, you can become more that a market as Alexis Pauline Gumbs reminds us. Invited Lecturing mentors include: Manuel Borja-Villel (Director of Museo Reina Sofía), Massimiliano Mollona (Institute for Radical Imagination), Haynalka Somogyi (OFF Biennial, Hungary), Vladimir Nikolic (Artist, Belgrade), Jelica Jovanovic (Architect Belgrade), Bruce Pascoe (Writer and farmer Australia), Aslihan Demirtas (Architect, Artist, KHORA ) among others. Lecturing mentors presence will be combination of physical encounter and online. Mentor who will be able to travel to Serbia will be invited to give workshops in Belgrade with public lectures during the duration of the program. Each invited lecturing mentor will spend up to 3 to 5 days in Belgrade. Through regular meetings participants will be able to share their progress and participate together in workshops by invited mentors. Participants will collectively find ways to present the final outcome of the program in Belgrade but also in their respective local contexts where mentoring happens. Practical information No prior degrees in art or art history are required in order to apply The course fee is charged according to your country income ( you need to be passport holder of that country) For lower income countries program fee for 3 months is 400 euros For lower and middle income countries 3 months program fee is 600 euros For middle and upper income countries program fee is 1200 euros Please use this reference for your country income https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups Payments should be done in advance and could be done in installments if needed Please note that the fee does not include accommodations or travel costs to Belgrade. The standard course fee also does not cover travel and accommodations for research trips. Successful applicants should prepare an allowance of approximately 300 EUR to cover these additional costs for research trips. 2022 research trip is planned to Manifesta ( subject to travel restrictions). How to apply: Applications should include the following items as a single Word or PDF document , sent by email to what.could.curating.do@gmail.com with the subject line: Educational program – WCSCD 2022 by March 30, 2022: CV/Portfolio Letter of Interest (500 words maximum, explaining your specific research interests) Describe work or practice that inspired you in last two years ( within 500 words) Where did you find out about the program Based on the quality of the submitted documents, up to 15 participants will be selected to attend the physical program in Belgrade. Selected applicants should plan to arrive in Belgrade no later than August 20th 2022 . The final list of participants will be announced in the April 2022. Online program application: Please send same material as above indicating online program ＷＣＳＣＤ Fee for online program is 300 euros for three months duration of program. Fellowships: For 2022 WCSCD, two fellowships are made available to program participants: WCSCD provides fellowship for one program participant from Serbia. No payment for program will be required but selected fellow should work twice a week with WCSCD team in its activities around program Please send letter of interest and your bio. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for online interview. KADIST provides one Curatorial Fellowship for one program participant from the Balkans. No payment for the program will be required but the selected fellow should produce 3-5 short videos with collection artists to be published on social media and curate one screening in the region, under the supervision and mentorship of KADIST and WCSCD. Please send letter of interest and your bio.with email title Curatorial Fellowship Shortlisted candidates will be invited for online interview. KADIST (Paris/San Francisco) is a nonprofit organization that believe contemporary artists make an important contribution to a progressive society, their work often addressing key issues of our time. KADIST produces programs that often highlight a key issue of today through presenting the voices of artists who respond to the urgent social and political forces of our time. www.kadist.org . Introduction of program 2018-2021 WHAT COULD/SHOULD CURATING DO?—WCSCD was initiated and funded in 2018 in Belgrade as an educational platform around notions of the curatorial and is registered as a civic association. Its main activities include an annual program of educational workshops, lectures, and studio visits for young practitioners, of three months duration in Belgrade. The intention is to bring together key international and local figures engaged in curatorial and artistic discourse, who are specifically able to offer important institutional knowledge and networks to the program participants. Through the program, we invite mentors from non-western contexts, local practitioners and also colleagues from the former West. The program is intensive, with daily programs of workshops, writing sessions, studio visits, and research trips in the region. Some of the research trips we have done so far include: Kosovo, Bosnia, Romania, Slovenia and Austria. At the end of the program the participants are required to present a final public moment in Belgrade that could be an exhibition or a different format, collectively decided. Besides closed-door workshops for participants, all invited mentors would present public lectures to the larger cultural sector, sharing their ways of working and instituting. WCSCD mentors have so far included: Dorothea von Hantelmann (Bard College, Berlin); Antariksa (co-founding member of KUNCI Cultural Studies Center, Yogyakarta, Indonesia); the Flash Art Magazine editorial team (Flash Art is a bimonthly magazine focused on contemporary art, based in Milan); Elena Filipović (Director of Kunsthalle Basel); Tara McDowell (Director of curatorial practice at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia); Maria Lind (Director of Tensta konsthall, Stockholm); Matt Packer (Director of EVA International); Hou Hanru (Artistic Director of MAXXI Rome, Italy); and What, How & for Whom (a curatorial collective formed in 1999 and based in Zagreb, Croatia), Branislav Dimitrijevic (art historian based in Belgrade), Sinisa Ilic (artist based in Belgrade), Ekaterina Degot (Director and Chief Curator of steirischer herbst), Lisa Rosendahl (Associate Professor of Exhibition Studies at Oslo National Academy of the Arts, and Curator of GIBCA—the Gothenburg biennial in 2019 & 2021), Luca Lo Pinto (Director of MACRO in Rome), Suzana Milevska (curator and a visual culture theorist), Jelena Vesic (independent curator, writer, and lecturer), Xiang Zairong (scholar), Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez (independent curator, editor and writer), and ruangrupa (artistic directors of Documenta 15), Lejla Hodzic (art practitioner, Sarajevo). Advistory group of What Could Should Curating Do are Ares Shporta (Lumbardhi Foundation), Matt Parker ( Eva International), Andrea Palasti (Serbia).

