THE ART OF REMEMBERING: MEMORIES AS A WAY TO RESIST CENSORSHIP
In the book “Ellis Island” the French novelist Georges Perec in his poetic and intricately personal manner shares a story of a very particular place – an 11-hectare plot of land in the Upper New York Bay that, despite its size, played a big role in the lives of more than 10 million people. In the […]
MUT ZUR WUT
Ingo Petz organized the first concert of «N.R.M.» in Germany as well as numerous other shows. He speaks about the difficulties and challenges he had to meet when arranging the Belarusian musicians’ performances
TO CREATE A BRAND NEW UNKNOWN BELARUS
Valancin Akudovič is a Belarusian philosopher, poet and literary critic. He is the author of such books as «I am Absent. Reflections on the Ruins of the Human» (1998), «To Destroy Paris» (2004), «Conversations with God» (2006), «The Code of Absence» (2007), «The Book of Nothing» (2014) and others
ISOLYATSIA: ART AGAINST ARMS
pARTisan #29’2015 Foundation «IZOLYATSIA. Platform for Cultural Initiatives» was created in 2010 in Donetsk in the territory a former insulation materials factory and very soon its activities became known not only across Ukraine, but also abroad. On June, 9, 2014, the militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic seized the factory and deprived the Foundation not only of space, but also […]
APPROPRIATING PHOTOGRAPHY: IN SEARCH FOR THE AUTHOR
The history of the appropriation strategy in art and literature dates back to more than a century, but its use in the field of photography has not become everyday practice yet and from time to time opens up new debates. Artists appropriate or, in other words, borrow any artifacts of the real world: from objects […]
BELARUSIAN PHOTOGRAPHY IS ALL RIGHT!
On October 15, 2015 as a part of the second «Month of Photography in Minsk» a round table was held dedicated to the issues of photographic field economy. The photographers from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Poland took part in the discussion which turned out to be rather versatile: the problems touched upon ranged from the […]
АNDREI KUDZINIENKA: CHALLENGING THE NEW WORLD
Аndrei Kudzinienka speaks about his idea, the project, experiments and in general about new Belarusian cinema
THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE 2015: SVETLANA ALEXIEVICH
Svetlana Alexievich, the Belarusian writer whose oral histories have recorded thousands of individual voices to map the implosion of the Soviet Union, has won the Nobel prize for literature. The Swedish Academy, announcing her win, praised Alexievich’s «polyphonic writings», describing them as a «monument to suffering and courage in our time». pARTisan is happy that our countrywoman Svetlana Alexievich took this prize. […]
20 YEARS LATER, or ОN CONTINUITY IN PHOTOGRAPHY BY
Exploring photography and establishing continuity trends are closely associated with the topic of cultural identity – the issue which still remains painful for us. Photography has always been characteristic of such main functions as reality registration and the photographer’s existential search, and in this aspect it provides researchers with rich data for analysis. In regard to these questions «BY NOW» is a project of a particular interest. It was the result of the ambitious contest held in 2013 by the German curators Matthias Harder and Hans Pieler
BELARUSIAN MUSEUM OF THE SOVIET: OWN PLACE IN THE EPOCH
Is a (post-) Soviet Museum or the Museum of the Soviet necessary in Belarus? What form can it take, and how would it differ from similar museums in other former Soviet bloc countries?
WHAT RUSLAN VAŠKIEVIČ DOES NOT REGARD
pARTisan #27’2015 In the novel «What I Loved» which attempts to give interpretation to a contemporary artist’s creativity, the American writer Siri Hustvedt comes to the conclusion that any painting starts to exist only when observed by the viewer. «Any time including a viewer’s shadow into the composition, the artist emphasizes the space between the viewer and the painting, because it is there where a real action […]
«ANATOMIA. PERFECT BODY»: FINDING ANSWERS WHEN SEARCHING
Just a couple of days ago at Ў Gallery of Contemporary Art the group exhibition «The Dimension of Emptiness» opened, being another example of «АRТ-SOC-LAB» project activities. Maksim Bahdanovič Literary Museum positively surprises with its courageous cooperation with contemporary art. And the Center of Contemporary Art not for the first time welcomes in its halls Dzina Daniłovič’s long-term project «Anatomia».
ART AS ANTHROPOLOGY: COOKING TOGETHER
This year in June the artistic residence at «Ў» Gallery of Contemporary Art in Minsk welcomed the artists from Georgia — Nini Palavandishvili and Data Chigholashvili. As a result, in the gallery backyard they set up a public kitchen — anyone could bring their own home recipes and together with the artists and other citizens cook, treat and exchange with one other one’s culinary experience, and most importantly — their stories associated with these recipes
MUSEUM: LOOKING FOR IDENTITIES
On June, 18 in CECH art-space the discussion «Museum of the Former Soviet Union: Time for Change?» was held on the occasion of the publication of a new issue of the «pARTisan» almanac dedicated to the theme of the museum in the former Soviet Union
YULIYA VAGANOVA: MUSEUM AS AN EXAMPLE OF CIVIC POSITION
Yuliya Vaganova, the deputy director in charge of exhibition work and international links, a participant of «Time Machine – Museum in 21st century» program, speaks about the political turmoil influence on the Museum’s activities, about the ways of keeping a balance between traditions and innovations and about the reaction of the Ukrainian public on the «experiments» set
WALKING AROUND AN IMAGINARY MUSEUM-DISNEYLAND
Is there in today’s Minsk a museum that can compete in the uniqueness of its exposition with the collections of world famous museums? We hardly need to expect a positive answer — Artur Klinau speaks about Minsk museums’ reformatting
MENTAL FORCE: FOR THE SAKE OF MUSICAL-VISUAL EXPERIENCE
On May 22-23 2015 in Minsk space «Studio67», the electronic music & live video performances festival Mental Force — the first in the series of upcoming events — took place featuring such world-renowned audiovisual artists as Robert Henke’s solo project Monolake (Germany) and Tarik Barri (Netherlands/Germany)
New issue of pARTisan: MUSEUM
Editor-in-Chief Artur Klinaŭ Editor of the issue Tania Arcimovič Design Маcк & Feddenka Ryazanov’s Fake Vintage Studio Supported by Goethe Institut in Minsk. The topic of the issue is a Museum as a social project. As Stephan Wackwitz, a Head of Goethe Institut in Tbilisi, said in his interview, we should also understand a museum […]
PICTURE STORY: MINSK. NON-CONFORMISM OF THE 1980S
April 22, 2015 in Ў Gallery of Contemporary Art MINSK. NON-CONFORMISM OF THE 1980S exhibition was opened
MINSK. NON-CONFORMISM OF THE 1980S EXHIBITION
What was the period of the 80s like? Who were its key figures and how did those artists survive and work despite the circumstances? Who did they find support in and who did they address their manifestos to? How was art understood and why was it art that became a space for free person’s expression?