Situations and commitments
Specific Aspects of the Pedagogical Turn of the 1970s in Hungary / The work of Péter Forgács, István Sinkó & István Rév and the educational films of the Balázs Béla Studio
08 December 2023-14 January 2024
Opening: 7th of December 23, 7pm.
Curator: Virag Lődi
The exhibition focuses on specific creative engagements within public education by intellectuals of the late Kádár-era in Hungary, introducing democratic and critical attitudes and methods. The exploration of media artist Péter Forgács's complex experiment in aesthetic education between 1974 and 78 constitutes the axis of the exhibited material, but another semi-illegal school workshop led by economic historian István Rév and painter István Sinkó is also evoked. The political and social contexts of these pedagogical experiments are given more depth by the inclusion of a series of educational films made at the time in the Balázs Béla Studio, also highlighting the importance and educational aspects of the studio’s social film distribution program. The exhibition treats the above cultural practices within the intersection of pedagogy and art.
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ANTIDOXA_4 – Reading group GMT
Monday, 6th of November 2023, 6 p.m
Address:tranzit. ro/Cluj,
Napoca str, no 16, 1st floor, Cluj Napoca
[The event is held in Hungarian]
"The desirable goal of politics can be defined in philosophical terms by reflecting on what is Evil, the root cause of human suffering." (New Eastern European Left)
"Hippies, punks, antifas.
Feather merchants and shirkers.
Niggers. Lesbians. Anarchists. Jewish commies." (Dawn contemplation on communism and more)
There are many opinions about the thinking of Gáspár Miklós Tamás. Is there a political truth to be gleaned from his writings that goes beyond opinions? Once a month, we read a text from Gáspár Miklós Tamás' book “Antitézis” together, interpret it, discuss and debate it.
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THE DEPLOYMENT OF ART
Public presentation /
Dr. Clare Carolin,
Senior Lecturer in Art and Public Engagement, Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King’s College London
2nd of November 2023, 6 p.m.
tranzit.ro/ Iasi
Address: GreenHouse, Str. Sf. Atanasie nr. 25, Iași
tranzitiasi is welcoming you on Thursday, the 2nd of November to join us for a public talk where – using the findings of Clare Carolin`s doctoral research - we may start to understand retrospectively the way in which art can operate in very specific conflict zones or, more generally in times of war.
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Revisiting State Socialism (I)
A new series of conferences at tranzit.ro/Cluj partnered by Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj under the PNRR project Philosophy in Late Socialist Europe: Theoretical Practices in the Face of Polycrisis.
Thursday, October 26th, 2023, 6 p.m
Address: tranzit.ro/Cluj
Street.Napoca no 16, 1st floor, Cluj-Napoca
Jan Mervart, "Genealogy of Czechoslovak Stalinism"
Czechoslovak Stalinism represents a unique case within the countries of East Central Europe, because of its long duration based on the continuous legality of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. The author's focus is primarily on capturing the genealogy of Stalinism as a Gesamtkunstwerk based on the interconnectedness of individual conceptualizations, representations, and modes of communication. In doing so, he considers the central logos of Stalinism to be the dynamic that emerged from the tension between the constant fluidity of Stalinist policy and strategy, and the desire to formulate a unity of basic premises and binding rules.
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What fits into the Infinite Jest?
Conversation with Lili Kemény, writer, one of the translators of The Infinite Jest /
Moderated by Zsuzsa Selyem, writer, Associate Professor at UBB Cluj, Faculty of Letters.
Wednesday, 25.10.2023, 7 p.m.
Address: tranzit.ro/Cluj,
Napoca str, no 16, 1st floor, Cluj-Napoca
Even if it was written long time ago, David Foster Wallace's cult novel is about the now: the spectacle of politics, the destructive effects of competition, addictions, deadly entertainment, and everything that distracts us from reality. Radical realism is what the après-garde filmmaker of the roman calls a style with no silent extras: everyone's voice is heard.