< Back Astrobus Ethiopia 2021 25 May 2021 Astrobus A conversation between Yabebal Fantaye, founder of Astrobus, and Biljana Ciric on the initiative: Astrobus. Astrobus will be conducing its third series of workshops in collaboration with As you go…roads under your feet, towards the new future Project and we have decided to get to know them better as well as better understand their modes of working. Just before conducting this interview, Yabebal and a small group of peers went on a research trip to prepare for the upcoming Astrobus series that will be activated in 2021 in Lower Omo Valley in the Southwest of Ethiopia. The field notes of this research trip are also published alongside this conversation, with the workshops themselves to be later shared through journal, in a way of finding ways to learn from local communities. Biljana Ciric: How was Astrobus initiated and how would you situate [the] Astrobus initiative within the local context of Ethiopia? Yabebal Fantaye: The idea of Astrobus came in 2015. It was partly inspired by seeing the inspirational pictures from the 1st edition of the SPACEBUS TOUR 2015 held in Senegal from 1-31 March 2015. In July 2015, a group of Ethiopian Astronomers from all over the world submitted an Expression of Interest with under the project name of Astrobus-Ethiopia for the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), which is part of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The Brief summary of the project in the application was: “The AstroBus (ABus) Ethiopia project we plan aims to stimulate astronomy education and a culture of scientific thinking in Ethiopia through the use of exciting astronomy activities. This project is inspired by the success story of the 2015 ‘ SpaceBus ‘ project in Senegal. We believe the idea [of] ‘SpaceBus’ is an effective approach to reach out to the general public in a creative and inspiring way.” As can be seen from the original project description, the project from the onset has [had] the local context as a major [focal] point – building on top of a successful initiative in another African country. The Astrobus-Ethiopia project won IAU OAD funding in Nov 2015. The original 11 team members were all Astronomers, 9 Ethiopians and 2 from South Africa and Norway. The project was planned for Dec 2015, but the situation in Ethiopia meant [that] we couldn’t materialise it [until] Oct 2017. The delay gave us extra time to work on the project details, including time to think about the mission and vision. After extensive online and offline meetings, we decided to go beyond astronomy and include all areas of critical thinking. We defined our mission to be: “Stimulating a culture of critical thinking in Ethiopia.” After securing extra funding from the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the Ethiopian Space Science Society, we established an art and technology sub team on top of the original science and astronomy sub-teams. By collaborating with local non-profit organisations on science, technology, and art, and by partnering with different Universities, we managed to hold the first Astrobus-Ethiopia event in Oct 2017 in the southern part of the country, encompassing cities such as Addis Ababa, Adama, Hawasa, Dilla, Alaba, and Wolaita Sodo. We chose these places as they are major cities and are relatively easy to travel to. Moreover, we also had an established network to [the] Universities in those localities. BC: Why the title ‘Astrobus’? YF: The name Astrobus came because the first proposal was aimed to only encompass astronomy and space activities. Despite the project’s reach expanding a lot since then, we kept the name as it still provides the bigger picture of the project – we still need new scientific ideas, innovative engineering, and artistic design to make a bus that will take us to outer space. BC: Astrobus was started by yourself and a number of collaborators. Could you talk about the structure of the initiative? YF: The idea to have an Astrobus-Ethiopia event in Ethiopia first came because I wrote an email to my Astronomy friends to start writing a project proposal, which was written with significant contribution from every team member. The project is planned and executed by an ad-hoc group that is established at each event. The main work areas that need to be address for a successful Astrobus-Ethiopia event are: 1. Road Management 2. Science Team 3. Art Team 4. Technology Team 5. Media & Communication The first event held in 2017 encompassed cities such as Addis Ababa, Adama, Hawasa, Dilla, Alaba, and Wolaita Sodo. [The] second event took place in 2019, traversing cities such as Fiche, Debre Markos, Bahirdar, Gondar, Axum, Mekelle, and Woldiya. Within the two trips we managed to reach more than 12, 000 students from around 70 schools. Our next trip will be in May 2021 to the cities of Arba Minch, Konso, Jinka, and Sawla. BC: Astrobus always travels to different places. How do you decide when to undertake the next project? YF: [The] ambition of Astrobus-Ethiopia is to reach students from all corners of Ethiopia through its series of events. In the past, the team has travelled to the north and the south of Ethiopia. This year, the team plans