Proiecte/Projects

“Towards Inclusive Mnemonic Communities: Re-Visiting Violent Pasts through the Lens of Artistic Memory in Eastern Europe” (Contract TE 24/2020, PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-0025, UEFISCDI: 431.900 Ron)

Dr. Maria Alina Asavei (coord.)https://sites.google.com/view/comunitatimnemonice/home

EN: The interdisciplinary research project “Towards Inclusive Mnemonic Communities: Re-Visiting Violent Pasts through the Lens of Artistic Memory in Eastern Europe” (Contract TE 24/2020, PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-0025, UEFISCDI: 431.900 Ron) fleshes out the “artistic memories” (Preda) of various violent pasts (the Holocaust, the Nazi and communist era atrocities, ethno-nationalistic wars and ethnic cleansing, forced labor, as well as various forms of racism like Romaphobia) from a comparative Eastern European perspective. We argue that the artistic memory projects produced after 1990 – and selected as case studies for this research project – can establish a new direction in the commemorative practices of the violent pasts. Artistic memory cultures can foster diverse, but inclusive mnemonic communities that exceed the polarizing narratives about “them,” and “us” in light of memory activism for universal human rights. From a theoretical point of view, this is an interdisciplinary research at the intersection of Cultural studies, Cultural Memory Studies and Political Science, (including a focus on Transitional Justice, and Human Rights Theory) which has the aim to highlight the artistic memory culture’s ability to deal with violent pasts, various forms of injustice and hegemonic patterns of domination from historical knowledge production about the past.

Transregional remembrance of dictatorships: restoring human dignity through artistic practices in South America and Eastern Europe / Rememorare transregională a dictaturilor: restituirea demnității umane prin practici artistice în America de sud și Europa de est.($: 449 774 RON(UEFISCDI: PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2016-0346, contract 138/2018, 2018-2020)

Dr Caterina Preda (coord.) http://transregional-artistic-memory.caterinapreda.ro/

EN: This project analyzes what, and how do artists remember after traumatic experiences of the non-democratic regimes of the 20th century in two opposing ideological contexts in South America (with a focus on the Southern Cone – Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil), and Eastern Europe (including ex-Yugoslavia). We use an innovative approach, that of comparing two dissimilar regions with different experiences of the past, and through a look at cultural remembrance practices, and especially artistic renderings of the past as these show how, or what is missing from the process of dealing with the past, and how through a comparative outlook the two regions could learn from one another. The project uses an interdisciplinary method of the study of artistic practices after dictatorships, and lies at the intersection of several theoretical foci. It uses methodological instruments that belong to the field of Transitional Justice (TJ) studies and more specifically to the study of the role of art in the process of TJ. It proposes a specific approach, that of transnational memory and of transregional studies between the two regions with a focus on a precise form of cultural memory, that of artistic practices. Instead of comparing countries or regions, I propose we use the lens of art and politics to look at the way societies as seen by artists deal with their past experiences. The research will evaluate comparatively the similarities, and differences of artistic remembrances of past hardships in a transregional approach through specific case studies that bring forward the transregional links we can observe, and which artistic practices help create. The main objective is to create a framework of comparative analysis of phenomena connected to the aftermath of dictatorships through very specific examples that help document the transregional similarities and disparities of dealing with the past that artists are able to pinpoint to.

RO: Acest proiect analizează într-o perspectivă comparativă operele artistice realizate după experiențe traumatice precum cele ale regimurilor non-democratice din secolul 20 în două contexte opuse din punct de vedere ideologic în America de sud (mai ales Conul Sud – Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay și Brazilia) și Europa de est (incluzând ex-Yugoslavia). Abordarea teoretică este una inovatoare prin comparația a două regiuni care au experiențe politice diferite și printr-o analiză a practicilor de rememorare culturală, și în special a evocărilor artistice ale trecutului pentru că acestea arată cum, sau ce anume lipsește din procesul de gestionare a trecutului, și cum, printr-o privire comparativă cele două regiuni ar putea învăța una de la alta. Abordarea interdisciplinară a studiului practicilor artistice după dictaturi se găsește la intersecția mai multor perspective teoretice, folosind instrumente metodologice care aparțin Justiției de Tranziție (TJ) și mai specific studiului artei în procesul de TJ. Acest proiect propune o abordare specifică, aceea a memoriei transnaționale și a studiilor transregionale între America de sud și Europa de est cu accent pe o formă precisă de memorie culturală, cea a practicilor artistice. În loc de a compara țări sau regiuni, propunem folosirea lentilei analitice a relației dintre artă și politică pentru a analiza felul în care societățile așa cum sunt ele văzute de artiști își gestionează trecutul. Investigația analizează comparativ asemănările și diferențele dintre evocările artistice ale trecutului traumatic într-o abordare transregională prin cazuri specifice de studiu care subliniază legăturile care pot fi observate, și pe care practicile artistice pot ajuta să le creeze. Principalul obiectiv al acestei cercetări este crearea uneui cadru de analiză comparativă a fenomenelor din perioada care urmează dictaturilor prin exemple artistice care ajută la documentarea similarităților transregionale și a disparităților în gestionarea trecutului.

Other research projects of the members of the center:

Caterina Preda

• ”Bibliographical project Corneliu Petrescu”, Research project with the Wilson Center in Washington D.C. (December 2021 – July 2022)
• ”The ‘collectives of artists’ and the role of the ‘Plastic Fund’ in the establishment of Socialist Realism in the 1950’s Romania”, Research grant offered by European ArtEast Foundation (July 2018 – March 2019)
• “A visual tool for the display of the visual representations of the Roma of Romania in the 19^th and 20^th centuries in the Europeana collections: between stereotypes and truthfulness”, Research Grant from Europeana Grants Program 2017 (January – May 2018)
• “From the ‘state artist’ to the artist dependent onthe state: The Union of Visual Artists (of Romania) (1950-2010)- the Bucharest branch” ($: 550 000 RON / cca. 122 000 EUR (UEFISCDI: PN-II-RU-TE- 2014-40243, 01/10/2015 – 30/09/2017) Contract 206/2015.

Irina Matei

• “Romanian Roma: identity and alterity” implemented at the University of Bucharest and financed through the Funds for Cultural Diversity, the Financial Mechanism for the European Economic Space 2009-2014 (Operator: the Ministry of Culture).

Irina Cărăbaș

Lucia Dragomir

Alina Maria Asavei

Alina Popescu