Performance art in Eastern Europe since 1960

By Amy Bryzgel

This volume presents the first comprehensive academic study of the history and development of performance art in the former communist countries of Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe since the 1960s. Covering 21 countries and more than 250 artists, this text demonstrates the manner in which performance art in the region developed concurrently with the genre in the West, highlighting the unique contributions of Eastern European artists. The discussions are based on primary source material-interviews with the artists themselves. It offers a comparative study of the genre of performance art in countries and cities across the region, examining the manner in which artists addressed issues such as the body, gender, politics and identity, and institutional critique.

Publisher: Manchester University Press http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781784994228/

PhD Funding: Artistic Re-enactments of Performance Art as Vehicles of Cultural Transfer in Eastern Europe since 1960
Department of Film and Visual Culture, University of Aberdeen
Supervisor: Dr. Amy Bryzgel, Senior Lecturer in Film and Visual Culture, University of Aberdeen
Application Deadline: March 21, 2017

Applications are invited for PhD research topics that focus on artistic re-enactments of performances from across the former communist and socialist countries of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe in recent artistic practice. There are numerous examples of artistic re-enactments across the region, providing scope for a range of dissertation topics. Projects can include comparative studies, for example, of the relevance of re-enactments in one local tradition versus that of another; or single-country studies of a number of re-enactments being staged in one context. Dissertations will address the following research questions: what are the various functions of artistic re-enactments of performances in Eastern Europe? How do these functions compare with current understandings of re-enactment in the West? How can re-enactments be used to access a lost or inaccessible history (such as performance art in Eastern Europe)? Also welcome are proposals that consider revisiting culturally relevant or historically significant places by artists or within the context of artistic re-enactments.

Selection will be made on the basis of academic merit. Individuals with a strong research background in the field of Eastern European contemporary art and/or performance art, from either an art history or visual culture background, are encouraged to apply. Applicants should have the necessary language skills needed to undertake the proposed research, and should consider funding sources for travel to conduct field research abroad if it is necessary to the proposed project.

The project is funded by a University of Aberdeen Elphinstone Scholarship, which covers the cost of tuition fees only, whether Home, EU or Overseas, and will be awarded through an open competition.

Interested applicants should contact Dr. Amy Bryzgel with a project proposal of no more than 2,000 words, including discussion of Aims and Objectives, Research Questions, Research Context, Methodology and Critical Approach.

Deadline for all applications: 21 March 2017

More information can be found here
How to apply

PhD Funding: Comparative Studies of Performance Art in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe since 1960
University of Aberdeen, Department of Film and Visual Culture
Supervisor: Dr. Amy Bryzgel

This proposal invites PhD research topics that focus on comparative studies of performance art practices—including body art, action art, happenings and events—in the former communist and socialist countries of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Studies of performance art in the region have primarily taken the form of single-country studies. This proposal invites scholars to examine the development and manifestations of performance art across borders—locally regionally or globally. Example of projects can include: the development of performance art in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania); the Baltic and other Soviet countries; a juxtaposition of performance art practices in Central Europe (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria); or a more broad comparison between particular practices in the Soviet Union, Central Europe, and Yugoslavia. Of particular interest would be a project that focuses on the “blind spots” of East European art history, for example, Moldova, Bulgaria, Albania. In exploring the nuances of performance art practices in these different socio-political contexts, this project aims to broaden our understanding of the range of experimental art practices that were developed across the communist East. This is just one example of the sort of project that might be available in this research group. The precise project will be decided upon in consultation with the supervisor.

Selection will be made on the basis of academic merit. Individuals with a strong research background in the field of Eastern European contemporary art and/or performance art, from either an art history or visual culture background, are encouraged to apply. Applicants should have the necessary language skills needed to undertake the proposed research, and should consider funding sources for travel to conduct field research abroad if it is necessary to the proposed project.

The School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture has a lively postgraduate community. Postgraduate students are offered a comprehensive programme of research skills training.

This project is funded by a University of Aberdeen Elphinstone Scholarship. An Elphinstone Scholarship covers the cost of tuition fees, whether Home, EU or Overseas.

Click for more information