Pause/Play: Art Communities in Migration. Part 1

pause/play art communities in migration part 1

“Pause/Play: Culture under Pressure” is an international laboratory for artists, cultural practitioners and other professionals, passionate about digital technologies as vital tools in their artistic endeavors. The title captures the intricate dynamics of the contemporary art and culture scene in the (post)pandemic era, interwoven with political repressions in Belarus, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the post­war crisis in Armenia, and the turbulent situation in the South Caucasus. The project started in 2022 in Tbilisi, Georgia and continued in Yerevan, Armenia in 2023.

Homeless curator

//Alexandra Goloborodko

1 Post Fordism is a term used to describe the growth of new production methods defined by flexible production, the individualization of labor relations and fragmentation of markets into distinct segments, after the demise of Fordist production.

2 Misiano, Viktor. “Curator without a System.” In *After the Wall: Art and Culture in Post­Communist Europe*, edited by Bojana Pejic and David Elliott, 137. Stockholm: Moderna Museet, 1999.

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In the era of post­Fordism1, the role of the artist is no longer limited to being a producer of art. Often, artists begin to take on the roles of curator, organizer, producer, and combine, not only creative, but also operational tasks. Conversely, the curator often aspires to the role of the artist­creator, as they devise and direct the narrative into which art is integrated. We will not discuss the conflict between these roles in this text, but rather focus on this particular composite identity of the curator/artist.

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In his essay, Curator without a System2, curator and researcher, Viktor Misiano, identifies the figure of the curator in the context of the post­Soviet space, who holds the status of being “homeless”, meaning they lack a system of art institutions and infrastructure for art production to professionally rely on. With the migration of artists, curators, and other cultural figures from countries affected by the war in Ukraine, the term “homeless” takes on a literal meaning. The loss of home and the severing of social ties the main resources of a curator/artist in a country lacking an organized system of institutions create even more complex conditions for art and cultural workers. At this moment, the need for selforganization and the creation of their own platforms arises, not only as an expression of protest against institutions, but out of the urgent necessity of taking an active political position through curatorial and artistic practice. However, to achieve this, it is necessary, at the very least, to rely on a community that is not yet formed in the new environment, all amidst conditions of war, political crisis, and strong social polarization.

Three of the participants of Pause/Play: Culture under Pressure shared their experience of establishing connections with local communities and the challenges along this path. They also talk about the resources (besides social ones) they use to realize and run their initiatives.

A.C.T. Civic engagement exhibition / 10.06.2023 / Photo by Alina Ester

Tbilisi, Georgia

Danya Dvinskih (co­founder of Pobegi and Myceliumi initiatives):

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The existence of the Myceliumi project began when I was still in Russia and was an active participant and co­founder of the self­organized Pobegi, which organized independent forest festivals for 6 years. We paid a lot of attention to self­organization and careful communication among all participants in the process. It was important for us to be independent of the state and large institutions. Thanks to this, we were able to express ourselves more accurately and sincerely. After the start of Russia’s full­scale invasion of Ukraine, we held a conference on self­organization to discuss how to continue working in Russia and abroad in times of war.

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We conducted several online projects published anonymous anti­war artistic statements on our account. Then there was a big question about holding our main event the annual summer festival. It became evident that most people had left, and working in Russia was becoming increasingly dangerous. We decided to split the festival into two parts so that one part would still take place in Russia as before, and the other where we had

A.C.T. Civic engagement exhibition / 10.06.2023 / Photo by Alina Ester

an audience of people who were forced to leave. Personally, I was already planning to move to Georgia. We had contacts with Chateau Chapiteau an open­air hotel that works with volunteers, local residents, and shares similar principles with us. We proposed to them to hold the second part of our festival there. This was the birth of the Myceliumi project, although it didn’t have that name at the time.

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I began gathering a team of people in Georgia through social media, and thus, even before my physical arrival, we had formed a team of 10–15 people. About a third of the old team actively participated, while the rest were newcomers. Remotely, I tried to organize the work of people who were even unfamiliar with each other. It was a big and complex experiment. And then I arrived in Georgia during the final stages of preparing the first summer festival in the forest, which was dedicated to the theme of war and collective trauma.

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The work in Georgia was intended to focus on social and cultural integration. It was important for us to acknowledge that we were guests in this country, that we arrived in a situation which was very traumatic for Georgia, because in the Georgian perspective, the current war is a continuation of the war with Russia in 2008 and the Abkhazian war in the 1992–1993 period. So, we wrote a manifesto outlining the main principles related to integration, an anti­war stance, and interest in proactive art addressing important political and social issues.

