Aftermaths and Transformations: October Revolution 1917 Revisited
Montag, 23. Oktober 2017 - 15:30 Uhr
Semper Depot - Atelierhaus der Akademie der bildenden Künste
Collaboration of the Conceptual Art Studio Program (Post-conceptual Art Practices) at the Institute of Fine Arts, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the Department of Art History, University of Vienna.
Intro:
The Russian Revolution of 1917, which began with the February Revolution and culminated in October with ?ten days that shook the world? established the first workers? socialist state in history and is therefore the preeminent event of the 20th century. Moreover, the two other ?events? of the 20th century, namely the two world wars, were connected to carnage and death with no emancipatory impulse.
When thinking of freedom and change, the October Revolution palpably echoes with two other historically momentous revolutions: the Haitian Revolution, the anti-slavery and anti-colonial insurrection of 1791-1804, and the French Revolution of 1789, the ideological, political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe by those who were not recognized as the new labor force or as agents of change.
One hundred years later, this interdisciplinary international project engages with the contradictory and turbulent moment of the October Revolution from the perspective of the present. As we revisit the aftermaths and transformations of this historical event, we ask:
- How did the mythologies, ideologies, and realities of the October Revolution shape disparate aesthetic, cultural and activist practices?
- What kind of radically transformative subjectivities might be envisioned in moments of revolution?(
Lectures and Performances:
Lina Ben Mhenni (Tunisia)
Ilya Budraitskis (Russia)
Aglaya K. Glebova (USA)
Jeremy M. Glick (USA)
Njideka Stephanie Iroh (Vienna)
The New Barbizon Collective (Israel)/[Zoya Cherkassky-Nnadi and Natalia Zourabova]
Piro Rexhepi (Macedonia)
Exhibition:
Jamika Ajalon (USA)
Bojan Djordjev and Sini?a Ili? (Belgrade)
Muzaffer Hasaltay (Vienna)
Linda Porn Davis (Barcelona)
Onur Serdar (Vienna)
Program
Public events, free admission
Monday, 23 October 2017
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Studio Building, Lehargasse 8, 1060 Vienna, MZS, Multipurpose-Space, 2. OG (Second Floor)
15.30
Inaugural opening of the project, exhibition opening, and conference commencement
Greetings:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Andrea B. Braidt, Vice Rector for Art and Research
Presentation of the project:
Noit Banai, Professor of Contemporary Art, University of Vienna
Marina Gr?ini?, Professor of Conceptual Art, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
Exhibition:
Jamika Ajalon (USA): Umbuzi: why freedom, video, 2011
Bojan Djordjev and Sini?a Ili? (Belgrade): Orientation in 100 revolutions – pictorial, textual and video report, installation, 2017
Muzaffer Hasaltay (Vienna): The choice / Decision, video, 2017
Linda Porn Davis (Barcelona): Violence in Mass Media/ Feminist Days: Alliances and Sex Work, video, 2015
Onur Serdar (Vienna): Liquid Machine, video, 2017
CONFERENCE (1.)
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Studio Building, Lehargasse 8, 1060 Vienna, MZS, Multipurpose-Space, 2. OG (Second Floor), Film and TV Studio
17.00
Poetic performance: Spoken Word and Reflections by Njideka
Is the Night for Poets and Dreamers? Sisters of Utopia Seize the Day
The performance will consider art?s potential to change the world, while asking where this ?stage? for change might appear. How are the dreamers dismissed? Is poetry for the lovers? Can the lovers change the world?
CV: Njideka Stephanie Iroh (Vienna) is a London-born Black Austrian writer, artist and activist based in Vienna. In a combination of spoken word, performances and lectures, she deals with topics such as language, power relations, decolonization, Afrofuturism and the embodiment of knowledge.
18.30
Lecture: Ilya Budraitskis (Russia)
Heritage without heirs? The anniversary of 1917, the Kremlin?s historical policy, and commitment to the Event
This lecture will focus on the anniversary of the Russian revolution in the framework of contemporary Russian historical policy. The latter is based on the idea of a struggle to preserve a heritage that is under constant attack by external competitors and internal enemies. This is an artificially created version of national history as mythological time in which everything is repeated and people?s actions are deprived of all autonomy.
CV: Ilya Budraitskis is a historian, political writer and curator, member of the editorial board of Moscow Art Magazine, platforms Openleft and LeftEast. He is the author of Dissidents among dissidents, 2017.