Artists: Lana Čmajčanin, Johanna Diehl, Ivana Ivković, Henrike Naumann, Selma Selman, Slavs and Tatars, Adnan Softić, Maria Tsagkari

Curated by Sabina Klemm, Sanja Kojić Mladenov and Ioli Tzanetaki

The co-creative exhibition project EVROVIZION.CROSSING STORIES AND SPACES explores the current social and political climate in Europe and the idea of a European identity. The focus is on less visible and marginalised geopolitical and cultural spaces, in particular in southeast and eastern Europe. These are so-called semi-peripheries and places of diversity that often play only a minor role in many international theoretical discourses and exhibition practices, such as the multi-ethnic city of Sarajevo – the first venue of the project.

EVROVIZION focuses on less visible and marginalized geopolitical and cultural spaces, in particular in southeastern and eastern Europe. These are so-called "semi-peripheries" and "places of diversity" that often play only a minor role in many international theoretical discourses and exhibition practices. In close cooperation with regional protagonists and each local art scene, new artistic projects are being added to the exhibition during the course of its tour.

After the presentations at the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina in Serbia, the exhibition is coming to Goethe-Institut Athen in Greece. A smaller selection of the artworks will be shown in Athens; yet, at the same time, the project has been expanded to include a new work by Greek artist Maria Tsagkari – curated by Ioli Tzanetaki. Further local expansion of the exhibition is also planned: the artists Johanna Diehl and Adnan Softić will develop new works in close cooperation with local actors.

The exhibition in Athens starts with a special opening event on April 28, during which the artist Ivana Ivković will perform her work MONUMENT: THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS. Artists Johanna Diehl, Adnan Softić and Maria Tsagkari will be present during the opening ceremony as well, where they will be available to discuss their work with the public. Exhibition curator Sanja Kojić Mladenov and local curator Ioli Tzanetaki will guide visitors through the show. Dora Vasilakou, fellow of the Slavs and Tatars’ international residency program, will be welcoming the audience to the Pickle Bar installation.

Both the residency-mentorship program and the Pickle Bar installation by the artists’ collective Slavs and Tatars are part of the EVROVIZION project. The integration of the Pickle Bar installation into the exhibition creates an open space for local dialogues. Before each exhibition opens, a young local professional (an artist, curator and/or researcher) is chosen to participate in the Pickle Bar mentorship program in Berlin. For two months, they are integrated into the artists’ studio and mentored in their personal projects – some of which may eventually be presented as part of EVROVIZION. Slavs and Tatars and ifa selected the young Greek curator and researcher Dora Vasilakou as a fellow of the 2022 Pickle Bar residency-mentorship program. Vasilakou will co-curate the Pickle Bar performance, to be presented in Athens in June 2023. Further public events and guided tours will be announced soon.

Following the exhibition in Athens, a new issue of the EVROVIZION magazine will be published, thus enriching the "archive of the journey". Edited by Danai Giannoglou, EVROVIZION.CROSSING ATHENS will be dedicated to the presentation of the ever-growing project in Athens and its impact on the city’s cultural identity.

A project by ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, it is being presented in Athens in cooperation with Goethe-Institut Athen, and EMΣT | National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens.

 

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