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We realized that we wouldn’t be able to immediately reach the Georgian audience and that we simply didn’t have the money for any super PR or social media marketing. Later, we came up with the idea of interviews. We conducted interviews with the main question: “how can art act now?” We asked this question independent artists from Georgia, gallerists, activists. We filmed about ten interviews and postponed them until after the end of the second (urban) festival.

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Due to the fact that the team disbanded after the second festival, this project is currently in a suspended state. I constantly think about it because I consider it an important part of our integration strategy, showing our interest and getting to know people we genuinely like. And then we invited them to our urban festival, told them about it, but deliberately didn’t release these interviews until after the

festival so as not to appear promotional, as we felt it wouldn’t be right.

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Now I understand that we entered a foreign cultural space quite abruptly. We made a lot of efforts to somehow broaden the audience to a more international one. In the end, we succeeded. At the first festival, 90% of the audience were Russian expats, while at the second, the audience was more international.

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Pobegi never charged money for forest festivals because we had a sustainable system of self­sufficiency through urban events throughout the year, which funded the free forest festival. It was an ideological decision because we perceived the forest as belonging to no one, so we didn’t charge entry fees. After the festival, we cleaned up the forest over a large radius to make it look better than before our arrival.

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In the case of Myceliumi, practically everything was funded by ticket sales for events. In Georgia we collaborated with the space that was commercial. We realized that within six months, we wouldn’t find money unless we sold tickets. So we did, and we were able to fully cover production costs with ticket sales but without any profit. We hadn’t tried attracting grants yet because we didn’t believe it would work. Plus, grants are typically associated with planning at least a year in advance, while our activities were happening quite spontaneously. From other resources, we worked with partner organizations and networks. We participated in several conferences, including Pause / Play: Culture under Pressure, and were invited to performative programs at various events.

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We were constantly meeting with local organizations and artists, such as Tbilisi Pride, Mandala, and artist Mariam Natarshvili, introducing ourselves, sharing what we did, do, and want to do. We almost

Mycelium Festival / 7­8.10.2022 / Photo by Sasha Maduev

always received a positive reaction. Then we collaborated with the FFF organization, which helped us organize the music stage. They also focused on integration and tried to involve Georgian performers in their events. They had a large network, and thanks to them, we were able to create a good program. We also got to know the Tbilisi School for Social Research (TSSR), with which I still work. They deal with issues of de­occupation of Georgian territories and various think­tank projects. They run Library About Georgia, dedicated to the entire region. Thanks to them, we were able to participate in various conferences.

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In Pobegi, there was a team of people, mostly friends, who worked with equal enthusiasm, which made it easier. We tried to make one person from the team responsible for each individual event, and we were mostly able to do so. We didn’t have a charter or defined roles; we met regularly, reported on what we had done in our areas of responsibility, and strategically planned. With Myceliumi, it was different; people were unfamiliar with each other and hadn’t yet become friends, and they had different ideas about work and the project.

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At the first forest event, I felt that everything was happening with a unified enthusiasm, and everyone understood their areas of responsibility. At that time, people had the energy to fight against military

Mycelium Festival / 7­8.10.2022 / Photo by Genadii Tsaiukov

actions without a salary, and it was normal. But after about a year, personal problems and circumstances began to dominate, and enthusiasm waned. The second festival in Georgia was urban, which was good for the audience and reach, but it was a breaking point for the team. Many couldn’t handle the workload and left a week before the festival.

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In this, I see my responsibility too. I have neither managerial nor producer education or experience working in any structures. I articulate that this is a horizontal team, and in Pobegi, it was truly so. It’s necessary to understand for what purpose this horizontal structure is suitable and for what it’s not. Being a leader in a horizontal team, where leadership can transition from one person to another depending on their initiative and event, is very convenient. But to be a manager in a vertical organization, I lack both skills and desire. And when I started to feel that my leadership in Myceliumi was becoming like that kind of a manager, and that I had to force someone to do something, it became uncomfortable for me.

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Since our projects are non­commercial, we don’t earn money from them, which is very exhausting, and resources are running out. We came up with a very cool idea for a large festival with a library, which I mentioned, applied for European funding, but we didn’t receive the grant. Now, no one is actively working on the project. However, I think about it all the time. I was inspired by the idea of organizing open discussions between local residents and the diaspora to establish contact and understanding, about how we can be useful to each other and perceive trauma. The idea generated interest at an expat festival, but we haven’t been able to implement it yet due to the lack of resources among other team members. I have optimism, but sometimes there are moments of depression when things don’t go as planned. Perhaps a small break or reboot is needed.