to travel to the Lower Omo valley, the south west of Ethiopia, which is known for its extraordinary cultural diversity; approximately 8 ethnic groups; and striking ecosystems including grasslands and pristine forests, and other natural wonders. Omotic-speakers are endemic to the south Omo and include the Ari, Maale, Daasanach, the Hamar-Banna. The region is home to the vast omo park, and the massive Gibe III dam built on the Omo river. BC: What are the challenges that you usually face executing [a] project of this kind (funding, language barriers, local schools – private, public, etc…)? YF: The main challenges we face in organising the Astrobus events are primarily securing enough funding, establishing a functional local organising committee in the localities we travel to, and finding event locations. Moreover, due to the fast-changing nature of the Ethiopian social and political situation, ensuring [the] safety of our team during the trip and having legal permission to securely hold the event is a constant challenge. BC: For the upcoming workshops in May, which will be done in collaboration with [the] As you go… Project, you were able to conduct research trip before undertaking [the] workshops. Can you discuss the difference this had from other trips in the past? YF: Yes – the seed funding for this year’s Astrobus-Ethiopia event is obtained from the As you go… Project, which is also supported by the CURTAIN Project (of Rockbund Art Museum). We also raised some funding from the Ethiopian Space Science Technology Institute and Ethiopian Space Science Society. What makes this year’s event preparation different is that we were able to do a research trip to learn about the cultural context of the areas we travelled to and had the opportunity to connect with local organisers before the event. The information we collected helped us adapt our science, art, and technology activities to suit the social and ecological context of the people we will meet. Another new element is how we formed the art team. This year in collaboration with the bruhartclub , we conducted an open call to artists to propose events. We had a total of 165 applications, from which we selected 10 applicants from Visual Art, Creative Filmmaking, Photography, Street Art, Literature, Poetry, Music, Fashion design, Architecture, Metal Art, Gaming Video Editing, and Graphics Design. Pre-trip SummaryFeb 2021 The Drive On the way to the destination stops, we visited the following areas and our journey tracks below: · Left Addis Ababa at around 7am. We got stuck in traffic, and we were only able to leave Addis around 8pm. · Stopped at Tiya to visit the Tiya Stelles (Tikel Dingay), where we spent 0.5-1hr. · Stopped for breakfast/lunch at Butajira around 11am. Details of the expenses can be found in this google sheet . Objective of the Trip The main goal of the pre-trip was to study the current social and political situations in the four main destinations of Astrobus-Ethiopia 2021: Arba Minch, Dorze, Konso, and Jinka. We wanted to understand the cultural context while paying particular attention to the following: · What do people eat? What type of music do they listen to? How do they dance? · What are their main economical tools? · What are their histories?· Who are their heroes? · What are the parts of their culture they are most proud of? What elements do they want other people to know about? · What are the main concerns of the young people? Economical? Situational? · Who are the people and initiatives that are doing well in the area/region? · Who are the local role models? In addition, the trip had another main objective of setting up local organisers, who help facilitate the event, by reaching out to Schools, Universities, and local administrative bureaus. Finding local organisers, whoever volunteers and lives in the area, is key to the success of the project. They assist in contacting schools and other organizations necessary for coordination of the event. In all places, the majority speak Amharic, so there is no issue in communication. Everywhere in our pre-trial, we used local guides to more intimately understand the history, culture, and values of the people in the localities we visit. All the communities we visited are located within a town, city, or in the suburbs, which means they are easily accessible. The roads to all visited areas are in very good condition, with no need for a special car. The road from Addis to Jinka is asphalt, and of good standard. Two people embarked on research trip in February: Yababel Fataye and Sinkneh Eshetu. Both of the main objectives above were reached. Places and People Tiya (ጢያ) Tiya Stele: 500-600 year old decorated gravestones. There has been very little research on these stones, and the many questions regarding the people who built it remain unanswered. The symbols in the stele include: swords, pillows, enset (a false banana tree whose trunk provides the staple food of the region), and a few others which are not yet well understood. The is an archaeological site in central Ethiopia located in the Garage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region south of Addis Ababa. It is along the way to Arba Minch with an easily accessible road. Arba Minch Arbaminch (meaning 40 springs), is the water house of the country. It has countless springs that are a clean source of the city’s drinking water and hosts two lakes – the Abbaya & Chammo Lakes – connected by what is named the God Bridge. It has one of the most beautiful forests and grasslands. The nech sar is one of the iconic national parks of Ethiopia. Dorze The Dorze people, a small tribe of around 50,000, who speak the omotic langange: the Dorze language, are famous in Ethiopia for their exceptional weaving skills, delicious food, and particular style of dance and music. They reside in highland villages near the cities of Chencha and Arbaminch. Despite being very small in number, they are all over the country and produce most of the nation’s traditional cotton cloths. Konso Konso Villages. The Konso Village, with its special cultural landscape is a UNESCO world heritage. [1] The villages that date back 21 generations (400 years) are fortified settlements in the Konso highlands of Ethiopia with stone-walled terraces. Generation poles, which represent the village’s 19 year cycle power transition, provide [an] accurate dating of the village. The community open houses provide night shelter for the youth who take turns sleeping there to ensure the security of the village. The Konso people are also known for their excellent farming strategies, one example being their multi-season crop management that allows them to collect two to three yields from a single seeding. The Konso speak the Konso Language, similar to the Oromigna language, which is spoken by the larger Oromo people. Hammer At Hammer, a Bull jumping Ceremonial event. Hammer, the name for the place and its people, are well known for their strong cultural and social cohesion. They are a small population of around 75,000 and speak the Hamer-Banna language. The bull jumping ritual ceremony represents a rite of passage for a man to own properties, form a family, and become a full member of the community. For women, it is the ability to bore a child. Jinka Meeting with an Aari family to learn about their culture. Jinka, a city in the lower Omo valley with a multi-ethnic society. The Aari people are the main tribe in the region, speaking the Aari language which is an Omotic language. The Aari people have one of the cleanest compounds and their houses [are] well kept – an incredible sensitivity to beauty and sanitation. They are known for their blacksmith and pottery skills, and their excellent music wins many hearts in the country, recognised for its exceptional tune and vibe. Ari people A traditional Ari woman painter observing us leaving her compound after she demonstrated the process she uses to make colors to us, and then painted her favourite pattern. Questions: Where do Ari people leave [to]/live? What is [the] social structure? General observations Temperature is hot but not humid until you reach Arba Minch, and so there is largely no need for air conditioning. The road from Wolaita Sodo to Arba Minch is very good. Tiya (ጢያ) castells are a source of historical, archaeological, forensic, pattern reading for the project context. There may be a plan to decode 100 symbols from tiya tikel dengaye (note: ask for the Southern people to name what it represents for them, then analyse data and make an inference). Gamo and Gofa zone. Dorze is in a Gamo zone. The drive from Arba Minch is a pista road on the mountain. Project Ideas With the assumption that we could motivate, inspire, and connect better with our audience if the things we do are relevant to their needs and interests, we brainstormed with the local communities. Some of the points and suggestions forwarded are as follows (Astrobus travellers may consider to link their projects with any of these): Arba Minch Netchsar National Park 1. Counting and classifying the Arba Minch forest trees 2. Counting and classifying the wildlife at Netchsar? Banana and other products 1. Identifying disease in some major crops such as Banana Waste disposal 1. Handling and transforming domestic waste such as plastic bottles Unemployment, Moral Development, and Entrepreneurship 1. Motivating the spirit of moral leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation Sport 1. Creating physically and mentally healthy generation Music 1. The technologies behind making and enjoying music Food 1. Traditional foods 2. Healthy foods Dorze Architecture 1. Innovations in traditional architecture 2. Bamboo technologies Weaving 1. Technologies in cloth making, such as weaving and dying 2. Fashion design Food 1. Inset Music Pottery Konso Architecture and cultural landscape Human Origin 1. Human origin and distribution (genetics) 2. Cultural exchange 3. A child innovator – who made interesting attempts at inventing Jinka Art – working with the traditional women artists, probably using a different materials Craft – blacksmith Brewery Sawla Not visited The Food ኵርኵፉ: ማሽላ (በቆሎ እኞኪ) ፣ ጐመን ቡላ ፍርፍር: ውሃ እየተርከፈከፈ ዱቄቱ እየታመሰ ፍርፍር ይሆናል ፎሰሴ: አደንጋሬ፣ ጓመን ፣ በቆሎ ቁጢ (ሃይታ ቱኬ) ሻይ: ነጭ ሽንኩርት፣ ድምብላል ፣ ቀይ ሽንኩርት፣ ጭቁኝ ፣ ጨው ሙቿ: ቡላ ፍርፍር ብላንዶ: ቆጮ በበላቄ ባጭራ: ቆጮ በወተት ኤፔላ ቅቤ ፍርፍር Dr Yabebal. Fantaye is an Astrophysicist and a data scientist. [1] “Konso Cultural Landscape,” World Heritage List, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation | World Heritage Convention, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1333/ Previous Next

