[spectre] East Art Map Newsletter No. 1 (October 2004)

[Inke Arns]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

East Art Map Newsletter No. 1 (October 2004)

EAST ART MAPonline
www.eastartmap.org

HISTORY IS NOT GIVEN.
PLEASE HELP TO CONSTRUCT IT.


Welcome to the first East Art Map Newsletter!

The East Art Map Newsletter edited by Inke Arns will be published on 
a monthly basis starting from October 2004. Its aim is to inform 
about the current status of the East Art Map, about newly added 
artists, features, topics, etc., and to collect and distribute 
information on current and upcoming activities (exhibitions, artists' 
projects, festivals, publications, etc.) and opportunities (deadlines 
of festivals, grants programmes, etc.) focussing on Central, Eastern 
and South Eastern Europe.


Contents:

1) What is the "East Art Map"? 
2) What happened until now?
3) What's next?
4) How to participate in the construction of history?
5) Submitting proposals/content to the East Art Map
6) Subscribe to the East Art Map Newsletter
7) Call for papers, ongoing exhibitions & grant programmes

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


1) What is the "East Art Map"? 

The project "East Art Map - A (Re)Construction of the History of 
Contemporary Art in Eastern Europe" has been initiated in 2001 by the 
Slovenian artists' group Irwin. The "East Art Map" (EAM) aims at 
critically (re)constructing the history of art in Eastern Europe 
between 1945 and the present beyond ex-Socialist 'official' 
chronicles, national legend formation and fragmented information 
present in the West. The concept reads: "Every single move by an 
artist in Western European civilization is documented. Did you know 
there is no such thing in Eastern Europe? […] This was so for 
decades, but it doesn't have to be like this anymore. We are planning 
to transform the legends and stories of the underground into a legal 
art history. […] History is not given. It has to be constructed." 


2) What happened until now?

Initially, Irwin, in collaboration with New Moment (Ljubljana), 
invited a group of 24 eminent art critics, curators and artists from 
the different ex-socialist Central, Eastern and South-Eastern 
countries to select and present up to ten crucial art projects from 
their respective countries and contexts over the past 50 years. In 
this way, a basic data pool of approximately 200 artists and projects 
was gathered. It became part of a data base that was first published 
on CD-ROM (2002) , and as an issue of the New Moment Magazine (No. 
20, 2002). 


3) What's next?

The next step, technically as well as conceptually, is to transfer 
the EAM onto the Internet and open it up for contributions by its 
users. Rather than simply adding data to a quantitatively growing 
database which at some point would become useless, the users who 
propose new entries will have to decide which artist/event/project 
should be replaced by their proposal. All the proposals will be 
displayed on the website and kept for public discussion (in the 
feedback area) until the final decision of the international 
committee. The EAM, which was conceived as a group project, will thus 
be turned into a truly participatory project. The general public and 
specialists are invited to provide additional data, which may, to be 
sure, change the topography of the map. In this way 1) the collection 
of data will be accelerated and its organisation democratised; 2) it 
will be possible for anyone to collaborate in the creation of a 
history that will be unfolding before our eyes; and 3) a space will 
be established and conditions will be created that will facilitate 
communication among theoreticians, critics and others from all over 
Eastern Europe. 


4) How to participate in the construction of history?

We invite anyone who wishes to, and who thinks they have a better 
idea than the original selectors, to propose a replacement for any 
project or artwork included in EAM. Of course, the guidelines for 
such proposals will be the same as those presented to the selectors: 
people will have to write a page of text presenting their suggested 
replacement and the reasons why it should be included. In addition, 
we will require them to provide written references confirming the 
reliability of the date of the work they are proposing for inclusion. 
Every two to three months an international committee of six experts 
will decide whether or not to include any of the proposals submitted. 
This web site should gradually become a useful informative tool on 
the questions of Eastern European visual arts.


5) Submitting proposals/content to the East Art Map

Send your proposal - complete with a) a written page of text 
presenting your suggested replacement and the reasons why it should 
be included, and b) written references confirming the reliability of 
the date of the work you are proposing for inclusion - to 
proposals at eastartmap.org or upload it directly on the website 
www.eastartmap.org.

All the proposals - provided they contain the requested materials - 
will be displayed on the website and kept for public discussion until 
the final decision of the international committee. A feedback area 
will be installed.

Any questions should be directed to the editor Inke Arns at 
editor at eastartmap.org.


6) Subscribe to the East Art Map Newsletter

The East Art Map Newsletter edited by Inke Arns will be published on 
a monthly basis starting from late October 2004. Its aim is to inform 
about the current status of the East Art Map, about newly added 
artists, features, topics, etc., and to collect and distribute 
information on current and upcoming activities (exhibitions, artists' 
projects, festivals, publications, etc.) and opportunities (deadlines 
of festivals, grants programmes, etc.) focussing on Central, Eastern 
and South Eastern Europe.

Subscribe at www.eastartmap.org

------------------------


7) Call for papers, ongoing exhibitions & grant programmes

In the "news" section on the EAM website you will find extensive 
information about

1. Call for papers: Urban Festival, Zagreb 2005, deadline Dec 15, 
2005
ORGANIZER: Local Base for Culture Refreshment [BLOK], Zagreb, Croatia
PARTNER: Platform 9.81, Zagreb, Croatia
FRAME: "Invisible Zagreb"
THEME: conversion, adaptation, alternation of "forgotten" places into 
spaces of cultural production
PLACE: abandoned, out-of-use locations in ex-industrial zone of 
eastern Zagreb
TEASERS: | creation of a parallel city | revitalization of abandoned 
places | culture as art + social + political practice | interaction, 
direct communication, participation | local community | 
transformation, transition, change | creating "cultureplex" |

2. Avanto Festival's 2004 programme announced, November 18.21, 2004
Avanto Helsinki Media Art Festival is Finland's annual event of non-
conformist audiovisual art. The fifth Avanto will take place on 
November 18-21 2004. 
Once again Avanto focuses on such eternal questions as "Is the 
tradition of counter-cultural avantgarde art alive?", "What are its 
forms now?" and "What is the relationship between radical formal 
language and radical political content?"

3. Stipend Announcement: Edith Russ Site for Media Art, 2005
The Edith Russ Site for Media Art will award 1 six-month work stipend 
from July to December 2005 for artists working in New Media. There 
are no residency requirements and no age limits. The artist will be 
integrated into the site's activities. The 10.000 Euro stipend was 
made possible by nordmedia.

4. Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, inauguration on Oct 29, 
2004
The official opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art in the Palace 
of Parliament, October 29: Wing E4, Palace of Parliament, 2-4 Izvor 
Blvd.

5. OLEG KULIK: System of Coordinates 2004. Actions and Performances 
1994-1999, Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, Oct 7-30, 2004


------------------------


HISTORY IS NOT GIVEN.
PLEASE HELP TO CONSTRUCT IT.

EAST ART MAPonline
www.eastartmap.org

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>