Yerevan, Armenia

Maria Kremer, curator and initiator of Homeing project

3 Project Homeing aims to create a space for critical reflection and collective cultural experiences integrating various social groups around the notion of Home and ways of making Home at times of mass migration, forced displacement, and radical uncertainty.

More Info: https://www. homeing.org/

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I have envisioned the new project Homeing3 since I moved to Yerevan in 2022. Currently, in the project I collaborate with Maria Gunko, an urban geographer and anthropologist based between Yerevan and Oxford, as well as with different institutions in Armenia, Georgia and Germany so far. At the very beginning, the focus of Homeing was more on Armenia, as a place where I found home myself and as a context where diverse groups like migrants, creatives in exile, displaced people, and digital nomads merge. Also the project was originally conceived as very close, collaborative work in a team consisting of the incomers and local actors. But there hasn’t been dense collaborative work with anyone from local organizations yet, so currently, the dialogue with the local communities and actors proceeds in the format of occasional consultations and cooperations. One of Homeing’s key objectives right now is to highlight Russian­speaking voices of migration (partly because I’m a representative of this wave, in fact) as narratives of resistence and peace — using memory as a tool to transform landscapes of loss into landscapes of positive change.

Exhibition Lost and Found Bureau in frame of Memories, Homes and Places, Library about Georgia, Tbilisi / 10.02­11.02.2024 /

Photo by Margarita Maslennikova

10.02­11.02.2024

Secondly, my project centers around inclusivity, creating digital and physical spaces where the incommers and local communities across various nations intersect.

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There was, for example, a positive experience with representatives of the Georgian local scene at the event Memories, Homes, and Places, a discussion organized in collaboration with CISR e.V. Berlin and supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Library About Georgia, which is an educational and creative hub, delving into the de­occupation and reintegration of Georgia’s occupied regions. Despite the difficult relations between the communities, the Russian­speaking and Georgian speaking representatives met in the Library About Georgia and searched for common ground, discussing the topics connected with the notion of home, which interest and concern both groups. As part of the detour of Homeing to Georgia, I organized an exhibition at the art space tmp_space in Batumi, thanks to our acquaintance with the co­founder of the space, Elena Slobtseva, at the Pause / Play: Culture under Pressure project. Since I came up with the events in Georgia very spontaneously, and fortunately I managed to get funding spontaneously, I almost completely took over the organization, curation, design of the announcements and installation of the exhibitions. It was an intense experience.

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Thanks to CSN Lab I got connected to the right people to get the financial support.

Exhibition Lost and Found Bureau in frame of Memories, Homes and Places, Library about Georgia, Tbilisi /

/ Photo by Margarita Maslennikova

Batumi, Georgia

Elena Slobtseva, co­founder of the tmp_space:

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The exhibition at tmp_space4 Lost and Found Bureau within the project Homeing became possible thanks to our acquaintance with Maria Kremer’s project and her desire to visit Georgia and present/continue her project there. Due to my connections within the Georgian art scene, particularly through tmp_space, I facilitated the involvement of local artists in the project. Working with Maria, we narrowed down the focus on audio­video storytelling.

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tmp_space was born to give voice to ourselves and create a space for non­judgmental expression. The first event of the space attracted a diverse audience of friends, acquaintances, family, Georgian acquaintances, neighbors, as well as individuals from other art and expat (mostly Russian­speaking) communities from Batumi, in particular members and volunteers of the antiwar initiative Russians in Batumi, who have organized evenings for writing letters to political prisoners, as well as hosting Ukrainian cinema nights. Currently, in the collaboration of community members, we are in the process of planning a series of lectures on political science, sociology, and psychology.

Exhibition Presence / 4.11­12.11.2022 / tmp­space, Batumi /

Photo by Roma Gorbatovsky

4 tmp_space is a horizontal art initiative, currently based in Batumi, Georgia, since October 2022.

Talking about the team, it’s important to delve into the community’s history. After moving to Batumi from Russia on March 1st, 2022, I sought to join a community of individuals passionate about contemporary art, also experiencing immigration and in a rejection of war.

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At that time, my partner and I seized an opportunity to renovate a small gallery space. Through ads placed in local art chats, we collected around 5 to 7 people, who became community members. Participating artists were mostly familiar artists from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, as well as countries where our friends had relocated after 2022.

