Talk

OLGA SHPARAGA No News from Belarus?

Diplomatische Akademie Wien
May 29 2017
Favoritenstraße 15a
Vienna 1040
Phone: 01 50572720
18:00
free
Monday, May 29, 2017
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“No News from Belarus” is the name of a work by the Belarusian artist Alexander Komarov that was presented at the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius in 2010. The title alludes to so-called “Belarusian stability,” which is maintained by the authoritarian regime in lieu of any promise of political or social change.

But change happens nevertheless – and in spite of the way the political opposition in Belarus has been totally crushed over the last seven years – because the state cannot control what is happening in society and on the cultural scene. Olga Shparaga speaks in her lecture about the new discourses that have resulted, and the space they offer for contemplating the political and social situation in Belarus and for resistance. An important term addressed in this analysis is “humiliation.” This humiliation takes very different forms in today’s Belarus, ranging from the many ordinary everyday and institutional insults to police violence.

Olga Shparaga wonders whether a critical examination of the art scene in Belarus might serve to draw attention to the current situation in the country. She notes that resistance is rising not only in Belarus but also on the wings of the feminist, environmental, urban, and other emancipatory movements and initiatives that are currently active all over Europe and the USA. She furthermore inquires into the significance of these movements and whether, without them, any resistance is still being put up at all against the increasingly right-leaning political landscape.
Olga Shparaga’s talk examines the unique qualities of the Belarusian initiatives and their potentially universal dimension. In the process, she will highlight in particular the role of informal education, based mainly on the example of the project ECLAB (European College for Liberal Arts Minsk), in which she is herself involved.

The lecture will be held in German.

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