Deadline: January 31, 2016

The Berlin “International Forum for doctoral candidates of art history of Eastern Europe” already goes into the third round. The previous events (in 2014 and 2015) have shown us that young researchers all over the world working in this field feel the strong need to have a direct and lively exchange on specific conceptual issues and methodological problems of art historical area studies in the region of Eastern, East Central and South Eastern Europe across different epochs.

With the forum we have initiated an open platform for this purpose, and the annual meetings are intended to offer a constant opportunity and space to exchange ideas and experiences, to make contact, to bring together expertise and to establish networks. Moreover, current research projects – and over the years advancements and alterations – can be presented on the homepage of the forum, and PhD students working on similar topics can locate each other and build up networks also via our social media group.

Doctoral candidates dealing with a topic in East European art history (or a neighboring discipline) are cordially invited – explicitly also those who came to Berlin in 2014 and 2015 already. If you are interested in taking part in the event, please send us a paper outlining the subject and issue of your dissertation project as well as possibly the sources it is based on and the methodology applied. Dependent on the thematic focuses resulting from the papers submitted we will select ca. 8 contributions for twenty-minute presentations. The other participants will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and their topics briefly (5 minutes). Important to us is to have plenty of time for discussion and the exchange of ideas. The languages of the conference are German and English.

Ideally, all papers will be available for the participants as printed copies and subsequent to the event will be published with basic contact details on our website.

Please submit your proposal:

• of ca. 4000 characters (including blanks)
• as a doc or docx, no PDF
• indicating your contact details
• and a brief information whether you agree with the publication of your paper

by January 31, 2016 to Prof. Dr. Michaela Marek and Jan Elantkowski

The forum is organized by the Chair of Art History of Eastern and East Central Europe, Humboldt University Berlin and will take place on April 29, 2016, in Berlin, Humboldt Graduate School. Contributors will be granted a travel allowance.

Conference on the project „Demonstrationsraum“ (Demonstration Room) at the Representation of Lower Saxony at the Federal Government in Berlin as part of its annual program “inspections // participation” in cooperation with the DFG Post-Graduate Program 1843 “The Photographic Dispositif” at the Braunschweig University of Art

Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2015, noon – 5.30 pm, followed by an evening lecture at 7 pm
Location: Vertretung des Landes Niedersachsen beim Bund, Ministergärten 10, 10117 Berlin

“Demonstrationsraum” is an exhibition on the “Abstract Cabinet” by El Lissitzky (1890-1941) conceived as an Augmented Reality app. The project is based on Lissitzky’s artistic and social vision of the combination of art and technology which is transferred into an interactive application consisting of historical and contemporary photographs. By employing this media technology, the complex history of the “Demonstrationsraum” is rendered visible with the help of its archival material. At the same time, the application opens a virtual space in which users can inscribe themselves into the historiography of this museum object by taking a selfie. The active participation of the viewer as an constitutive part of the museum presentation of the “Abstract Cabinet” is thereby reactivated. The project explores new methods of research, exhibition and knowledge production with the aim of a scientifically sound and at the same time low-threshold representation of the history and art historiography of this complex art object.

In June 2016, the app “Demonstrationsraum” will be available in the “Abstract Cabinet” at the Sprengel Museum Hannover. It will be presented in the Representation of Lower Saxony at the Federal Government in Berlin as part of the annual program “inspections // participation” from November 30 to December 13, 2015. In October 2016, the project will be presented in the gallery of the Braunschweig University of Art.

On December 2, 2015 the conference “Politics of Aura. El Lissitzky’s ‘Abstract Cabinet’ between Musealisation and Participation“ at the Vertretung des Landes Niedersachsen beim Bund, Berlin, will discuss the project and the issues it aims to address.

The tension between aura detachment and the auratic appearance of the means to achieve it that made Lissitzky’s installation such an interesting case for contemporary artistic and curatorial practices is accelerated by its art historical canonization. The primal space was destroyed in the 1930s under the pressure of the cultural political campaigns of the nazi regime and re-erected as late as in 1968. This reconstruction of the “Abstract Cabinet” was moved to the Sprengel Museum Hannover in 1979, where it has since been on view as part of the permanent collection. The museum’s logic transformed it into a Gesamtkunstwerk, in opposition to a space dedicated to the experience of the spectator. An object, that today is the subject of considerations of conservation on the basis of the interpretation of historical documents of the space.

