[oberlist] Fwd: Kyiv Perennial: Symposium "What Remains of the ‘Friendship between Peoples’?"

Mon May 20 23:39:38 CEST 2024

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From: Vasyl Cherepanyn <cherepanyn at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, May 20, 2024 at 2:03 PM
Subject: Kyiv Perennial: Symposium "What Remains of the ‘Friendship between
Peoples’?"
To:

*Kyiv Perennial: Symposium “What Remains of the ‘Friendship between
Peoples’?” on June 1*

10th German-Soviet Artists’ Ball in the Prater, 1987, ©Harald Hauswald /
OSTKREUZ
Kyiv Perennial
*What Remains of the ‘Friendship between Peoples’? *
A symposium of the Prater Galerie
June 1, 2024, 11 am–8 pm
Stadtwerkstatt, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 11, 10178 Berlin, 1st floor
Access via escalator, barrier-free access via elevator
In English and German with simultaneous translation
Free admission

Registration for members of the media at presse at ngbk.de
Registration for visitors at info at pratergalerie.de by May 30

*Kyiv Perennial continues with a symposium of the Prater Galerie on June
1. **What Remains of the ‘Friendship between Peoples?’ **focuses on the
idea of friendship and brotherhood in (post-)socialist contexts.* *The
symposium will be accompanied by a film program curated by Olexii
Kuchanskyi and concludes with a screening by Henrike Naumann and
SI_Process.*

Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, many
media outlets in Germany have alluded to the past image of friendship
between the two nations in contrast to today’s enmity. Hardly a private
conversation takes place between those who grew up under socialism – and
with the ideology of friendship between nations – without reflecting on the
former solidarity between the ‘peoples of the Soviet Union.’ Friendship is
an important term with a complex history of relations. But what does it
mean when applied to entire nations? What characterized these kinds of
friendships, which involved emancipatory and conciliatory aspects on the
one hand but also hierarchical and even colonial gestures on the other?

After the Second World War, ‘friendship between peoples’ became a central
propaganda tool in socialist countries beyond the Soviet Union. As
ideological and dishonest as the term may be, it was also lived out to some
extent. Under the slogan of ‘friendship between peoples’ or ‘friendship and
brotherhood’, real encounters and friendships were fostered, not between
peoples, but people. Cultural exchanges took place that were beneficial for
both parties. However, this does not appear to have produced a stable
friendship between peoples. When the era of socialism came to an end, a
seemingly endless series of ethnic and national wars began, which continue
today.

*What Remains of the ‘Friendship between Peoples?’* is a symposium that
focuses on the idea of friendship and brotherhood in (post-)socialist
contexts. It focuses on the term itself and its real-life expression, seen
from a historical, decolonial and art-historical perspective. It offers the
chance to reflect on how artistic political imaginations, including
feminist and queer visions, have expanded the idea of friendship to form
new ties and communities, such as notions of sisterhood, communities of
care or chosen families.

*Speakers:* Felix Ackermann, Yevgenia Belorusets, Vika Biran, Olena
Chervonik, Taras Gembik, Tereza Hendl, Beáta Hock, Iva Kovač, Kata
Krasznahorkai, and Bojana Pejić

Curated and organized by Lena Prents and Antonina Stebur

*Program*

*11–11:15 am*
Welcoming address by Lena Prents and Antonina Stebur

*11:15 am–12:15 pm*
*Keynote lecture by Dr. Tereza Hendl: **Not Our Brothers: From Subjugation
to Liberation*

The concept of ‘friendship between peoples’ has played a pivotal role in
socialist imaginary. However, its perception differed, depending on
membership of dominant or oppressed societies. This keynote lecture will
take a closer look at the concept and its implications, through the
socio-historical experiences and perspectives of the many different
societies directly affected by the ongoing legacy of Russian imperialism.
Through the exploration of the myth and lived realities, the question of
what friendship does (not) entail becomes increasingly urgent, as do
broader concerns of justice and solidarity.

*12:15–12:30 pm* Break

*12:30–14:00 pm*
*Panel 1, Looking back: **The Socialist Friendship Project – an Imperial
Construct or Attempt at Reconciliation?*

After the Second World War, ‘Friendship between Peoples’ in various Soviet
Republics, ‘Fraternity and Unity’ in Yugoslavia and the German-Soviet
Friendship became central tenets of the Eastern Bloc. The first panel of
speakers will provide a detailed historical insight into the nascence of
these concepts, focusing on the power dynamic and taking the perspectives
of different nations into consideration. They will elaborate on the extent
to which the notions of “friendship” and “unity” remain relevant today
after the collapse of socialism, how they give rise to new forms of
solidarity, frustration or nostalgia and how they color the perceptions of
military aggression to this day.

*Prof. Felix Ackermann: **Post/National/Socialist Rituals of Understanding*

As a post-national-socialist society, the GDR clearly rejected the legacy
of Germany’s Nazi past. The state’s ritualized forms of collective
friendship turned the previous occupation of Europe on its head,
emphasizing collective friendships between nations rather than individuals.
The dominant hierarchy of these official friendships ensured that the
Soviet Union was at the top, with the bottom place occupied by the USA and
Israel. This past has an impact to this day, especially in the regions of
the former GDR.

The various reactions to 24 February 2022 reflect a special bond between
many East Germans and Russia that dates back to the GDR era. From a
post-Nazi perspective, however, it could also be interpreted as an
after-effect reaction to the violence of the Nazi period: one way of
dealing with the past is to glorify the former enemy. After 7 October 2023,
a similar special relationship with the Palestinian state resurfaced,
reflected in the rather tepid expressions of solidarity with Israelis after
the Hamas terrorist attack. This can be traced back both to the official
friendship with the Palestinian people and to post-national-socialist
reservations about Jews and their state.

*Dr. Beáta Hock: **Communist Europe’s Brotherly Nations Across the Globe*

The bloc-building, bloc-leading, and ruling political role of the “big
brother” Soviet Union has been profoundly condemned by many who lived
through the decades of Eastern European state-run socialism and many who
are subjected to, or witness contemporary Russia’s great power ambitions.
This talk aims to supplement these interpretive frameworks with further
insights, incorporating the perspectives of those non-European peoples
whose recent history had almost always been defined by (Western)
colonization and imperialism. It utilizes visual arts and an artist
documentary to explore these diverse viewpoints.

*2**–**3 pm* artistic-lunch performance ‘Plates of Unity’ by HakkaMoon

*3**–**4:30 pm*
*Panel 2: **Construction of ‘Friendship between Peoples’ in Visual Culture
and the Arts*

The ‘Days of National Culture’, the ‘World Youth Festivals for young adults
and students’ and the activities of bilateral friendship societies played
an important role in the cultural diplomacy of the real-existing socialist
bloc, serving as an extension of the classic propaganda of the countries
involved (beyond national borders). The visual arts were particularly
favored as a soft power in international and supra-regional cultural
exchange. The dissemination of a universally valid socialist artistic
approach was intended to counter the expansion of the modern art movement
of the western world. However, within this prescribed system, the artists
and cultural actors themselves often revealed discrepancies and highlighted
intentional misunderstandings on the part of the state, subverting
aesthetic and political principles and creating a new visual language. When
political systems switched and, in some cases, the much-vaunted friendship
shifted into animosity, it was they that dealt with the marginalizations
and history of violence, offering a more nuanced view of the past.

*Dr. Kata Krasznahorkai: **Our Sister, Angela*

During Angela Davis’ 1972 trial and her subsequent release, leaders from
the Eastern Bloc publicly supported her, referring to her as “one of us,”
and “our black sister Angela.” She was prominently featured in
government-run media campaigns. She became a familiar face in East German
homes, often appearing in youth and women’s magazines as an icon to look up
to.