< Back Belgrade Calling Coronavirus entry 25 Apr 2020 Katarina Kostandinović DIARY ENTRY no1. A few weeks ago, right after the WHO has announced the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, I found myself scrolling through the internet in search of some news explaining what that means. Since the beginning of the 21 st century there’s been two pandemics, the first one was the 2009 flu pandemic or the so-called swine flu, and the second one is the current coronavirus pandemic. Also since the beginning of the new century there’s been numerous deadly epidemics worldwide – Ebola, SARS (another zoonotic disease caused by the SARS coronavirus), just to name two. I cannot recall the situation in Serbia during the 2009 pandemic, and probably the situation then (even though just a decade ago) was a lot different… DIARY ENTRY no2. The situation with the coronavirus in Belgrade began its outbreak in the second week of March, almost a few weeks after the scandalous press conference of the Crisis Management arm of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and medical experts. While the epidemic was on the rise in Italy, Serbian government officials and experts made jokes about the “funniest” virus in human history, and that the Serbian people had endured so much suffering and distress over the past three decades that such a virus would be nothing to “us”. More than a month has passed since the conference, the number of people infected in Serbia is increasing day by day, intercity and inner-city public transportation has been stopped, a curfew has been introduced in all cities from 5pm to 5am during weekdays, and a total lockdown during weekends. News reports say that this is the biggest movement restriction since World War II. DIARY ENTRY no3. Like most people in the world I now work from home, programs in public and private institutions across Serbia are suspended until further notice, only markets and shops operate. Every day is the same, I wake up, scroll through the news online that contain corona headlines, foreign, domestic news, everyone reports the same, and statistics change day by day. I don’t have a TV, so I filter sources and information as much as possible. We are forced to minimize our daily habits and even abolish them, but somehow the human psyche is resilient and wants to test whether things will really “explode”, waiting and doing things the way we are used to. The flow of time is strange, my days have never passed faster, and leisure and working time blend into one another. The very thought of future projects becomes a hazy projection, and the question that logically arises is: does it matter at this point? All of a sudden everything becomes bizarre, like a commercial for space travel. I’m thinking the virus could mutate and turn some into feverish zombies who cough and sneeze at people, and these people immediately turn into them and continue to spread the virus. Something between the Jim Jarmusch movie “ The Dead Don’t Die ” and British apocalypse comedy “ Shaun of the Dead ”. That seems like a good idea for a comic book in the graphic form of “ The End of The Fucking World ”. DIARY ENTRY no4. Overwhelmed and frustrated. Don’t make a podcast – I keep telling myself. Spend less time on Instagram, post less on Instagram. I am so surrounded by all this social media content that it just pressures me to produce something similar. But then I realize how stupid that sounds, and continue scrolling. Then again, in what other situation would I say,“let’s see which opera is streaming now on Vimeo?” By now, a large number of institutions and organizations have cancelled and/or rescheduled their programmes, coming up with meaningful ways to re-design them and finding innovative ways of communication and presentation. But then the logical question arises: what after? Is all this content temporary? The internet is already a space of overproduction, it is already becoming overwhelmed with loads of information, virtual tours, podcasts and other content. Social media platforms are the perfect virtual meeting places, so it is only natural that as museums and galleries are closing their doors they are focusing on their online accounts. Many are sharing videos, live streams and online events etc. The movement and circulation of images and words is quite literally what we all do. I think it’s important to look at online programs not as a space to memorialize the exhibitions that were, or the exhibitions that could have been, but as its own medium – some installation shots, a few photos collected together, or a virtual tour just isn’t enough. Many articles also appear to suggest the acceptance of this new pace, us slowing down in this state of uncertainty, staying at home to rethink our future plans, if any. Being surrounded by such overwhelming digital content makes me think about different ways of rethinking accessibility, archiving, and documentation of the “site specific” content. DIARY ENTRY no5. It seems that slowing down and accepting this new pace