<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Rael Artel</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:rael@publicpreparation.org">rael@publicpreparation.org</a>></span><br>
Date: Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 10:09 AM<br>Subject: "Let's Talk About Nationalism! Between Ideology and Identity" at Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia<br>To: <a href="mailto:pp@publicpreparation.org">pp@publicpreparation.org</a><br>
Cc: <a href="mailto:artinfo@cca.ee">artinfo@cca.ee</a>, <a href="mailto:foorum@artun.ee">foorum@artun.ee</a><br><br><br><br>
<br>
Let's Talk About Nationalism! Between Ideology and Identity<br>
<br>
February 4th -- April 25th, 2010<br>
<br>
Participating artists: Nanna Debois Buhl (Copenhagen / New York), Jens<br>
Haaning (Copenhagen), Raul Keller (Tallinn), Eva Labotkin (Tallinn/Tartu),<br>
Tanja Muravskaja (Tallinn), John Phillip Mäkinen (Helsinki), Csaba Nemes<br>
(Budapest), Audrius Novickas (Vilnius), Danilo Prnjat (Belgrade), Johannes<br>
Paul Raether (Berlin), Joanna Rajkowska (Warsaw), R.E.P. Group (Kiev),<br>
Twozywo (Warsaw), Shlomi Yaffe (Prague), Katarina Zdjelar (Rotterdam)<br>
and Artur Zmijewski (Warsaw)<br>
<br>
Curator: Rael Artel<br>
<br>
Download exhibition catalogue:<br>
<a href="http://www.publicpreparation.org/failid/hp/Kumu_A4_lores.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.publicpreparation.org/failid/hp/Kumu_A4_lores.pdf</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
"Let's Talk About Nationalism! Between Ideology and Identity" is an<br>
international exhibition of contemporary art, and its goal is to pose<br>
critical questions about contemporary nationalism, to acknowledge the<br>
problematic nature of the currently prevalent national discourse, and to<br>
create a counterweight in the public sphere. This exhibition project<br>
reviews and analyses the complex cultural and political process through<br>
which a nationalist ideology becomes a national identity, and also looks<br>
at its mutual relationships and negative aspects.<br>
<br>
It is difficult to overrate the topical nature of national issues. In the<br>
local Estonian cultural space, some of the events that have caused the<br>
greatest confrontations, anger and violence in recent years have been<br>
conflicts over monuments that perpetuate different treatments of history.<br>
>From Europe and the world come constant stories of illegal immigrants and<br>
the Schengen visa space, as well as news of right-wing extremists and<br>
racially-motivated crimes committed by neo-Nazis. Who can live in Estonia<br>
and Europe and under what conditions? Who has the right to have a say in<br>
local matters? Who can demand political rights and who must simply be<br>
content with the opportunity to earn and to consume? The nationalist way<br>
of thinking has been welded into the collective mentality to such an<br>
extent that casting any doubts on it is seen as inappropriate. The<br>
exhibition project "Let's Talk About Nationalism! Between Identity and<br>
Ideology" dares to raise doubts and invites us to once again review the<br>
mechanisms of collective self-awareness in the context of the contemporary<br>
world.<br>
<br>
A number of internationally active artists working primarily from a<br>
critical approach have been invited to participate in this exhibition and<br>
to display both earlier works and pieces that have been adapted to the<br>
Estonian cultural context or made specifically for the Kumu Art Museum<br>
exhibition. The works displayed in the project are conditionally divided<br>
into three groups: ideological habits, reproduction of a nation and<br>
conflicts. This exhibition will cast doubt on the dominant national<br>
agenda's, which are spared (self-)criticism, and will approach the topic<br>
of contemporary nationalism from many different sides. Considering the<br>
specifics of an art museum geared to a wider audience, we have avoided<br>
focusing on a narrow aspect of the issue and have instead decided to<br>
create a more panoramic picture. There are no complete answers or<br>
standard solutions at this exhibition -- just questions. The choice<br>
of works might be characterized as a selection that is as open as possible<br>
and maps the area to the widest possible extent. Each work here is a<br>
potential premise for wider discussion.<br>
<br>
The project "Let's Talk About Nationalism! Between Identity and Ideology"<br>
was prepared by a series of events called "Public Preparation", which on<br>
one hand is the format of collective work to map and understand<br>
contemporary nationalism and the issues of critical art practices and, on<br>
the other hand, it functions as a curatorial strategy to gather and<br>
systematize positions and concepts. All the meetings of "Public<br>
Preparation", during which this exhibition was prepared and its conceptual<br>
framework produced, studied the links between contemporary art and the<br>
daily social reality that has been shaped by nationalist ideology. More<br>
detailed information on "Public Preparation" project is available in<br>
<a href="http://www.publicpreparation.org" target="_blank">www.publicpreparation.org</a>.<br>
<br>
The exhibition has been fully translated into Estonian, Russian and English.<br>
<br>
Press photos are available in <a href="http://digikogu.ekm.ee/lisa/press" target="_blank">http://digikogu.ekm.ee/lisa/press</a><br>
<br>
Media partner of the exhibition is <a href="http://artishok.blogspot.com" target="_blank">artishok.blogspot.com</a><br>
<br>
An extensive education programme, supported by the Open Estonia<br>
Foundation, will accompany the exhibition.<br>
<br>
<br>
Events:<br>
February 4th at 12 p.m.<br>
Artist talks with Joanna Rajkowska (at 12 p.m.), Jens Haaning (at 2 p.m.)<br>
and Csaba Nemes (at 4 p.m.) will take place at the Education Centre in<br>
Kumu.<br>
<br>
February 9th at 6 p.m.<br>
A screening of 'The State of Exception Proved to Be the Rule'. Dir. Eduard<br>
Freudmann and Jelena Radic, Serbia, 2008, 84 min. In Serbian, with<br>
English subtitles.<br>
<br>
9 March at 6 p.m.<br>
A screening of 'Rocking The Nation'. Dir. Borbala Kriza, Hungary, 2007, 70<br>
min. In Hungarian, with English subtitles<br>
<br>
30 March at 6 p.m.<br>
A screening of 'Letter from Moldova'. Dir. Joanne Richardson, Romania,<br>
2009, 28 min. In Romanian, with English subtitles;<br>
and 'Red Tours'. Dir. Joanne Richardson and David Rych, Romania/Germany,<br>
2010, 50 min. Different languages, with English subtitles<br>
<br>
A series of discussions, meetings and artist talks will take place during<br>
the exhibition in the Public Preparation Social Club (in the education<br>
room, on the 5th floor of Kumu). Additional information in media and<br>
mailing-lists.<br>
<br>
<br>
Publications:<br>
The exhibition is accompanied with a trilingual catalogue, which is edited<br>
by Rael Artel, designed by Jaan Evart, and published by the Art Museum of<br>
Estonia. The catalogue is free and also downloadable here (1.7Mb):<br>
<a href="http://www.publicpreparation.org/failid/hp/Kumu_A4_lores.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.publicpreparation.org/failid/hp/Kumu_A4_lores.pdf</a><br>
<br>
The reader 'Public Preparation -- Contemporary Nationalism and<br>
Critical Art Practices' which will document the "Public Preparation"<br>
project and contextualize the show will be published during the<br>
exhibition.<br>
<br>
<br>
Sponsors:<br>
The exhibition would not be possible without kind support by Danish Arts<br>
Council, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tallinn, Estonian Academy of<br>
Arts, Estonian Cultural Endowment, Estonian Ministry of Culture, Finnish<br>
Institute, Goethe Institute, Hungarian Institute, Ministry of Foreign<br>
Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, Mondriaan Foundation, and Open<br>
Estonia Foundation.<br>
<br>
<br>
------------------------<br>
Forever Yours,<br>
<font color="#888888">Rael Artel<br>
gsm: + 372 56 229 213<br>
email: <a href="mailto:rael@publicpreparation.org">rael@publicpreparation.org</a><br>
msn: <a href="mailto:moskva80@hotmail.com">moskva80@hotmail.com</a><br>
skype: raelartel<br>
<a href="http://www.publicpreparation.org" target="_blank">www.publicpreparation.org</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
</font></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Rusu Stefan - artist/freelance curator<br><br>Artist-in-Residence <br>Centre International des Récollets<br>1560/154, rue du Fbg Saint-Martin,<br>75010 Paris<br><br>phone: +33 153 26 21 83<br>
mob: +33 618 86 58 40 <br><br><br>