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Currently, none of the original team members remain in the city: three active colleagues now reside in Tbilisi, with one of them assisting as much as possible with maintaining Instagram.

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In Georgia, some of the Russian citizens currently face significant challenges in legalizing their status, leading to many of them leaving the country. Additionally, there is always a risk of what’s known as the ‘Georgian roulette’ where individuals may be denied entry into the country. Some believe these risks could be tied to political or artistic activism. Furthermore, we have yet to address the issue of community isolation, exacerbated by limited personal communication resources and considerable political and historical circumstances. While we’re committed to addressing this challenge, it requires personal communication and emotional support. The lack of such resources, coupled with mental health issues, present another significant challenge. That’s why a portion of our activities focus on organizing meetings with

Exhibition Presence / 4.11­12.11.2022 / tmp_space, Batumi

/ Photo by Roma Gorbatovsky

psychologists, art therapy sessions, and other forms of mental support.

If we talk about financial resources, the advertising, conceptualization, text work, exhibition organization, and artwork creation were all undertaken pro bono. Expenses such as rent, minimal equipment purchases, and repairs are covered by private funds, based on personal agreements. Costs for printed materials and utility bills are partially covered through donations. To this date, all events have been free of charge.

Exhibition February / 24.02­27.02.2023 / tmp_space, Batumi / Photo by Roma Gorbatovsky

Commoning move

2022 pause/play: culture under pressure //forum&lab for digital cultural projects in Tbilisi, Georgia

In times of large­scale socio­political tensions and tragedies, it is crucial to prioritize collaborative efforts. One example is the project Pause/Play: Culture under Pressure, which was built on the bases of international networking and exchange. Due to the increased migration in the region, caused by the wars, untitled tbilisi and Kulturschafft e.V. decided to provide a safe space, as well as a platform to discuss topics and tools related to the production and presentation of digital art and art in virtual spaces, to discuss the issues related to the artists in exile.

June 2022 The grant from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs received

The selection process of the lab and forum was done with an open call to give equal opportunity to all of the artists on the move. The aspect of online sessions helped the open call to be more loyal towards time and locations even though the focus of the project was still in the region of South Caucasus, Germany and Eastern partnership countries.

19.10.22 Start of the online educational program 2022

The online program included intensive sessions of talks, lectures, discussions and workshops dedicated to digital technologies and trends in art with multiple experts from the field of digital art and curating. At the same time the participants of the project worked with the four selected mentors going towards building up the works for Tbilisi offline sessions.

Mentors: Anna Shvets, Sara Culmann, Marlene Bart, Dagmar Schürrer

07.11.22 Offline program in Tbilisi, Georgia

12.11.22

The workshops moved to the offline world of Tbilisi where again with the support of mentors and experts, artists finalized the first stages of the projects that they worked on during Pause/Play: Culture under Pressure. ✳

Six projects were awarded with grants to continue the works.

2023 pause/play: culture under pressure //exhibition in Yerevan, Armenia

June 2023 The grant from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs received

The selection process was again made by an open call, spread by the partner organizations in Georgia, Germany and Armenia.

29.09.23 Start of the online educational program 2023

The first section of the project was again held fully online. International experts introduced trends and tools for production and presentation of digital art, and art in digital spaces, as well as strategies for political resistance and activism through art. In the practice of the project it prepared the common ground for the participants to meet online and continue working on the projects they developed while in online communication.

Mentors: Eva Khachatryan, Marlene Bart, Anna Titovets Intektra

06.11.23— Offline program and exhibition in Yerevan, Armenia 12.11.23

In November 2023 we met in Yerevan, Armenia. It is still a totally different mode of working when being in the actual city and environment together. The participants had the chance to explore the city through the eyes of a special tour guide, focusing on city development, not in the direction of tourism, but rather the socio­political aspect of it. In group sessions they continued working on their own artprojects.

The two­year program culminated in the joint exhibition at Goethe Zentrum Eriwan, curated by Anna Titovets, which included the selected projects of the participants of the current and recent years.

The visit was hosted by the partner organization CSN Lab and Goethe Zentrum Eriwan. Kulturschafft e.V. also made it happen with the support of untitled tbilisi and TAtchers’ Art Management.

2024 Pause/Play: Culture under Pressure //zine presentation in Berlin, Germany

Talks and introduction to the digital exhibition “Translating Transition“

25.04.24 Public presentation of the zine in neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst (nGbK) in collaboration with Disruption Network Lab within the Meetup programme which follows the conference Beyond Control: Resisting Digital Oppression and Authoritarianism.