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GRID / Andrei Nacu
Curator: Adrian Bojenoiu
Exhibition: 24th of October - 7th of November
tranzit.ro/ Iasi,
Address: GreenHouse, Str. Sf. Atanasie nr. 25, Iași
GRID is an incursion into the digital culture of image and representation that is based on a collaborative research by the artist Andrei Nacu in partnership with the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) in London and the Multidisciplinary Research Institute in Art (ICMA) within UNAGE Iași, realized in two exhibitions hosted by RAI London and Tranzit/Iasi and produced by Galeria ElectroPutere.
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Eastern European artists to participate in the main exhibition of Biennale Jogja 17 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
6th of October - 25th of November
Tranzit.ro/Bucharest in partnership with Jogja Biennale Foundation invites 12 participants and initiatives from Romania, Serbia, to Ukraine and Slovakia in the main exhibition of Jogja Biennale 17 under the project “Reclaiming Sociality around Land and the Rural” co-financed by The Romanian Cultural Institute through the Cantemir Programme. The biennial runs between 6 October and 25 November 2023 in various venues across Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Invited participants: Anca Benera & Arnold Estefan, Anca Bucur, Dan Vezentan, Eduard Constantin, Ilona Németh, Jelica Jovanović, Nikita Kadan, Ovidiu Țichindeleanu, Raluca Voinea, Raluca Popa, The Experimental Station for Research on Art and Life. Curated by Adelina Luft.
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The “Telephone: Communication Technology & Communicating Technology” podcast series
The “Telephone: Communication Technology & Communicating Technology” summer school organised by tranzit.ro/Cluj took place between the 14th and 20th of September of this year in Câmpu Cetații. It was a fruitful place for dialogue between participants, guest speakers and curators. The concepts about technology and society that acted as the project's foundation were developed and refined, leading to new connections between the speakers’ topics of interest, some of which were very unexpected.
As part of the “Telephone” project, we will be releasing a podcast series, featuring the guest speakers discussing their topics with each other. The whole 6-episode series will be available by the middle of November, and the first 4 episodes are already available on the project’s Facebook page. or here.
In the 1st episode, Alin Răuțoiu interviews Irina Dumitru and Alexandru Evanghelidis, the summer school’s curators, about the project’s objectives, what the stakes of the interdisciplinary study of technology are, and what’s next for the project. The episode also takes a quick look at the topics covered by the rest of the series.
The 2nd episode features Alin Răuțoiu, Marina Oprea, and Beti Toma discussing how we read the internet, who teaches us to read it, and what internet literacy even means.
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NON-WESTERN TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE GOOD LIFE
Freestanding Course at the Experimental Station For Research on Art and Life,
Siliștea Snagovului, Romania, 2023-2024.
Course leader: Ovidiu Tichindeleanu (retoolingclass@gmail.com)
* Wood Ladder, ~5.2m, dated 400-180 BC, Salt Mine Băile Figa
PREMISE
In 1973, based on collective research developed at CIDOC in Cuernavaca, Mexico, on the monopoly of the industrial mode of production, Ivan Illich argued that “two thirds of mankind still can avoid passing through the industrial age”; he also proposed the concept of a “multidimensional balance of human life” as the framework for rethinking technology and re-evaluating one’s relation to tools. Illich showed that it is possible to identify a balanced scale to the growth of anything, and raised the challenge of doing the work at identifying such scales and convivial tools. Such work would enable communities and societies to exit the trap of the paradigm of infinite accumulation, to develop self-sufficiency outside globalization, and to regain an ethical life outside extractivism, exploitation and impoverishment.
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Thoughts on the Political Economy of ULUS
Milan Đorđević, Vahida Ramujkić, Noa Treister
17.09. - 5.10.2023
Adress: GreenHouse, Str. Sf. Atanasie nr. 25, Iași
This exhibition presents the current thinking among members of ULUS (the Association of Fine Artists in Serbia) about the political economy of the organisation and its members. The two exhibitions presented - Susreti (Encounters) and Kraj kapitalizma (The End of Capitalism) - in the eyes of the organisers and many of ULUS’s members seemingly present opposite directions of politico-economic development. While Susreti gathered galleries from all around Serbia to present their artists, most of which are members of ULUS; Kraj kapitalizma invited artists and non-artists to develop models that enable a dignified life and active public action.