isn’t beneficial for everyone, like some lifestyle blogs are suggesting. Due to COVID-19 we are also facing the biggest economic crisis since 2008. Many Serbian people, gastarbeiters, migrant workers, freelancers that are living abroad are being faced (or threatened) with job losses and forced to return to Serbia. Public funds for culture in Serbia are definitely going to be reduced even though for years now the sum has been very modest, except of some special (state) cultural projects. Many independent spaces, freelance curators and independent artists are, even more than before, very much endangered. Just before the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe it came to my attention that many contracts made with public institutions that facilitate exhibitions and discursive programmes don’t have provisions concerning change of circumstances of the contract in the case of “higher power” (as it literally translates from Serbian – “viša sila”). Many contracts between institutions and independent workers are made in a way that exclusively protects the institution where the event takes place, and all responsibility rests entirely with the other party. For example, I was invited by two artists to curate their exhibition in one public institution in Belgrade scheduled to open in mid-March. Having realized the severity of the situation, the number of infected people increasing, Italy “shutting down”, we urged the institution to postpone the exhibition, explaining that all public institutions would soon cancel their programmes and declare a State of Emergency. Representatives of that institution threatened us with a lawsuit, however luckily we succeeded to cancel the exhibition two days before the opening, and without any legal consequences. DIARY ENTRY no6. I found myself google searching for photos regarding environmental changes caused by major industries shutting down, banned tourism and social distancing. There are many images of clearer water in Venice canals, “clear” sky over China and Europe, wildlife walking the streets of UK. There is also a sense of immense solidarity among people, helping endangered groups during the pandemic, sharing and delivering food and other supplies. I then scroll through some conspiracy theories and fake news (to humor myself) – most interesting are those about 5G network, and Dean Koontz’s novel “Eyes of Darkness”, among others. And there are many google searches about those who seek to benefit out of the situation, and these are mainly politicians. The State of Emergency in a way blurs some priorities in the time of movement restrictions and raises alarms about how human rights are being balanced against the risks posed by COVID-19. It seems like a flashback from a recent history; something is rotten in the state of Serbia.The most dramatic example in Europe so far has been Hungary, where Prime Minister Orban used his Fidesz Party’s parliamentary majority late last month to push through legislation that allows him to rule by decree for an indefinite period of time. Though his government says the measures are necessary to protect lives, there are worries that Hungary, a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has become an effective dictatorship [ 1] . Similar accusations are being made about the Serbian President, who shut down the country’s parliament as part of an open-ended State of Emergency he declared on March 15. The army has since been deployed to parts of the country, a 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew is in effect and people older than 65 have been banned from leaving their homes. And a recent public debate about the Government’s decision on information duringthe coronavirus pandemic, which prohibits crisis staff of municipalities and cities from giving information to the local media and the public regarding public health, just proves these suspicions right. Luckily the decision will not come into effect, due to many protests coming from the EU, but it seems that it was definitely motivated by the case of the journalist from Novi Sad being detained by the Serbian police after writing a critical text on the handling of the coronavirus epidemic. [ 2] (Not a conclusion) It seems that all we can do is wait and hope for the best. The urgent is highly likely to crowd out the important. We can just speculate the options for a world after the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is a new kind of crisis, one that involves testing the behaviors and beliefs of billions of people, and that has public health, economic, political, social, psychological and cultural dimensions. Katarina Kostandinović is an art historian and curator based in Belgrade, Serbia. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/30/hungary-jail-for-coronavirus-misinformation-viktor-orban [2] https://www.rferl.org/a/serbian-journalist-detained-questioned-over-critical-coronavirus-article/30525582.html Previous Next

