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    “It’s complicated”

    • Tbilisi, Berlin
    • How can we acknowledge diversity while developing a shared vision? (Part one)
    • “You’re welcome here if you agree that Putin is a war criminal” (Part two) 

    Tbilisi, Berlin

    Part one: 

    Group contribution to the 4th Tbilisi-Triennale entitled MICROCLIMATE / EDUCATION, organized by the Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) in Tbilisi, September/October 2022

    Marcel Bleuler (IfCAR) in cooperation with Dušan Zahoranský, professor of the Studio Intermedia 2 at the Academy of Fine Arts (AVU) in Prague; Lali Pertenava, independend curator & activist, Tbilisi; Yusuf Orhan, Cordula Schieri, Samantha Zaugg (students from the MFA study-program at ZHdK); Monika Kučerová, Barbora Miedzinska, Mia Milgromová (students from the Studio Intermedia 2 at AVU)

    Part two: 

    Panel at the conference WARning the Cities. Two-day conference on how wars affect our cities and societies, organized by Center for Independent Social Research (CISR) in Berlin, November 2022

    Marcel Bleuler (IfCAR) in cooperation with Konstantyn Doroshenko, independent critic, publicist, radio host, Kyiv (UKR); Madlen Pilz, Researcher at the Leinbniz Institute for Research on Society and Space, Berlin (DE); Natalia Vatsadze, curator, political artist with Bouillon Group, Tbilisi (GEO)

    How can we acknowledge diversity while developing a shared vision? (Part one)

    For our contribution to the Tbilisi Triennial, we focused on the microclimate of our group – a mixed group whose members have not worked together before. We came together at the CCA and collaborated for six days. In order to find our way, we decided for a basic structure: there would be two meetings a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Every meeting was moderated by a different member. This moderator was free to suggest any activity or topic that they found important for the group to address or to try out.

    Through these meetings we explored the perspectives and ideas, the wishes, and the urgencies within our group. From the shared experiences certain decisions, artistic hypothesis, and many open questions emerged. How can we have different approaches to making art and share a vision at the same time? What balance should there be between reflection and action?  How can we get into a playful process of creation? 

    And how can we do so while there is a war is happening nearby? 

    Quite early we realized that the outcome of our process would remain open and negotiable until the opening of the Triennial, and most probably beyond it. We have learned from each other and from spending time in Tbilisi in these specifc times. We now know: 
    It is a privilege to be kind. 
    Love is to be appreciated. So are useless skills. 
    We know it is complicated, but we can imagine equality.
     

    Decorative image

    “You’re welcome here if you agree that Putin is a war criminal” (Part two) 

    In the panel City – shelter / City¬ – limbo of the conference WARning the Cities we discuss the challenges for cities that are becoming temporary safe havens for large numbers of refugees. The focus is on three cities: Tbilisi, Kyiv, and Berlin. The topic was initiated by curator and artist Natalia Vatsadze from Tbilisi, who is concerned about the current developments in the city. Tbilisi has received tens of thousands of Russians in recent months. By adding to the high numbers of refugees who previously came from Abkhazia, Ossetia, and Belarus, the locals feel their city is turning into a temporary shelter for those escaping war. Even for the newcomers themselves, the city is presented as a limbo – between the hell they fled from and the future paradise they dream of. As a result, a complex situation is created in the city. A multitude of closed bubble communities emerges whose members barely communicate with each other and have little involvement in the life of the shelter city. Between these bubbles, tensions and conflicts arise. 
    In the panel, which is moderated by Marcel Bleuler, we compare the experiences of Tbilisi with Kyiv, which was a city-shelter for Russians and Belarusians before the war, and with Berlin as a city that has attracted many migrants from different countries. How have people living in these cities coped with the shelter-limbo- situations, and what perspectives do art and cultural production propose?

    Read the transcript of the discussion online here