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The program culminates with public talks art communities in migration and Mutating Caucasus and a zine launch of the program Pause / Play: Culture under Pressure. The event talks on the art practices without institutional support in or out of our own countries. It reflects on the struggles of the artist in migration, by emphasizing the importance of developing trends in digital media, activism and cultural resistance.

Exhibition opening of Translating Transition / 10.11.2022 / Goethe Zentrum Eriwan

Workshop during Pause/Play: Culture under Pressure programme, CSN Lab

Translating Transition

In the framework of a project Pause/Play: Culture under Pressure

Participants and artists: Anton Alter, Otar (Narek Buniatyan), Oleksii Chumak with Olya Makhno, Anna Mariia Filippova, Cobalt urban think­tank, Lena Holub, Nino Khundadze with Eagle, Maramora, Maria Kremer with Vasiliy Sochinsky and Nvard Yerkanian, Diana Meyerhold and Anastasia Marochkina, Albert Petrosyan, Gray Cake (Katya Pryanik, Alexander Serechenko), Anna Ghazaryan, Jane Rzheznikova, Elena Slobtseva with tmp_space collective and B. Petrov, Serafima Truevtseva.

Exhibition curator Anna Titovets Intektra

Project initiator and programme director Alexandra Goloborodko

The process of translation entails finding the correct way to convey meaning from one language to another. The title, both metaphorically, and in practice, alludes to the perpetual need to discover new methods of translation to adapt to the evolving circumstances of life in exile, particularly for those who recently had to leave their homes due to political and geopolitical reasons. People who were forced to leave their home countries, and to cut a lot of both professional and personal ties, are facing the challenges of the need to “translate”, not only the language and new cultural semiotic system into everyday life as immigrants, but also to make everyday efforts to get to know and comprehend the otherness, to integrate into the new cultural context and social structures and re­evaluate their own identity in these new circumstances. The projects presented at the exhibition primarily reflect or are influenced by the struggles and the process of discovering new grounds and means to forge fresh ties and get new meanings.

The exhibition consists of the art projects realized by participants of the project Pause/Play: Culture under Pressure from the previous year

Visit the virtual exhibition

as well as work­in­progress projects from the current year.

The first phase of the exhibition was presented at the premises of Goethe­Zentrum Eriwan and later developed into a virtual space on the digital exhibition platform.

Exhibition views / The Library of Dreams / Jane Rzheznikova / photo by Daniil Primak

ան.ժամանակ

Exhibition views / Urban Dialogue // COBALT urban think­tank / Photo by Narek Dallakyan

Exhibition views /

/ time:less // otar (Narek Buniatyan) / Photo by Daniil Primak

Exhibition views / Vishapagorg // Gray Cake (Katya Pryanik, Alexander Serechenko), Anna Ghazaryan / Photo by Daniil Primak

plants on migration

//Lena Holub

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The previous tenants had left plants in the Tbilisi apartment I moved into. I have always connected plants with the home, but not for their homeliness. They involve memories, domestic rituals, and caring. I remember my grandmother’s balcony because of the red geraniums. My family celebrated spring by taking the velvet plant (gynura) from under the bathtub, where it had been wintering. Before I left home, I became interested in unconventional planting and growing burdock, nettles, grapes, and bells. It was a small part of my research practice and a large part of my life. My hands and my thoughts became more sensitive thanks to plants.

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Watering was the only thing I could do with plants in the Tbilisi apartment. I had no sense of home, and trying to recreate it with the same practices would get me nowhere. I was already nowhere, and just couldn’t take care of the plants like anything else. How could I do all that amid a disaster? There are many other, more urgent things—helping relatives

Photo by Lena Holub

(in Russia and Ukraine) and activism, which imply very concrete goals.

It took me a while to realize that art practice is not a privilege but a necessity; it is a therapy and, one could say, an act of survival. The struggle must continue, and it may continue as long as we live. It is crucial to channel experience, which, in my case, is possible through artistic practice.

A year ago, I found my way back (or forward?) to plants. In summer, I crossed the border between Armenia and Georgia, where I was interrogated. When I finally crossed the border, I was empty inside. I was in a minibus, and at one moment, I saw through the window a long fence tinkling in the wind, overgrown with spontaneous plants. The first ones inspired me; they almost always overcame the fence. After that, I returned to that fence more than once. Just to walk around, explore the flora and landscapes, and finally, make a performative gesture. I visited the plants to feel this not­very­friendly environment along the border and highway with my own body.

