Internationale: A project to radicalize the notion and practice of internationalism in the arts
16.05.09 - 17.05.09
For this weekend of activity at The Bluecoat, Liverpool, organised by Lorena Rivero de Beer and exploring notions and systems of international activty we collaborated in delivering a video presentation spoken in Albanian (the language spoken by Kosovo's ethnic majority). This Albanian narrative was illustrated using 200 images found on the internet and argued against the unchecked development of international artist communities, the global art market and transnational art practices. It aimed to distinguish between the dominant imperialist system of Neoliberal Internationalsim and the socialist ideology of Internationalism invoked by the last line of the Communist Manifesto: Workers of the world, unite!
Although largely at odds the two models share a number of characteristics and parallels that can blur and obscure the distinctions between, a situation that can cause us to unwittingly reproduce the conditions of an imperial, hegemonic internationalism, at once perpetuating and perpetuated by the dominance of English as an International language in art as it is in business.
It is imperative that we develop greater criticality towards our own position within the rapidly neoliberalising infrastructure through which we operate, and address the significant issues inherent in our opportunistic exploitation of the relative freedoms bestowed upon us but denied to others.
Resist the culturally erosive and homogenising impacts of internationalism left unchecked, maintain your autonomy, be aware of your context, and YES, ARTISTS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!
Related links:
Visit the Bluecoat website
Visit the New Work Network website
16.05.09 - 17.05.09
For this weekend of activity at The Bluecoat, Liverpool, organised by Lorena Rivero de Beer and exploring notions and systems of international activty we collaborated in delivering a video presentation spoken in Albanian (the language spoken by Kosovo's ethnic majority). This Albanian narrative was illustrated using 200 images found on the internet and argued against the unchecked development of international artist communities, the global art market and transnational art practices. It aimed to distinguish between the dominant imperialist system of Neoliberal Internationalsim and the socialist ideology of Internationalism invoked by the last line of the Communist Manifesto: Workers of the world, unite!
Although largely at odds the two models share a number of characteristics and parallels that can blur and obscure the distinctions between, a situation that can cause us to unwittingly reproduce the conditions of an imperial, hegemonic internationalism, at once perpetuating and perpetuated by the dominance of English as an International language in art as it is in business.
It is imperative that we develop greater criticality towards our own position within the rapidly neoliberalising infrastructure through which we operate, and address the significant issues inherent in our opportunistic exploitation of the relative freedoms bestowed upon us but denied to others.
Resist the culturally erosive and homogenising impacts of internationalism left unchecked, maintain your autonomy, be aware of your context, and YES, ARTISTS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!
Related links:
Visit the Bluecoat website
Visit the New Work Network website