Program Participant Activities Events Lecture Series Participant Activities Program Participant Activities Tonight we invite you to encounter a collective archive of the 2022 What could/should curating do educational programme, which took place in Belgrade and other locations around the Post-Yugoslav region, between September and December this year. The departure point for this archive is a proposal by Biljana Ćirić, program curator and facilitator, to consider the means by which the discussions, events, inquiries and relationships developed during this time might be recorded or documented. Archiving is never neutral. Determinations are always made—by individuals, by collectives, by collecting institutions—about what knowledge is worth saving, the means by which knowledge is indexed, housed and cared for, who has access and on what terms. Within the framework of an alternative educational platform—with a loose and evolving curriculum, and no formalised method of assessment or grading—this exercise presents an opportunity to consider what alternative measures we might allow ourselves for the production of knowledge when freed from institutional modes of transmission and circulation. As such, these archives—both individually and collectively—do not simply record a series of shared (and at times differing) experiences. They include questions around how the embodied, linguistic, political, intimate, relational nature of experience and remembering, ranging in scope from the personal, to the national. Each contribution is informed by the “baggage” we carried with us, as a group of individuals from many different geographic and cultural contexts, many of whom had little relationship with Belgrade, Serbia or the Balkan region prior to this course. This “baggage” includes our different relationships to contemporary art’s infrastructures; our different fields of knowledge and networks of relationships; cultural and linguistic differences; differing relations to histories of colonialism, resource extraction and capitalist exploitation; and varying habits of thought, modes of making, inhabiting and formulating questions about the world. Through differing strategies of presentation and circulation, we hope to open up questions about what we have in common, as well as what separates us; what of ourselves is dispersed, and what is withheld. But the physical “archive” we share with you tonight is only a part of a wider set of relationships, experiences, idea exchanges, occasional encounters, gossip and experimenting. Tonight we celebrate the beauty and fragility of these moments. Be our guests at the two tables. Read silently. Read aloud. Whisper. Describe what you see. Share what you feel. Eat. Drink. Embrace. This archive is staged as something living, developing and transformational, ever evolving as our moments with you. Thank you for sharing this journey with us. We hope it’s not the end, but only a stop on the way. WC/SCD 2022 Adelina, Anastasia, Ginevra, Giuglia, Jelena, Karly, Lera, Sabine, Simon < Mentors Educational Program Menu >

Jelica Jovanovic < Back Disappeared – appeared: selo – BOR – grad village – BOR – city Jelica Jovanovic Previous Next

Alumni Alumni Lecture Series Participant Activities Alumni < Mentors Educational Program Menu >

Tīna Pētersone < Back Present Perfect Continuous Tīna Pētersone Imagine you are an actor in some theatre play. You sit somewhere in the foreground of the stage, totally absorbed by the character you ’ re playing. Then, driven by some arbitrary impulse, you give a cursory glance around and realise that all set decoration has disappeared; even worse — you suddenly have found yourself in a completely different play. That ’ s how I feel about my recent weeks, trying to find a new orientation in time and space. On some sunny March morning I was running across a local park in South East London, not having the slightest idea that just twelve hours later I will run through it once again, though, by force, not a choice to leave everything — my flat, my friends, the life I have built there — to catch the last minute flight back home. Borders were shut the day after, and many of my friends were trapped where they are without a chance to leave. I got lucky. Since the day I arrived back home, I haven ’ t been outdoors for 762 hours and 53 minutes. Hours quickly turn into days, coalesce into weeks and surely will stretch into months. As the days go by and I’m still trying to adapt to the new reality, I cannot help but think about lines from ’ The Waste Land ’ by T. S. Elliot. He writes: ‘ The past should be altered by the present as much as the present is directed by the past ’ . [1] Suddenly new conditions have changed the meaning of beliefs that seemed solid: time passes faster in stillness, negative results bring success, rapid developments don ’ t translate into progress. In some strange way, I have learnt to live with the immobility and accept it as my ‘new normal’ now. Needless to say, I am fed up with the self-isolation and I terribly miss human interaction (as I reckon, most of us do), but I have grown to see being by myself as a valuable opportunity to work on various forms of self-care: self-discipline, self-initiative, self-reflection. A couple of days ago I watched a rousing TED conversation with an American author Elizabeth Gilbert, she seemed so sagacious and radiated an air of serenity. A sentence she said got me thinking: ‘Presence is a gift and challenge in