Reclaimed Avant-garde. Utopias of Social Change 
Credits
- Curator:
Przemysław Strożek
Artistic concept, visual design,
and the artbook Heralds of a New Order:
Kama Sokolnicka - Academic collaboration:
Martin Bernátek, Alexandra Chiriac, Anca Hațiegan, Anna Hejmová, Zoltán Imre, Jan Jiřík, Suzana Marjanić, Tomaž Toporišič, and Hanna Veselovska
Editing:
Krystyna Mogilnicka, Jesse Larner - Original source texts by:
Scarlat Callimachi, Irina Deeva, Ferdo Delak, Katja Delak, Sandu Eliad, Nina Košická, Miroslav Krleža, József Ligeti, János Mácza, Ödön Palasovszky, Iacob Stenberg, Witold Wandurski, Teresa Żarnower
Voice:
Jaśmina Polak
Production:
Maria Bogdaniuk, Edyta Zielnik
Description
The Polish presentation during the EMERGENCE Exhibition – Reclaimed Avant-garde: Utopias of Social Change – poses a question as a starting point to revise our understanding of the relations between arts and politics. Firstly, it brings attention to the historical role of activism within art during the interwar period; secondly, it aims to explore how the history of Central and Eastern European avant-garde places the art in the context of activism, utopian visions and social change.
Central and Eastern Europe is a region where tensions between utopian vision and social practice re-appear together within attempts to reestablish, rewrite, revise, and reshape the concept of (trans)national identity (which adjoins a one that is regional).
The presentation aims to examine the connections between images and words of historical avant-gardists – often erased from history by the governing politics – democracy regained in the region, and the overall status of art. By bringing this thread into the spotlight of historical avant-garde research, we would like to open the discussion as to how the relation of art and politics is being shaped today.
Gallery
The event was a part of the international three-year project “EMERGENCE. From shared experience to new creativity. Living Heritage/Reframing Memory” that connects 8 partner organizations from Europe and Asia.
The project was co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
Partners:
Prague Quadrennial Arts and Theatre Institute (ATI)
Victoria & Albert Museum
IZOLYATSIA, Platform for Cultural Initiatives
Instytut Teatralny im. Zbigniewa Raszewskiego
Cyprus Theatre Organisation THOC
HOGSKOLEN | OSTFOLD
Norwegian Theatre Academy/Østfold University College
Latvijas Jauna Teatra Instituts New Theatre Institute of Latvia
National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts