[oberlist] AT* evnt: SPACES Conference, Vienna, October 30-31, 2014

[Vladimir US]

The SPACES Conference, Vienna, October 30-31, 2014


EN
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The SPACES Conference, Vienna
October 30-31, 2014

Art that reacts to life where it actually happens, blurred borders  
between the producer and the viewer of art: between 2011-2014, the  
project SPACES assembled artists and cultural workers in Armenia,  
Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine acting in the public realm of their  
cities, critically reflecting on societal issues. Artistic work  
expressed in the temporary use of public space establishes a  
counterweight to the eternal representation of power that classical  
statues and monuments are loaded with, or can represent the artist’s  
tactics of sustaining creativity in unfavourable conditions.

Public space is a radically changing, endangered environment,  
particularly in Eastern Europe. After decades of rather hidden and  
scattered struggles, public space and its re-appropriation through  
artists in particular, and civil society in general have become key  
elements in current processes of protest, activism and change.

Within the framework of SPACES, the curatorial team invited artists to  
develop interactive projects in Chisinau, Kyiv, Tbilisi and Yerevan,  
to reconsider public space as a place for free expression, social  
encounter, and shared responsibilities, aiming at enhancing civil  
society processes. The SPACES interventions dealt with the past,  
present, and future aspirations of spaces and cities, succeeded to  
change the rhythm of the city, made private acts public, irritated –  
all against the background of the burning question: How far can the  
citizen get actively involved in current political discourses?

Another challenge for SPACES was to strengthen the cultural public  
sphere in the four countries, juxtaposing it to an economy-centred  
cultural policy approach. The approach of a cultural public sphere  
brings together the “notion of public debate, democratic  
representation in terms of politics and policy, with aesthetics and  
emotion, that is, affective matters” (McGuigan, 2011), going beyond  
cognition.

The project created antitheses to the current urban transformation  
processes, characterized by the privatization of public property, the  
destruction of the historic centers of the cities and an ongoing loss  
of their former social functions, new ownership patterns and symbolic  
domination of the public space by political and religious groups in  
power. These processes exclude many voices, such as religious  
minorities, economically disadvantaged groups, or the communities of  
sexual minorities, and leave citizens unprepared to consider public  
space as a common space for all.

The SPACES conference in Vienna presents and discusses experiences  
from Chisinau, Kyiv, Tbilisi, and Yerevan, and connects them to other  
parts of Europe and the world. Speakers from 12 countries share their  
experiences and reflections with the audience. The discussion proceeds  
to looking at the social transformation processes in Europe in general  
and the positioning of artists in current global processes of protest,  
activism and change.

www.spacesproject.net





Vladimir US

CHIOSC   |   curator

http://chiosc.oberliht.com
http://zpatiu.wordpress.com/
https://chisinaulcivic.crowdmap.com/
http://chisineu.wordpress.com
http://bucuresti68.wordpress.com
http://plic.oberliht.com
http://www.facebook.com/Oberliht

Proiectul CHIOSC este realizat cu suportul financiar al Fundatiei  
Culturale Europene http://www.eurocult.org

--
"Oberliht" Young Artists Association
http://oberliht.com

tel/fax:	+ (373 22) 286317
email: 	vladimir at oberliht.org.md
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