About This Project
Kunst des Erinnerns [2018]
The Art of Remembrance – Envisioning Europe
14. February 2018, 16:00-19:30
Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V hosted on the 14th of February 2018 the international Event ‘KUNST des ERINNERNS – Europa Neu Denken’ / ‘The Art of Remembrance – Envisioning Europe’ in collaboration with Memorare Pacem e.V and the Municipality of Dresden. The Event took place within the framework of the European Project “Reconnecting Citizens with the Founding Values of the European Project – RECONN’ (Europe for Citizens Programme, Strand 2 Measure 2:1 Town-Twinning)
Every year between 13th-15th February, the city and people of Dresden commemorate the Dresden bombings in February 1945, and remember and reflect on the impact the war had on the city’s identity-shaping process.
A penetrating look back at the past elucidates how each personal account connects and intertwines with other, unfamiliar stories. If remembrance is the key to change the future, should we not try to view history through one another’s eyes?
Artists and the politically- and historically-minded people from Dresden and abroad had the opportunity to convene on this anniversary.
Dresdeners and citizens from different European countries were invited to join the international event that welcomed cultural interaction, discussions and art activities exploring the different perceptions of Europe’s past and future.
Open event and free of entry
Venue: Kulturrathaus Dresden
Königstraße 15
01097 Dresden
Time: 16.00 – 19.30
Event agenda:
Introduction of the International Event ‘Art of Remembrance – Envisioning Europe’ and the European project ‘Reconnecting Citizens to the Founding Values of the European Project’, by Myrto-Helena Pertsinidi – Project Manager, Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V. and Matthias Neutzner, Historian & founder of Memorare Pacem e.V.
1) 16:00-17:30 Presentations and round-table discussions on European identity and active citizenship
– Luisa Rodrigues, Representative of the European Commission, Europe for Citizens Programme, Salutation Speech
– Mayor of Finance, Personnel and Law in Dresden, Dr. Peter Lames, Salutation Speech
– Prof. Dr. Mark Arenhövel, International Politics, TU Dresden ‘Europe’s Memory – A communal experience or a mix of different national recollections.’
– Arpád Bőczén, Architect & Cultural Heritage Manager, Hungarian Association of Cultural Heritage Managers, ‘Heritage and identity in relation to the European Year of Cultural Heritage’.
– Béla Zsolt Gergely, Project Manager of the DANUrB Project at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), ‘Reconfiguring European Citizenship – How to Get Involved in the Policy Making Process.’
– Ioannis Anastasiou, Student & Artist, Visual and Applied Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, ‘The phenomenon of Neo-Nazism and the new right-wing movement in Europe: The role of art and artists today.’
– Dr. Triantaphyllos Tranos, Laboratory Teaching Staff Member, Visual and Applied Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, ‘Best practices that foster intercultural cooperation whilst promoting European identity and active citizenship in Europe.’
2) 17:30-17:45 Choral performance by UNA VOCE & the Choir of Jarzębina, Poland
3) 18:00-19.30 Activities and Workshops
· Further round-table discussions based on the topics of the presentations in the format of a world-cafe
· Art Zine workshop based on the topic ‘Me, my city, my Europe’ facilitated by the German artist Stephanie Lüning, MA, Academy of Fine Arts Dresden
· Comic Workshop ‘We live in Europe’ facilitated by the Greek comic artists Ioannis Texis and Stavros Kioutsoukis
· Screening of video interviews produced through EU funded projects on WWII and its impact on the shaping of national identity in Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Poland.
· Pop-up info desks:
– Volunteering & European Solidarity Corps
– ‘Good Practices’ & Tools for active participation and citizenship in Europe, combating the stigmatisation of immigrants & Hate Speech
– EU policy & support ft. publications on ‘Guide to EU Institutions’ and ‘Europe for You, Your Rights’, supported by Europe Direct
The Speakers:
Prof. Dr. Mark Arenhövel has been a professor of International Politics at the TU Dresden since September 2016. After completing his doctorate at Justus Liebig University, Giessen, he worked as a DAAD guest professor at St. Kliment Ohridski University, Sofia between 2005-2010 and was Academic Director of the Center for German and European Studies at ZEDES-Germanicum, Sofia. He has also lectured at various universities in Indonesia. One of his research focuses on national and European remembrance and history policy. Prof. Dr. Mark Arenhövel speaks about Europe’s Memory – A communal experience or a mix of disparate national recollections.
Arpád Bőczén is the founding president of the Hungarian Association of Cultural Heritage Managers (KÖME – heritagemanager.hu). As an architect and cultural heritage manager, his main interest is the human and especially the socio-cultural aspects of our tangible environment. He is a member of Interpret Europe (interpret-europe.net) and manager of the organisation’s annual conference in 2018. This professional event is part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage.The European Parliament has declared 2018 the European Year of Cultural Heritage, which only emphasises the close relationship between European identity and common European values. The presentation briefly summarises the material produced by Interpret Europe, an international organisation for heritage interpretation, regarding this thematic initiative. Heritage and identity in relation to the European Year of Cultural Heritage: What are the common values of Europe? How do they relate to other values? Is there a ‘European identity’ that is reflected in ‘European heritage’? How can we encourage people to reflect on their heritage from their own viewpoint? How does not only the cultural but also the natural heritage play a part in the identity of people?