To what extent is the “Abstract Cabinet’s” claim of participation compatible with its musealization? Do non-morphological aspects of the space have to be taken into account when it comes to its preservation? And how can an original state be postulated, when even the complex form of the installation is only fragmentarily conveyed in photographs, construction sketches and drawings? How can its initial mission be experienced now by contemporary visitors? Which methods and media could be employed to re-activate the “Abstract Cabinet”?

These and further aspects of the project will be reflected from different perspectives in the format of short lectures followed by a discussion during the conference on December 2.

FOR COMPLETE CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, SEE FULL POST

Application deadline: January 15, 2016

Call for Applications

The Berlin-based FORUM TRANSREGIONALE STUDIEN invites scholars to apply for up to ten postdoctoral fellowships within the framework of the research program ART HISTORIES AND AESTHETIC PRACTICES. KUNSTGESCHICHTE UND ÄSTHETISCHE PRAKTIKEN for the academic year 2016/2017.

ART HISTORIES AND AESTHETIC PRACTICES is a research and fellowship program which questions and transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries of art history in a transcultural, global horizon. By creating a space of dialogue for scholars from all continents and regions, it aims to discuss the potentials and contours of a plural history of art. It especially invites scholars from Islamic, Asian, African, Australian, European art histories and those of the Americas to join the program, but also addresses neighboring disciplines such as Archaeology and other fields dealing with the history of visual cultures. ART HISTORIES AND AESTHETIC PRACTICES analyses the connectivity of larger historical spaces in a transregional perspective and investigates artistic and aesthetic practices and the history of artifacts in a comparative approach, experimenting with new methodologies and forms of collaborative research. The concept of AESTHETIC PRACTICES introduced by this program, is an invitation to study artifacts with their biographies as well as processes of transfer and transformation in a transcultural, postcolonial and global perspective. The program has no chronological or geographical constraints. It collaborates with the museums of Berlin, the Berlin universities, as well as other international and national academic partners, and aims at an intense interaction of art historical institutions. Its scholarly environment is designed to enable and encourage both fellows and the wider community to experiment and refine transregional approaches to the history of visual cultures and aesthetic practices.

For more detailed information about the program please visit http://www.art-histories.de/

FOR COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS ON APPLYING, SEE FULL POST

The exhibition BALAGAN!!! Contemporary Art from the Former Soviet Union and Other Mythical Places, with 150 works by 75 artists from 14 countries from Russia and the former East, will run across three spaces in central Berlin from 14 November to 23 December this year.

The exhibition and accompanying catalogue integrates the idea and reality of balagan within both a Russian and international historical context (particularly with that of Russian Symbolism and the avant-garde). A number of related lectures, discussions and symposia will be taking place at Max Liebermann Haus, ICI Berlin, and Hamburger Bahnhof.

Artists’ List and further details can be found at http://momentumworldwide.org/

Application deadline: Nov 30, 2015

ARP-Fellowships

Hans Arp (1886-1966) and Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889-1943) are among the most remarkable artists of the twentieth century. They galvanized the movements of Dada and Surrealism, and influenced the development of concrete art and organic abstraction. Since 1977 the Stiftung Arp e.V. has overseen the greater part of both artists’ estates. It holds one of the most comprehensive collections of their work and manages most of their written and photographic archives. The Foundation also has an extensive research library, which holds primary literature and catalogues of the work of Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Hans Arp as well as many publications of their broader artistic and cultural context.

In Fall 2015, the Stiftung Arp e.V. is awarding up to four research- and archive-fellowships to both junior scholars as well as to established researchers and curators whose work addresses the work of Hans Arp and Sophie Taeuber Arp.

a) The archive and library fellowships are intended for junior scholars as well as established researchers and curators whose research project or exhibition addresses the work of Hans Arp and Sophie Taeuber and who wish to research the collection, the archive and the library in person. Depending on the scope of the research project, fellowships will be awarded for the duration of 1 to 6 months. The monthly stipend ranges from 900 to 1,200 Euros and the amount is determined by the researcher’s qualifications. Residency is required.

b) The research fellowships are intended for junior scholars (pre- and postdoctoral), whose research engages with the work of Hans Arp and/or Sophie Taeuber-Arp. The period of support is one year, with a monthly stipend between 900 and 1,200 Euros, depending on the applicant’s qualifications. Residency is not required. However, the fellow is expected to consult the foundation’s collection and archive during the fellowship period. As a prerequisite to the application, the research project in question must be tied to a university or a research institution.