Photo by Lena Holub

✳ I made a short film with a close friend, sound artist, and NGO worker, Iulia. We went to the fence together. Working on it helped us to talk to each other about the hard things— shame, sometimes overwhelming helplessness, self­censorship, loneliness, activism, loss of friends, fear, desire, and shame again. We made a film about the borderline, transition points, and the oscillation between presence and absence. I worked with different sensitive surfaces, from my body to celluloid. Iulia captured and recorded sounds—the deafening noise of the highway, the wind whistling between the ribs of the fence, and the barely audible voices and footsteps. Noise, as the fabric of reality, was transformed into a multitude of points (seconds) and lines (frequencies), and became a slice of specific frequencies, a sampling and shifting between positions of time. The inaudible something became a multi­dimensional and multi­textured reality. ✳

images by Lena Holub

Iulia and I have our garbage herbarium, which we continue to (re)collect in order to live. ✳

Thank you (from Lena): Edward Said’s writings, Iulia, Dima, my family (mom, Tanya, Mikola), therapist Elena Larionova, the Pause / Play: Culture under Pressure, spontaneous plants, and everyone struggling for life and peace.

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Thank you (from Iulia): Olivia Lang’s Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency, culturepartnership.eu/en, Prince Claus Fund for Funding Handbook, therapist, friends from all over the world, editors, and publishers of this zine.

Photo by Lena Holub

Scan QR code for viewing the video work

✳ Translating ✳ ✳

Transition

Miscarriage //Oleksii Chumak

*collaboration

with Olya Makhno

Dual performance, video documentation chr. 1’20” each 2023

Our family was thrown by world events to the other shore. Like a splinter, a dead whale, seaweed. We are now part of a new ecosystem in which we do not know how to live and whether we will be able to integrate. Will we be able to leave behind the experience of the past? And how do we live through this trauma, each in himself?

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The documentation of a non­synchronous performance (specifically two parts implemented not at the same time) emphasizes the process of loneliness, isolation of a person, and imprisonment in himself while living through mental pain and trauma. Even with the support of family and friends, you are left alone with what you have to endure, because survival is always your decision.

Photo by Narek Dallakyan

Vishapagorg //Gray Cake (Katya Pryanik, Alexander Serechenko),

Anna Ghazaryan

Mixed media 2023

Carpets and tapestries have existed in human culture since ancient times. The patterns not only decorated clothes and home textiles, but also served as symbolic amulets against evil forces.

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The work is a process of interaction with Anna Khazaryan, a carpet and tapestry teacher from Dilijan. Vishapogorg patterns have become an area of our interest.

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By placing tradition in the modern realm of technological reproducibility, we revive it and enable it to continue its further development. The ability of a neural network to learn and reproduce visual patterns is used as a container for storing the cultural code of carpet ornamentation. Shapes and patterns intertwine in unexpected combinations, but are completely based on traditional elements.

Photo by Narek Dallakyan

Biasphere //Anton Alter

(work in progress)

mixed media, video 2023

Visuals generated with AI tools discover an uncanny dimension of state propaganda, infusing its imagery with latent fears and violent dreams of the current political regime in Russia. AI technologies are capable of synthesizing the “averaged” version of each phenomenon they deal with and provide us with generalizations on it. For me, the idea of propaganda is also to force its consumers to see general ideas behind real things and prevent people from critically overlooking tough questions. Instead, it feeds us with dangerous stereotypes, leading to massive disinformation, hatred, and justification of crimes in the name of general ideas propagated by the current political elite. Biased mass­media messages fueling unconscious fears feed and form the BIASphere as a global framework of unreliable knowledge and nonsense, opposing the concept of noosphere. To resist state media disinformation, I made my generalization of Putinism as I see it — militant, traditionalistic, racist, homophobic, and with a generally outdated worldview leading to the construction of a biased civil society, confused and unable to differentiate valuable messages from lies and misinformation.

Photo by Daniil Primak

Dumb as a fish //Serafima Truevtseva

Video, animation 2023

A work that describes the feeling of emigration through the perception of new languages. And the words in these new languages are chaotic and unrelated, but from this mosaic a picture of the possibility of communication in a new country is assembled.