Béla Zsolt Gergely holds a BA degree in British and American Studies from the Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj, Romania. He works as Project Manager of the DANUrB Project at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME). In this capacity, he is responsible for the administration of this major EU-funded INTERREG project. Previously, Mr. Gergely contributed to shaping and guiding the strategic direction of international relations at the Municipality of Kistarcsa, Hungary as Programme Manager-overseeing international projects and initiatives. His presentation, entitled ‘Reconfiguring European Citizenship – How to Get Involved in the Policy Making Process’, is focused on the following topics: Why do Eastern European EU member states feel that they are ‘foreign-owned countries’? Why are populist governments on the rise in Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland? Why was the voter turnout for the 2014 European Parliament elections in these countries so dismal? And why are the citizens of these countries staying away from tools such as European Citizens’ Initiative, consultations and petitions, when they are means of influencing the policy process? The presentation aims at looking at some of these issues and putting them into perspective.
Ioannis Anastasiou is a student of Visual and Applied Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece under the supervision of the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Prof. Xenofon Sachinis. Ioannis Anastasiou speaks about ‘The phenomenon of Neo-Nazism and the new right-wing movement in Europe: The role of art and artists today.’ being inspired by the current sociopolitical situation in Europe and the rise of populist movements and political parties.
Dr. Triantaphyllos Tranos was born in 1960 in Greece. He studied Visual and Applied Arts within the faculty of Fine Art, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki and there gained his PhD in Neuroscience, Theory and History of Art. He has participated as an artist in several exhibitions in Greece and abroad, and has worked as a teacher at all levels of formal education, as well as in adult education, including a period at Second Chance Schools in Neapolis, Thessaloniki, and at Second Chance of Diavata Prison in Thessaloniki. Today, he works as a Laboratory Teaching Staff Member at the Department of Visual and Applied Arts, AUTh. Dr. Triantafyllos Tranos’ presentation is about best practices that foster intercultural cooperation whilst promoting European identity and active citizenship in Europe.
Choral Performance
Choral Performances by UNA VOCE choir and the Choir of Jarzębina.
The idea of the UNA VOCE choir, established in 2013, is incorporated in its name, which means ‘united voices’. The Choir is an initiative of the choir conductor, Andrzej Prus. The choir first consisted of the members from three folk ensembles: ‘Boguszyczanie’, ‘Jarzębina’ and ‘Wyszogrodzianie’. The initial idea was to make a step beyond the folklore repertoire and to experiment with polyphonic songs. Their participation in the ‘SINGING EUROPE’ event in July 2016 was an important event for the UNA VOCE choir. Organised by the National Forum of Music in Wrocław as part of the European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016,’SINGING EUROPE’ was an international meeting of choirs from all over the world and took place at the Municipal Stadium in Wrocław.
The Activities
Video Interviews
After the presentations, there were various activities, one of which was the screening of short video interviews based on the life stories of senior citizens from Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Poland. These short films were produced within the framework of the European project ‘Bridging Generations’ (2014-2016). Young sociologists, journalists and film makers found senior citizens that were interested in sharing their experiences and stories about WWII. The young researchers then collected and recorded the life stories of a handful of seniors who lived during WWII, based on the biographical narrative method. As a result, intergenerational dialogue was fostered through which the younger generation learned from the older one about the impact of WWII on their lives and remembrance.
For information:
http://www.bridging-generations.de
Comic Workshop
The Comic-Workshop ‘Comic-Illustration-We live in Europe’, directed by Ioannis Texis & Stavros Kioutsioukis (AddArt NGO, Thessaloniki). Both artists have been active as comic illustrators for many years and have published several books in Greece. They run the organisation ‘Add Art’, which regularly arranges workshops on comic illustration. Under the heading ‘We live in Europe’, they will run a workshop that aims to create stories together with every participant, with a focus on the diversity of European nations. For this, they researched particularly noticeable characters at the beginning of a controversial discussion, which were used to develop an exciting story.
Zine Workshop
Zines are small handcrafted books that date back to the 18th century as a subgenre and were used for self-expression by socially disadvantaged groups, especially in the 1970s. A zine is a non–commercial, non-professional publication, a sort of magazine but with a twist. The main difference between a magazine and a zine is that zines are not out there to make a profit but, rather, to add other, often unheard voices into the mix. Zines are usually made out of interest and passion and are often self-published by the writer/artist/creator. Typically, zines are made using collage techniques and are then photocopied since these are means available to almost everyone. Zines are used as a storytelling method. The workshop was coordinated in English and German by the German artist Stephanie Lüning (MA, Academy of Fine Arts Dresden).
The instructions were translated into Arabic, Czech and Polish.
Participating countries: Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Poland.
International partners:
Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V. – Dresden (DE) – Lead partner
Landeshauptstadt Dresden – Dresden (DE)
Memorare Pacem e.V. – Dresden (DE)
Kistarcsa Város Önkormányzata – Kistarcsa (HU)
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – Thessaloniki (GR)
Institut pro regionalni rozvoj, o. p. s. – Prague (CZ)
Gminny Osrodek Kultury Olesnica – Olesnica (PL)
The City of Wroclaw
https://www.wroclaw.pl/en/municipality