For the application for a research or archive fellowship please submit the following materials:

• CV
• Publication List
• Research Description and Plan: (3-5 pages)
• Summary of the project (max. 500 words)

Fellows will be selected by a committee of experts.

Please submit applications electronically to: steinkamp@stiftungarp.de

For further information and questions, please contact Dr. Maike Steinkamp, Stiftung Arp e.V.
Tel.: +49 (0) 3060967426

Technische Universität Berlin, June 30, 2015

Abschlussworkshop Künstlermobilität in Mittel- und Osteuropa 1500-1900 / Closing meeting Artistic Mobility in Central and Eastern Europe 1500-1900

30.06.2015
Institut für Kunstwissenschaft und Historische Urbanistik
TU Berlin
Straße des 17. Juni 150/152 10623 Berlin

Raum / Room A 083
16:00 - Begrüßung / Welcome
Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Lipińska & Prof. Dr. Bénédicte Savoy
16:15 - Science Slam
Presentation of the research outcomes by international scholars: Katrin Dyballa, Joanna Izabela Formella, Mara-Lisa Kinne, Galina Mardilovich, Adam Németh, Guillaume Nicoud, Maria Nitka, Agnieszka Patała, Masza Sitek, Joanna Szechlicka and Jan Zachriáš
17:15 - Diskussion / Discussion

Raum / Room A 060
18:15 - Hauptvortrag / Keynote lecture
Prof. Dr. Jochen Oltmer
(IMIS- Institut für Migrationsforschung und Interkulturelle Studien, Universität Osnabrück)
Migrationsregime: Idee, Konzept und Programm

Free-entrance, no registration necessary, but please note that the number of places is limited.

Berlin, April 30, 2015
Registration deadline: Apr 18, 2015

For participation please register (attendance free) by April 18, 2015 at:
Prof. Dr. Michaela Marek
Eva Pluhařová-Grigienė M.A.

Zweites Internationales Doktorandenforum Kunstgeschichte des östlichen Europas / Second International Forum for doctoral candidates in East European art history Berlin

Berlin, Lehrstuhl für Kunstgeschichte Osteuropas, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin / Chair of Art History of Eastern and East Central Europe, Humboldt University

East European art history has recently been enjoying a surge of academic interest, however, within art historical research it remains a marginal area. Accordingly, there are only few suitable platforms for young academics to discuss issues focusing on this subject area. With the annual International Forum for doctoral candidates of art history of Eastern Europe we have initiated such a forum. This event gives a regular opportunity to discuss conceptual, methodical and practical problems regarding dissertations, to network, and to share competences.

FOR THE COMPLETE PROGRAM, PLEASE SEE FULL POST

TU Berlin, 14. - 15.04.2015
Registration deadline: Apr 13, 2015

TU Berlin, main building, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Room H 2036/2037

Program of the first Workshop within the scholarship-program: “Mobility of Artists in Middle and Eastern Europe between 1500 and 1900”

Generously sponsored by German-Polish Science Foundation, the “Mobility of Artists in Central and Eastern Europe 1500-1900”-program allows ten scholars from 6 countries a three-month research stay at the TU Berlin and the Jagiellon University in Krakow. Within this framework the junior scholars will have the opportunity to make use of the collections of the archives and libraries in Berlin and Krakow. Moreover, they will make contacts and exchange with each other and invited experts on their projects and research methods. The first Workshop serves as kick-off where the scholars can present their projects. The key lectures highlight current research perspectives on migration studies.

Free-entrance. Please register for attendance at the forenoon-program. For the key lectures all interested persons are welcome without registration. Please note that the number of places is limited. Presentations and lectures are held in German and English. Mail for the registration to the forenoon-program on both days: stephanie.baumewerd@tu-berlin.de

http://www.kg-ome.tu-berlin.de/menue/forschung/projekte/laufende_projekte/kuenstlermobilitaet/

FOR THE COMPLETE PROGRAM, SEE FULL POST

KOW Gallery presents the first gallery solo project of the Russian collective Chto Delat.

Thursday, April 9, 7pm Russia, the Zombie State of the Art, and Collective Despair and Utopia
Dmitry Vilensky (Chto Delat) and Alexander Koch (KOW) in conversation

For more information, visit http://www.kow-berlin.info/exhibitions/chto_delat_1#undefined