this time. ’ [2] Indeed, these recent weeks have let me discover a new perspective on ‘ presence ’ and how multifaceted this concept is. Strangely, in contrast to many people, online house parties, live yoga classes, DJ-set live streams, Netflix communal watching and collective Zoom calls don ’ t cheer me up, rather deepen my longing for real-life experiences. Though, pondering upon the future, it has prompted me to ask — what are the facets of ‘presence’? How can we think of presence as a powerful quality for professional and personal development? Presence as the state of being present. What I appreciate the most about the prolonged seclusion is the time to think. Engross into things that truly matter and enjoy them wholeheartedly without distractions; fully embrace moments of aloneness and use them for introspection. The essence of an independent curator is a cosmopolitan one. Hopping between cities and countries comes along with a constant shift between realities and temporalities. To get a foot in the door of the highly competitive field of arts, one has to ‘master the art ofliving with a chronic instability’. [3] Although the pursuit of curator ’ s career teaches mental flexibility, it also forces to do everything ‘ in time-lapse’ — forbidding to delve deeper into a single activity and, instead, hastily jump onto the ‘next big thing’. The crisis has forced me to press a ‘pause’ button and push myself into a self-prescribed self-immersion therapy. Getting to the root, feeling the flow, letting inner consciousness lead the way. The highly praised, so-called, ‘superstar curators’ and ‘artist-entrepreneurs’ have implanted in us the harmful ideal to have something ‘going on’ all the time: let it be doing research, writing proposals, seeking for funding, visiting studios or negotiating with exhibition venues. I hope the moment of solitude will help us — curators, artists, creatives and society overall — to shed this destructive pressure and follow your own vision. Presence as the immediate proximity of a person or thing. Geographer Yi-Fu Tuan has rightly pointed out: ‘ What is there in a culture that is not a form of escape? ’ [4] Paradoxically, in times of crisis, while culture comforts us and helps to deal with everyday life, it is the first to experience financial cutbacks. Which seems even more duplicitous, considering that artists are the ones cultivating nation’s heritage and cultural scene. Our ability to build a more healthy and equitable art world lies in the power of joint effort. We have to learn to be more open and accepting to wider audiences, but first of all — build trust and cooperation among each other. In countries where the contemporary art discourse is still in a relatively early stage, there’s only a small circle of people who do art, curate art, observe art and write about art. I see this tiny ‘art bubble’ as very discouraging for constructive discussions and critical thought development within the local art scene. I ’ m tired of conversations that just state how bad the situation is, but don ’ t provide any solutions, just leave me with a bitter aftertaste. I think we can grow much more, both collectively and independently if we put an effort into nurturing and establishing networks. Be friendly, but keep a professional relationship. Support each other, but give honest feedback. Be responsive, but focus on our individual thing. Presence as personal appearance or bearing. Crises shape history, and I believe that we, curators, have power in our hands to shape it for better. We could say we are creators whose material is the work of others — but in any case, the role of a mediator is inescapable. If we go along with the infamous curator’s Harald Szeemann ’ s idea of ‘ artists as the best societal seismographs ’ [5] , curators, similarly to seismologists who study earthquakes and their waves, cross-examine ‘movers and shakers’ of the social and political climate. This unprecedented time has taught me to not to underestimate the power of change in the society. I often wish I had more courage to do what I wish to do and take part in shaping public thought. Once and for all it ’ s time to get rid of the paralysing fear of failure. Fear of being judged, being seen, being public. Instead, learn to be self-sufficient without a necessity to prove anything to anyone. We can make a difference. We are needed. Take time. Take as much as you need. But make good use of it. Tīna Pētersone is an independent curator and a writer based in London/Riga. [1] Eliot, T. S. (1999). The waste land: and other poems . London: Faber and Faber. [2] TED. (2020). It’s OK to feel overwhelmed. Here’s what to do next . Available at: https://youtu.be/oNBvC25bxQU . (Accessed: 21 Apr 2020). [3] Gielen, P., & McGregor, C. (2010). The murmuring of the artistic multitude: Global art, memory and post-Fordism. Amsterdam: Valiz. P. 38. [4] Sugar, R. (2019). The Great Escape . Available at: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/8/7/20749177/escape-room-game . (Accessed: 11 Jan 2020). [5] Carolee, T. (2009). On Curating: Interviews with Ten International Curators . New York, NY: D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers. Previous Next