The political appropriation in the socialist camp was stylized as a
familial relationship between the white population and the Black woman. Her
own goal of gaining allies in the fight against racial discrimination and
for equal rights for the Black population in the USA could not have been
further removed from the interests of the GDR leadership or of other
Soviet-influenced states.

*Olena Chervonik: **Photography against the Grain of the Soviet ‘Friendship
of the Peoples’*

This presentation profiles a case of “Soviet friendship backfiring” with
the case history of an artists’ community known as the Kharkiv School of
Photography, which emerged in the mid-1960s. Kharkiv photographers utilized
the officially sanctioned exchanges between amateur photo clubs in the
USSR, swapping photographs and periodicals, collaborating on art projects
and hosting exhibitions.  This exposure to new ideas led to a rejection of
Soviet aesthetics. Paradoxically, they saturated the Soviet “friendship”
infrastructure with dissident content. This gap between sanctioned
infrastructure and the unsanctioned exchange of materials demonstrates a
case of resistance to the repressive regime.

*Bojana Pejić: **Sexualized Geographies: Forgetting or Remembering Wartime
Rape?*

This talk addresses wartime sexual violence against women, which includes
rape, mass rape, forced impregnations and gendercide. After WWII, these
aspects of warfare have been obscured by decades of cultural and political
amnesia. In the early 1990s, however, there was an exceptional awareness of
gender-based sexual violence in war, initiated by feminist scholarship and
activism. It was not until the 1990s that these crimes were recognized as
such, prosecutable under international criminal law. The issue has also
achieved unprecedented visibility in the political and public domains –
including in the visual arts. The artworks and temporary public projects
discussed here emerged in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Poland and South
Korea (and Berlin) as well as in Hungary.

*4:30**–**5 pm* Break

*5**–**6.30 pm*
*What’s Next for the ‘Friendship between Peoples’?*

The idea of “friendship between peoples” has a contradictory nature, with
effects we can still observe today, as shown in the previous panel talks.
In this panel, we invite you to think about what alternatives to the idea
of “friendship” and “peoples” are already being practiced and developed
today. What feminist, queer, decolonial lenses offer different options for
coexistence? Can approaches be proposed today that respect and recognize
the value of difference and give voice to oppressed communities and groups,
while at the same time allowing joint dialogue, exchange and action? This
panel brings together experts rooted in activist practice who work directly
with disadvantaged people while at the same time experiencing
marginalisation themselves – due to gender identity, experiences of
migration, war and oppression.

The panel members are Yevgenia Belorusets, Taras Gembik and Iva Kovač,
moderated by Vika Biran

*Program at nGbK event space*

*10 am–7 pm* Film program *Diaries of the Common*, curated by Olexii
Kuchanskyi

*7–8 pm* Screening *Breathe *by Henrike Naumann / SI_Process with a
subsequent conversation between Henrike Naumann and Vasyl Cherepanyn

The symposium of the Prater Galerie “What Remains of the ‘Friendship
between Peoples’?” takes place in the framework of Kyiv Perennial 2024 and
in cooperation with neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst (nGbK). Kyiv
Perennial 2024 is a cooperation between the Visual Culture Research Center,
neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst and the Kulturstiftung des Bundes
(German Federal Cultural Foundation), together with Between Bridges and the
municipal Prater Galerie. The Kulturstiftung des Bundes is funded by the
Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government
Commissioner for Culture and the Media). Prater Galerie is a municipal
organization of the Berlin-Pankow District Council.

Further information on the symposium at pratergalerie.de
<https://kyivbiennial.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=593be942b85c69f4d8741040f&id=3db79a7568&e=06179c782c>

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Vasyl Cherepanyn

PhD, Head of the Visual Culture Research Center <http://vcrc.org.ua/en/>

Kyiv Perennial – Kyiv Biennial Berlin 2024
<https://2023.kyivbiennial.org/eng/program/kyiv-perennial>

East Europe Biennial Alliance <https://eeba.art/en>

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If you have come here to help me, then don't waste your time. But if you
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let us join in the struggle together – Australian Aborigene Activists
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