Photo by Daniil Primak

Dreamscapes of Alternative history

//Diana Meyerhold & Anastasia Marochkina

Metaverse

2023

Inhale­two­two­three­four­pause­two­two­three­four­exhale­two­three­four

“Our class was put on a bus and taken on a night excursion to watch the storming of Azovstal. The bus was parked a couple of kilometers away from the flooded areas, from where the plant was clearly visible and it was relatively safe. Everyone was told to lie on the floor and wait for the assault to be over, but I was peeking out the window instead.”

This installation in the meta­universe is an exploration of eyewitness dreams of contemporary historical events from the very center of the event. The participant can immerse themselves in a semi­real world where modern history has taken a different path.

Alternative worlds are variants of the present. How exactly does the collective cloud of alternatives represent the existing world? What does it say about it?

Photo by Daniil Primak

Everyday life of military service documents

//Anna Mariia Filippova

Micro­interactions between documents and the documented subjects

Photo, text 2023

Everyday life of military service documents is devoted to disentangling the interconnection between war, militarism, and masculinities in the context of the general trend towards the militarization of societies. It suggests scrutinizing it through personal military service documents seen within the contexts of their production, use and preservation.

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We learned to believe and mind the facts that are stated in the bureaucratic documents. It derives from the assumption of perfectly functioning neutral states apparatus. This project attempts to see the documents as material artifacts of knowledge practices, mirroring the ideologies of the state that issued them.

Photo by Daniil Primak

The Library of Dreams

//Jane Rzheznikova

Virtual reality experience, videoart

2022 (Ongoing)

The Library of Dreams is an artistic documentary project focused on the study of dreams during the periods of the Second World War in Germany, the USSR, and modern Russia. All three of these periods were marked by political repressions, conflict, and war. Based on individual dream archives, connections between dreams from these different eras were discovered, which point to the question of the existence of a coherent dream universe with its own rules. The project explores how dreams can act as a medium that overcomes censorship and allows individuals to express their pain and feelings, but can also be an alternative form of reflection space.

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The project was initiated following the significant event on the day when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marked the beginning of a war. The project’s founder noticed a recurring pattern in how people’s dreams were changing in response to the shifting political landscape. It delves into the mechanisms that alter a person’s consciousness, using dreams as a poignant reflection of this transformation.

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As an embodied VR experience, users travel through the dreams of nine people who lived under oppressive regimes. Despite their differences, they all share the collective trauma of living through state violence, resulting in cognitive dissonance. The Library of Dreams serves as a platform to acknowledge and understand authentic experiences, offering a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in even the darkest of times.

Photo by Daniil Primak

Tmp_space //Elena Slobtseva and tmp_space collective

Screen­based presentation

2023

In the fall of 2022, a horizontal initiative and an art gallery Tmp_space was launched in Batumi, Georgia, aimed at fostering collaborative activities among artists and individuals passionate about contemporary art. This initiative was inspired by a collective dedication to exchange practices opposing war, engage in critical reflection on colonialist politics, and explore potential pathways for cultural integration in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The screen­based presentation showcases a documentary highlighting a year­long endeavor of the art collective, along with an exposition of its values and mission.

Photo by Daniil Primak

Urban Dialogue //COBALT urban think­tank

mixed (paper, wires, wood)

2023

“Urban Dialogue” centers around an architectural model of Yerevan, serving as more than a mere city representation; it acts as a platform for dialogue, awareness, and the preservation of our architectural heritage.

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Our mission is to address critical issues within Yerevan’s architectural landscape. Many buildings and public spaces, some of historical significance, are at risk of demolition or abandonment.

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We aspire to make our audience active participants in the dialogue surrounding architectural environments. To accomplish this, we’ve crafted an architectural model of Yerevan. Additionally, there’s a box of interactions for visitors to add to the model, serving as visual representations of the community’s thoughts and ideas, showcasing a diverse range of perspectives.

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In a world of rapid development and change, our project encourages us all to pause, reflect, and participate in preserving our architectural legacy. Through this project, we aim to create a stronger sense of community and a collective commitment to safeguarding the beauty, history, and character of our beloved city.

Photo by Daniil Primak

Growing Homelessness //Lena Holub

Video, phytography, soundscape

6 min

2022 (Ongoing)

I used to explore how plants made their way into people’s homes and observe modern practices of human­plant interaction within domestic spaces. Being displaced from places I consider home — for me, these are both in Ukraine and Russia — led me to rethink what home and my artistic practice are. I’ve started to direct my attention more to the ruderal plants that symbolize for me not just oppression but resistance and desire.

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Growing Homelessness is a work in progress. In this project, I work with the states of sensitivity at the borders. It begins at the boundaries of my body but goes beyond. Film, video, and sound inform my creative and intellectual work, as I explore boundaries between video and film, fact and fiction, narrative and non­narrative, and personal and political. I employ phytography, inspired by Karel Doing, to capture plant images from a non­human perspective, using fallen and broken plants to address ethical concerns. ✳

“I take off my shoes — being barefoot can be interpreted as a symbol of homelessness, or it can be seen as moving towards finding a sense of home: I arrive as a guest and take off my shoes, as I have become accustomed to doing.”

Photo by Daniil Primak

Whispered Shouts //Nino Khundadze, programming: Eagle WU

Web platform

2021–2022

In today’s world people are suppressed and limited in so many ways. There is a lack of spaces, both in the real and virtual world, where everyone is welcome to be just the way they are.

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I always feel called to push my own boundaries, to get outside of my comfort zone and create space for exploration. A safe space where people can be themselves, can share and to be heard. Where everyone’s experience matters.

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The ‘Whispered Shouts’ web platform is a project which was created as a natural development of the project I made in 2021 for the Tbilisi Metro Artup Festival. It was an installation, inviting passengers to stop by, write a note on one of the given themes and place it in the transparent box. In less than two days I collected more than 200 notes that touched me deeply.

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The ‘Whispered Shouts’ platform is intended to be a space in virtual reality that makes the space accessible for everyone who would like to share, despite all that had been preventing them to do it before. Every month there’s a topic which is proposed to be reflected on.

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The title ‘Whispered Shouts’ means that voices of people in their busy everyday lives are so suppressed that they are like whispers, but they actually want to break free and shout.

Photo by Narek Dallakyan

//otar (Narek Buniatyan)

Audio 2023

As we are facing horrific times, it is necessary to remember the challenges our ancestors overcame in their time & push a narrative of cultural reinterpretation & revival, rather than giving in to sorrow & despair. Constant pressure & trauma is affecting our collective memory & stripping us away from our core values.

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This piece is a reflection of this causality & the struggle to break from the cycle of oppression through embracing cultural differences & similarities. The sound installation is assembled by audio samples of folk music from ethnic groups who have been enduring challenging times: these samples are deconstructed/glitched (within the context of a dystopian, wartorn, crumbling reality and the struggle to embrace our identities amidst the pounding noise of fear, starvation, war & genocide) & layered with etherial ambient soundscapes — the contrast relays the difficulties we encounter in reconnecting with our past & implementing it in the present & future. The corroded clockwork mechanisms & parts are from the abandoned Soviet Clock Factory in Yerevan — representing the ruthless fleeting of time & our efforts to conceptualize it.

Photo by Daniil Primak

Maramora

digital educational web platform

CEO, founder: Hanna Palei

Content director, co­founder: Natallia Trenina

Graphic designer: Katsiaryna Korzh

Video maker: Victoria Sheuka

2022

Maramora is a curated educational art platform. The platform offers original courses, lectures, guides as well as interviews, texts and projects that showcase the transformative potential of art and art education.

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For several years, Maramora’s team have researched the impact of art on community well­being. So, in times of political crisis, we started creating educational opportunities for local communities in Belarus and found that art education is a powerful tool for support and transformation during periods of instability. Building on this experience, we make each course a source of inspiration and support for non­professionals and a practical learning tool for those looking to expand their artistic practice.

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Our topics include music, psychology, photography, philosophy, socially engaged art, environmental art, cinema, fashion, photography, design, architecture, dance, illustration and art business.

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Our mission is to help to find support in Arts.

Photo by Daniil Primak

Lost and Found Bureau

Maria Kremer, artist

Vasily Sochinsky, technical support

Nvard Yerkanian, visual identity design

mixed media

2023

The installation “Lost and Found Bureau”, part of the broader Homeing project, invites visitors to reflect, and contribute to the digital archive of collective memory. This archive serves as a repository for memories of individuals who have either lost or left their homes. Participants can access and contribute to the archive through a QR code, responding to a series of questions – ranging from materials, lighting, colors, and smells, to perceptions, activities, and the significance of architectural details – associated with homes. ✳

The installation includes a digital display, which is composed of a series of short memory fragments, all sourced from the archive. This projection is continually updated in real­time, capturing the unfolding narrative of the archive with every new response to the questionnaire.

Within this archive of memories, each individual recollection adds to our shared history, creating a mosaic that continuously evolves at the display. It assembles the diverse stories of many into a patchwork that reflects a complex and shared human experience.

Photo by Daniil Primak

Visit Homeing project

read part 2 here