Betreff: Steirischer Herbst 2022: A War in the Distance
Datum: Thu, 30 Jun 2022 20:01:26 +0000
Steirischer Herbst
A War in the Distance
Various locations in Graz and Styria, Austria
September 22–October 16, 2022
Prologue — An Embattled Ukraine in Video Art and Film:
June 1–August 1
Neue Galerie Graz, Joanneumsviertel, 8010 Graz, Austria
Prologue—artists talks and panel discussions:
July 1, 1–6:30pm
Neue Galerie Graz
https://www.steirischerherbst.at
Wars are inscribed into the history of Steirischer Herbst. The Cold War
overshadowed its early years while later editions took place with the
Yugoslav Wars right next door. Painfully activating faded memories of
World Wars I and II, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine is the newest entry
to this long list of battles growling just around the corner.
Yet one still sometimes feels that in this cozy corner of Austria, like
in many other snug places in Europe, wars and even conflicts are out of
place. Outbursts of compassion towards individuals affected by wars
happening “elsewhere” are sincere, no doubt, but at the same time, the
world here is still safe and one simply “does not do war.” The frontline
is put at a distance, unseen and unheard, until the repressed returns
with a vengeance. This autumn, Steirischer Herbst’s dense program of
exhibitions, performances, and discussions addresses this looming
presence of battles mentally kept at bay.
As a prologue in July, we turn to Russia’s war in Ukraine—whose
relevance and proximity are now impossible to ignore. In a special
showing at Neue Galerie Graz, Steirischer Herbst presents historical and
contemporary video art and films about the war in Ukraine, curated by
*Mirela Baciak* and *David Riff*. Participating artists include *Pavel
Brăila*, *Oleksandr Dovzhenko*, *Dana Kavelina*, *Zoya Laktionova*,
*Kateryna *Lysovenk*o*, *Mykola Ridnyi*, and *Philip Sotnychenko*. The
opening on July 1 is accompanied by artists’ talks and discussions on
the meaning of the war in Ukraine to Austria.
The festival in autumn is centered around an even bigger exhibition in
both wings of the first floor of Neue Galerie Graz. The festival team
has researched lesser-known and forgotten works from the gallery’s
collection of 19th and 20th-century art, at times seemingly innocent and
at times disturbingly political. These works are juxtaposed with
contemporary artists’ projects, many of them newly commissioned. The
exhibition challenges classical modernist narratives and offers a
subjective and fragmented rereading of the collection, revealing traces
of ignored wars, hidden histories, and repressed conflicts. Drawing a
link between the past and the present, it explores the artistic
reflection of an increasingly polarized world shaped by the dismantling
of empires, ongoing colonialism, and mounting class struggles. Delving
into these darker sides of modernity, it also engages in a
self-reflection of the festival’s own deeper politics. This exhibition
is a cooperation with Neue Galerie Graz / Universalmuseum Joanneum and
remains open through February 12, 2023.
The performative program of the festival activates other themes and
memories related to wars and conflicts with newly commissioned
productions by*Boris Charmatz*,*Boris Nikitin*,*Theater im
Bahnhof*,*Giacomo Veronesi*,*Ming Wong*, and *Raed Yassin*.
In Forum Stadtpark, Steirischer Herbst shows an exhibition of filmmaker
*Harun Farocki*, directed against the wars of the 20th and 21st
centuries. It includes his lesser-known works and is accompanied by
discussions and talks, as well as the newly inaugurated herbst cabaret,
featuring *Verena Dengler*, *eSeL* (*Lorenz Seidler*), and *Les Trucs*.
In a new collaboration with the literary magazine /manuskripte/,
Steirischer Herbst contributes a special section with war diaries and
poems from Ukraine on the occasion of the festival, selected by the poet
*Galina Rymbu*.
*Artists:* Gabriel Abrantes, Friederike Anders, Boris Charmatz, Keti
Chukhrov, Josef Dabernig, Harun Farocki, Jannik Franzen, Aslan Goisum,
Assaf Gruber, Emil Gruber, Flaka Haliti, Yuriy Illienko, Iman Issa,
Zhanna Kadyrova, Rajkamal Kahlon, Kateryna Lysovenko, Ekaterina
Muromtseva, Henrike Naumann, Navaridas & Deutinger, Boris Nikitin, Igor
Friedrich Petković, Nihad Nino Pušija, Mykola Ridnyi, Willem de Rooij,
Augustas Serapinas, Theater im Bahnhof, Giacomo Veronesi, Ming Wong,
Raed Yassin; herbst cabaret with Verena Dengler, eSeL (Lorenz Seidler),
Les Trucs; Zvjezdana Fio, Franz Yang-Močnik, and other artists from the
collection of Neue Galerie Graz
As ever, Steirischer Herbst embraces the varied Parallel Program by art
institutions in Graz and Styria, its traditional
festival-within-the-festival musikprotokoll and the literary festival
Out of Joint, as well as collaborations with new partners.
The full festival program will be available online on September 1, 2022.
Online accreditation for press and professionals opens in August 2022.
For prior registration and further information, please contact
pr...@steirischerherbst.at
The festival is curated by *Ekaterina Degot*,*Mirela Baciak*,*Dominik
Müller*,*Christoph Platz*, *David Riff*,*Gábor Thury* and created by the
whole team of Steirischer Herbst. With curatorial advice by *Goran Injac*.
Curators of the exhibition in Neue Galerie Graz: *Ekaterina Degot
*with*David Riff*,*Christoph Platz*,*Mirela Baciak*,*Barbara Seyerl
*(Steirischer Herbst), with curatorial advice by *Gudrun Danzer* and
*Günther Holler-Schuster* (Universalmuseum Joanneum)
(cross-posted from https://email.e-flux.com/ )
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