Blogok olvasásaLet's Talk About Nationalism! Between Ideology and Identity
friday, 5 february 2010, 11:43 am
„Let's Talk About Nationalism! Between Ideology and Identity" is an international exhibition of contemporary art, and its goal is to pose critical questions about contemporary nationalism, to acknowledge the problematic nature of the currently prevalent national discourse, and to create a counterweight in the public sphere. This exhibition project reviews and analyses the complex cultural and political process through which a nationalist ideology becomes a national identity, and also looks at its mutual relationships and negative aspects.
It is difficult to overrate the topical nature of national issues. In the
local Estonian cultural space, some of the events that have caused the
greatest confrontations, anger and violence in recent years have been
conflicts over monuments that perpetuate different treatments of history.
From Europe and the world come constant stories of illegal immigrants and the Schengen visa space, as well as news of right-wing extremists and racially-motivated crimes committed by neo-Nazis. Who can live in Estonia and Europe and under what conditions? Who has the right to have a say in local matters? Who can demand political rights and who must simply be content with the opportunity to earn and to consume? The nationalist way of thinking has been welded into the collective mentality to such an extent that casting any doubts on it is seen as inappropriate. The exhibition project „Let's Talk About Nationalism! Between Identity and Ideology" dares to raise doubts and invites us to once again review the mechanisms of collective self-awareness in the context of the contemporary world.
A number of internationally active artists working primarily from a
critical approach have been invited to participate in this exhibition and
to display both earlier works and pieces that have been adapted to the
Estonian cultural context or made specifically for the Kumu Art Museum
exhibition. The works displayed in the project are conditionally divided
into three groups: ideological habits, reproduction of a nation and
conflicts. This exhibition will cast doubt on the dominant national
agenda's, which are spared (self-)criticism, and will approach the topic
of contemporary nationalism from many different sides. Considering the
specifics of an art museum geared to a wider audience, we have avoided
focusing on a narrow aspect of the issue and have instead decided to
create a more panoramic picture. There are no complete answers or
standard solutions at this exhibition -- just questions. The choice
of works might be characterized as a selection that is as open as possible and maps the area to the widest possible extent. Each work here is a potential premise for wider discussion.
The project „Let's Talk About Nationalism! Between Identity and Ideology" was prepared by a series of events called "Public Preparation", which on one hand is the format of collective work to map and understand contemporary nationalism and the issues of critical art practices and, on the other hand, it functions as a curatorial strategy to gather and systematize positions and concepts. All the meetings of „Public Preparation", during which this exhibition was prepared and its conceptual framework produced, studied the links between contemporary art and the daily social reality that has been shaped by nationalist ideology.
More detailed information on „Public Preparation" project is available in
www.publicpreparation.org.
It is difficult to overrate the topical nature of national issues. In the
local Estonian cultural space, some of the events that have caused the
greatest confrontations, anger and violence in recent years have been
conflicts over monuments that perpetuate different treatments of history.
From Europe and the world come constant stories of illegal immigrants and the Schengen visa space, as well as news of right-wing extremists and racially-motivated crimes committed by neo-Nazis. Who can live in Estonia and Europe and under what conditions? Who has the right to have a say in local matters? Who can demand political rights and who must simply be content with the opportunity to earn and to consume? The nationalist way of thinking has been welded into the collective mentality to such an extent that casting any doubts on it is seen as inappropriate. The exhibition project „Let's Talk About Nationalism! Between Identity and Ideology" dares to raise doubts and invites us to once again review the mechanisms of collective self-awareness in the context of the contemporary world.
A number of internationally active artists working primarily from a
critical approach have been invited to participate in this exhibition and
to display both earlier works and pieces that have been adapted to the
Estonian cultural context or made specifically for the Kumu Art Museum
exhibition. The works displayed in the project are conditionally divided
into three groups: ideological habits, reproduction of a nation and
conflicts. This exhibition will cast doubt on the dominant national
agenda's, which are spared (self-)criticism, and will approach the topic
of contemporary nationalism from many different sides. Considering the
specifics of an art museum geared to a wider audience, we have avoided
focusing on a narrow aspect of the issue and have instead decided to
create a more panoramic picture. There are no complete answers or
standard solutions at this exhibition -- just questions. The choice
of works might be characterized as a selection that is as open as possible and maps the area to the widest possible extent. Each work here is a potential premise for wider discussion.
The project „Let's Talk About Nationalism! Between Identity and Ideology" was prepared by a series of events called "Public Preparation", which on one hand is the format of collective work to map and understand contemporary nationalism and the issues of critical art practices and, on the other hand, it functions as a curatorial strategy to gather and systematize positions and concepts. All the meetings of „Public Preparation", during which this exhibition was prepared and its conceptual framework produced, studied the links between contemporary art and the daily social reality that has been shaped by nationalist ideology.
More detailed information on „Public Preparation" project is available in
www.publicpreparation.org.
