Symposia

Other Edges of the World

migration art funding war
Mariia Vorotilina: Greetings from Eastern Europe: Ukraine and the Emancipatory PracticesPanel Discussion no 1: New RealityPanel Discussion no 2: Who, when, and how. On the practical challenges of helping others

Millions of people have fled Ukraine to escape the war, many of them artists, curators, and other cultural professionals. Various initiatives and organization networks were created to help them, and a lot of art institutions and residence programs accommodated their plans to suit them. ‍

During the previous year, both institutions and individuals needed to overcome a number of unexpected challenges and, over time, the biggest one appears to be the utility, from financial aid and satisfying the interests of individual actors and institutions to more theoretical questions of decolonizing Central and Eastern Europe. ‍

A one-day symposium Other Edges of the World focuses on these exact theoretical and practical aspects of the issues of art and conflict and artists in exile.

Mariia Vorotilina: Greetings from Eastern Europe: Ukraine and the Emancipatory Practices

In the wake of the war of Russia against Ukraine, the gaps in understanding of “Eastern”-“Western” European relations became more visible. The neocolonial gaze of the “West” towards “Eastern” Europe has shaped the patterns that include, but are not limited to, the generalization of cultures and experiences of people living within the region, resource depletion of lands, exploitation of migrant workers, the superiority of academia and knowledge production. Art and activism are also not liberated from this gaze, reproducing neocolonial patterns and reinforcing them.

Mariia Vorotilina speaks about the patterns that exist in relations between “Eastern” and “Western” Europe, based on specific examples from academia, activism, and art. The talk also brings into focus artistic and activist emancipatory practices that have evolved in Ukraine over the past years.

Panel Discussion no 1: New Reality

This panel discussion gathers initiatives supporting artists and cultural workers who suffered from the war and Ukrainian artists. Suddenly we find ourselves in a new reality where old approaches don’t exist and patterns don’t work and in this situation, we can learn a lot from each other to elaborate a new vision. We will talk about major changes which happened in the organizations during the last year and why they decided to transform their activities. How the war has influenced the Ukrainian art scene and how this experience can be implemented in other contexts. Even now, we can start seeing the results of these new collaborations and try to think about where it can bring us in the future.

Panel Discussion no 2: Who, when, and how. On the practical challenges of helping others

The second-panel discussion is designed as a workgroup in which several initiatives geared towards supporting cultural professionals in need will share their experiences and difficulties. What legal frameworks do you need to provide aid for exiled artists? What strategies can be implemented to obtain the funds required? How can you create solidarity networks amongst organizations or individuals with similar goals? As cultural initiatives with specific missions, visions, and restrictions, how do we make sure we generate the right conditions for those artists and cultural professionals that we so much want to help?