Gravity for All
The European Crisis and Fleeing Artists
On November 10th, inenart in the name of diyalog participated into a round table about the migration crisis and cultural identity at the Centro Pecci in Prato, Italy. The round table and the discussion at Villa Romana in Florence was a collaboration between Centro Pecci and Villa Romana.
Gravitiy for All will become a network between artists who just arrived in Italy and Europe and those who are already living there. A platform to share information about residencies, grants and experiences.
The question of the discussion was: if the European migration crisis continues to be a scandal, how should artists and cultural workers behave? How to create networks (in Europe and beyond), find cultural identity in exile and give voice to artistic practices that go beyond the so-called “internationalism” of the twentieth century? If cultural education is the foundation of every society how to promote respect for artistic/cultural producers? What are the urgent concerns of the artists that have just arrived? Which partners could be involved for future collaborations?
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During the round table and the talk the invited initiatives introduced their experience and work regarding exile, migration, cultural identity and the need to rethink the world order against the background of the current migration crisis. Only a new world order can be the cornerstone to overcome forced migration in a larger scale that are oppressed in the name of nations.
The conclusion of the first talks expressed the need for information exchange between artists and cultural initiatives in Europe, creating a virtual network with a structuring phase of the territorial agencies where everyone can be a physical point. Additional round table and talks will follow. One will be in September 2017 in Istanbul on the occasion of the Istanbul Biennial in the frame of a festival with talks, panels, presentation, displayed artworks and pop up events.
The round table in Italy took place within the exhibition The End of The World curated by Fabio Cavallucci . Along the way of the exhibition the audience shall experience the feeling of being projected thousands of light years away to view our current world as if it were a fossil, geological eras from the present time, resulting in a feeling of being suspended in a limbo between a now distant past and a still distant future. A similar feeling you are often experiencing in exile anywhere on earth when you are away from home but still searching for a cultural identity from suffering.
The End of the World at Centro Pecci curated by Fabio Cavallucci
Participants:
Alessandro Triulzi, professor of the History of Africa at the University of Naples, and president of archivio memorie migranti, Rome
Yves Légal, activity leader for art workshops at Civico Zero, Rome
Morteza Khalegi, Afghan filmmaker, Rome
Sara Alberani, independent curator and co-founder of the artistic platform Nation25 and of the Nationless Pavilion
Caterina Pecchioli, artist and co-founder of Nation25
Lanna Idriss, banker, promoter of the FLAX / Foreign Local Artistic Xchange network, Frankfurt and Gyalpa Shop
Lorenzo Romito, Stalker and Osservatorio Nomade, Rome
Thomas Büsch, filmmaker and general secretary of diyalog, Istanbul based association and initiator of the Searching Traces program.
Moderators:
Angelika Stepken, Villa Romana, Ilaria Gadenz & Carola Haupt, Radio Papesse
European Flag by Andrea d’Amore