Enlargement of EU Cultural Policy as seen from east of EU

Beral Madra

2003 "What does it mean 'east of Europe'? Why are we meeting here to discuss this theme?" These were the first words of Mai Abu El Dahab, a young curator from Egypt, who was invited by the AICA-Turkey to a workshop and the round-table titled "Art Criticism and Curatorial Practices East of EU" that was held during the opening days of the 8th Istanbul Biennale (18th-21st September, 2003/www.aicaturkey.org ).

She was correct! The geographic imaginary in the title did indeed sound somewhat disturbing: The title frames the horizon by privileging EU as the centre and positions non-EU cultural agents as the subjects of European periphery. Nonetheless, there is an urgent need to question the positive and negative aspects of the new cultural policies of the united Europe and there are some tendencies that deserve to be scrutinized.

Are we, those who are to the "east of Europe," a part of the new networks of communication and efficacy that EU is presently maintaining or not? Looking at the Istanbul Biennale with its ambitious organisation, it is easy to convince ourselves that we are already a part of this network. Nonetheless, when the local infrastructure and the art appreciation around the Biennale are taken into account, it is easy to see this as a naïve make-believe.

Paradox is that Istanbul, particularly with its Biennale and promising intentions, maintains its function as a zone of junction for the cultural existence in the Balkans, South Caucasus and Middle East where the contemporary creativity in all disciplines emerge with resourceful private initiative without any significant degree of awareness or support from the governments and politicians. Maybe this predicament may explain why the contested title/topic is chosen for the roundtable: The promise of European "public support" for arts is too attractive to not take it into consideration.

This international workshop and roundtable was not only conceived as a critical and theoretical contribution to the 8th Istanbul Biennial, but it also focused on defining current practices in international networking and co-operation, on available models and tools for co-production, on funding opportunities and curatorial independence. The Istanbul Biennial, as a modular part of the recently emerging international system of biennials and the cultural infrastructure of the region to the "east of the EU", is mostly seen as a space for experience and training for young professionals who are engaged with curatorial practice, art criticism, and cultural journalism. Whether it fullfils this function or not, is yet to be discussed.

Although the participants of the AICA Turkey forum came from very different cultural scenes, the topics, questions, and problems raised and debated during the sessions were surprisingly similar. During and between the sessions, the participants from the EU countries were seeking moments and spaces to communicate and to transmit their knowledge and experience, whereas the participants from the non-EU countries were looking for cooperation and collaboration

Among the common themes were the dilemmas of the institutional background of art production and its effects on the public sphere; the art production and its relations to the official discourses; the geographic and contextual diversity of the positions, visions and ethical orientations of the curators and the art-critics. It has been concluded that in contrast to the perfectionism that characterizes the international mainstream art with its strong links to the official institutions, the private sector and the art market, the art actions and productions in non-EU countries are fragmented and sporadic; that the main obstacles on the way to a multi-lateral collaboration are the differences between the infrastructures (education systems, policies and administrative philosophies of official and private institutions) and the markets of the cultural products as well as the absence of theoretical exchange.

Indeed, the fact that there were three other similar forums in some of the neighbours of Turkey is not a matter of coincidence, but the result of the determined collaborative efforts and networking. Similar topics to those that are discussed in AICA-Turkey in Istanbul were also discussed in Tibilisi, October 1-6,2003 with participants from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Greece, and Turkey in a forum titled 'Cavansarai' initiated by Shalva Khakhanashvili (www.caucasus.art.ge), Nino Metreveli, N Gallery (ngalerea@access.sanet.ge) and New Art Union (www.newart.org.ge) and supported by the ministries of culture and foreign affairs of Georgia, by Tibilisi University and Fine Arts Academy and Apollonia (Strasbourg).

Two other art centres that proclaim close attention of the cultural policy of EU are in Baku and Beirut.

Farid Abdoulayev (Azerbaijan), Serhan Ada (Turkey), Ali Akay (Turkey), Esra Aliçavuşoğlu (Turkey), Ahu Antmen (Turkey), Susan Barnes Bubig (UK), Ramon Tio Bellido (France), Rene Block (Germany), Jeroen Boomgaard (Netherlands), Pascal Brunet (France), Levent Çalıkoğlu (Turkey), Christian Chambert (Sweden), Sandra Dagher(Lebanon), Mai Abu El Dahab (Egypt), Cem Erciyes (Turkey), Zoran Eric (Serbia-Montenegro), Eva Fotiadi (Macedonia), Hedwig Fijen (Denmark), Haşim Nur Gürel (Turkey), Massimiliano Gioni (Italy), Khaled Hafez (Egypt), Henry Meyric Hughes (UK), Vicky Karaiskou (Greece), Beral Madra (Turkey), Mahir Namur (Turkey), Tea Paichadze (Georgia), Vanessa Reed (Netherlands), Anda Rottenberg (Poland), Sajid Rizvi, (UK),Efi Strousa (Greece), Stephen Wright (UK)

"Homeworks II"(31 October-6 November, 2003) was the title of the forum and exhibition series in Beirut initiated and organised by Christine Tohme, the founder and the president of Ashkal Alwan (ashkalalwan@terra.net.lb ), an association for contemporary art.

(2) Leyla Akhundzadeh's show and forum "Aliminium" (art and new technologies) with artists from Azerbaijan and the region which was realised 3rd-6th November 2003 is the second version that takes place in Baku since 2000. Azerbaijan State Museum Centre and "Qiz Qalasi" Gallery were the main venues of exhibitions and video-shows under the title "Watching Movement". It is quite a paradox that we are trying to re-establish our relationship in the Balkan's, in South Caucasus and in the Middle East. The winds of globalisation is forcing us to do so. When we think back, just 80 years ago the winds blowing from the West again, had separated and isolated us from each other, leaving deep scars, incurable traumas and un-repairable ruptures. It is bizarre in the sense that the history repeats itself and that the winds are always blowing from the West onwards and sweeping away something from us or imposing something on us.

Now, the same winds are changing the culture climate in our territories for good and for bad, for acceptable and unacceptable. The local artists, critics and curators are compelled to acknowledge that the EU culture system is to be adopted and that curators of EU institutions are doing their best for them, within their limits. The reality is that the contemporary art in these centres still remains a delicate and intricate issue to master. The EU experts must consider that one cannot implement the market bound ethics and rules of networking of EU everywhere; not even in the Balkan, even if it is an organic part of Europe.

The historical background, the memory, the peculiar process of modernism and post-modernism, and the current economic turbulence in these regions has a deep impact on the cultural life and cultural production, which cannot be imagined and articulated by an outsider.

2.The lecturers were staged at the famous Medina Theater, in which the Syrian poet Adonis, the Palestinians Anton Shammas and Prof.Selim Tamari and the poet from Bagdat Mohammed Mazloum have investigated and revealed the current state of affairs in the region. Fouad El Khoury, Jalal Toufic, Gassan Salhab, Hadjithomas& Joreige, Tony Chakar and Elias Suleiman have presented films and videos with political and sociological content.