The Enigma of the New and the Modern
Discussing Artistic Practices in the Cities of Vienna and Addis Ababa.
A collaboration between Alle School of Fine Arts at the University of Addis Ababa and Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
In recent years, cities around the globe have undergone radical changes. An alliance of state and market forces has intervened in cityscapes and urban life, counting on the unbroken promise of urban development and modernization. But in many cities, top down planning meets bottom up movements, informality mutates formality and a discussion on the relationship between the new and the old, progress and development, history and future counters the enigma of the new and modern.
The main aim of this coming together of artists, architects, historians and cultural theorists from Vienna and Addis Ababa is to share our experiences with city transformations and the challenges, possibilities and pragmatics of artistic interventions in the urban environment. Together we want to reflect on how and under which conditions artistic interventions take place. What strategies are employed, what resources are available, who are some of the collaborators/partners, who is the audience, how is it addressed and what visions, fears and desires guide the artistic interventions?
Participants: Berhanu Ashagrie Deribew, Mihret Kebede, Brook Teklehaimanot, Elizabeth Wolde Giorgis, Bekele Mekonnen, Carola Dertnig, Elke Krasny, Petja Dimitrova, Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski, Paula Pfoser, Mara Verlic, Annette Krauss, Moira Hille, Julia Wieger, Vladimir Miller, Hong-Kai Wang, Johannes Puchleitner, Christian Kravagna, Stefan Gruber, Anette Baldauf and others.
Tuesday, January 20 th
2pm
Welcome by the Vice Rector, Andrea Braidt
2.30 - 5pm
Film and Decolonization
In the framework of Christian Kravagna's lecture course on film and decolonization, Pier Paolo Pasolini's film "Appunti per un'Orestiade Africana" (Notes for an African Orestes, 1970) will be screened and critically discussed as a major example of an avant-garde cinematic approach to African decolonization by a European director.
Wednesday, January 21 st
10am - 1pm
Urban transformations in the city of Vienna and Addis Ababa
In this session, we hope to engage in a discussion on the different histories of the respective cities - what have been some of the key urban interventions that shaped the city structure, what are some central conditions and tensions of urban life, how does an urban public manifest itself, how is top down planning translated into everyday life?
Input Vienna: Stefan Gruber, Mara Verlic, Johannes Puchleitner, Anette Baldauf
Input Addis: Brook Teklehaimanot, Bekele Mekonnen
1pm - 2pm
Lunch Buffet
2pm - 5pm
Artistic practices in the cities of Vienna and Addis Ababa
Here we hope to discuss questions like: What are some of the artistic practices developed in the cities dealing, in some, maybe peripheral way with the tensions discussed before? What are their relationships to the city administration, the market, but also the art schools?
Input Vienna: Carola Dertnig, Petja Dimitrova, Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski, Elke Krasny, Paula Pfoser, Plattform Geschichtspolitik
Input Addis: Berhanu Ashagrie Deribew, Mihret Kebede, Elizabeth Wolde Giorgis
7pm - 10pm
Screening at Mumok Cinema, Museumsquartier, 1010 Vienna
The program presents short films and video works that deal with (acting in) urban space. The central focus of this program is on artists' reflections on city structures and the current transformations of public space. ( https://www.mumok.at/en/events/enigma-new-and-modern