Following the exhibitions, two discussions were held reflecting on the concept and the practice of the exhibitions as precursors to the political economy that ULUS should practice. The questions that were put for the discussion of Susreti were: if, how much and in which way should ULUS participate in the art market? In the context of the very weak art market in Serbia, what is the difference between the artist being represented by a gallery and in an association? And with which actors in the sector of contemporary art and in which way should ULUS cooperate?
For the discussion of the exhibition Kraj kapitalizm the questions were: Would you define this exhibition as a political exhibition, and in what way? Who were the presenters and who were the visitors, i.e. who did the exhibition address? How did the setting of this exhibition - the official/traditional Spring exhibition of the representative professional association of fine artists of Serbia in its traditional pavilion - contribute to its concept? How was the funding by the capitalist state addressed by the exhibition? What political-economy should ULUS follow as a result of the exhibition? How exhibitions generally affect what the association is, how do they strengthen the community and collective of members i.e. what brings artists together?
In Iasi, documentary photographs of both exhibitions will be presented, as well as the discussions. On the 18th of September a new discussion was held in Iasi to continue the reflection arround the ways of organization of artists and how the questions above function in their own practices in the contexts of Iași and Chisinau, RM, basis for other artists present in this meeting.
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“Cordless Telephone: Communication Technology & Communicating Technology” – Summer School at Câmpu Cetăţii
14 - 20 September 2023
Câmpu Cetăţii, Mureş County
Cordless Telephone Summer School is organized at Câmpu Cetăţii, Mureş County by tranzit.ro/Cluj in partnership with the National Institute for Research and Development in Materials Physics and Dezarticulat.
It is intended for a mixed group of students from both STEM fields and the humanities who share an interest in the critical study of technology and in understanding how technology works. Our goal is to bring together different perspectives from these two spheres of intellectual life, usually separated by an artificial divide, viewing the technology through a philosophical, social, and cultural lens while maintaining a rigorous understanding of its workings.
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Oberliht Association & Druzhba Collective at tranzit.ro/ Iasi
Vladimir Us, Ghenadie Popescu and Maxim Polyakov with special participation of Veaceslav Fisticanu, Angela Candu, Ionuț Ion Savin, Inga Spravedlivaia, Dumitru Musteață, Adrian Moraru,
OPENING: 2nd of September 2023, 6.00 p.m. @tranzit.ro/ Iasi
ADRESS: GreenHouse, Str. Sf. Atanasie nr. 25, Iași
tranzit.ro/ Iași is pleased to present a conclusive group exhibition that pivots around the critical premise of organisational structures and how artistic scrutiny spreads and permeates the formal construct.
OBERLIHT ASSOCIATION is one of the leading non-government entities working and evolving in the field of culture in the Republic of Moldova. It was founded by an active group of people in the first decade of the 21st century as a specific situational response to the city of Chisinau.
THE EXHIBITION is an attempt to widen the context by gauging our own unique position and how the concept of “the civil society” was deployed during the post-socialist transformation of our societies. The objective to investigate the genesis of the “civil society” and identify the seeds and the fruits of this contested conceptual construct is in itself a labyrinth chore. By juxtaposing OBERLIHT’s inceptive activity with the current activities of the Druzhba (translated as “Friendship”) Collective, we have added more layers of complexity to the task. The artistic practice of the Druzhba Collective is an attempt to escape the formal dictums that segregate and control the categories of art and life. The two initiatives are cohesively sharing the The House of Zemstvo (Clădirea Cârmuirii Zemstvei Guberniale a Basarabiei) space amidst the other large groups of cultural, political and social organizations.
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ERSTE Foundation is main partner of tranzit:
