OPEN CALL – TRAINING IN PHOTOGRAPHY FOR YOUTH – HYBRID WORKSHOPS

We invite interested participants, up to 30 years old, to apply for the photography training offered as part of the project (In)Visible Traces: Artistic Memories of the Cold War. The project is organized by BLOCKFREI – Association for Culture and Communication in partnership with Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past (Croatia), Erkenntnis durch Erinnerung e.V. (Bautzner Straße Dresden), ARAC – Association for Contemporary Art in Bucharest (Romania), Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb (Croatia) and the artist Andrea Kulundzic.

 

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The project deals with the historical, political, social and cultural aspects of the Cold War period, focusing on the memory of marginalized and forgotten cultural heritage sites. Across Europe, many cultural heritage sites connected with the Cold War have been forgotten or marginalized. Despite their historical and cultural significance, these locations are often neglected, abandoned, and unknown, even to the local public, due to their difficult past, stories of suffering, and the political ideologies associated with them. Today, many European countries are grappling with how to deal with the legacy of the Cold War.

The project (In)Visible Traces. Artistic memories of the Cold War has the main aim to involve European citizens in a reflection on
will contribute to raising awareness and finding solutions to the questions: how to protect neglected cultural heritage sites? How to use the potential of heritage locations for art, education, culture, and tourism?
With the project, we want to contribute to safeguarding and promoting European cultural heritage from the Cold War, with a focus on heritage at risk. This includes post-war heritage in need of legal and physical protection or rebuilding, while also highlighting similarities and differences across Europe.

 

THE TRAINING

The training in photography (In)Visible Traces offers a space for participants from Austria, Croatia, Germany, and Romania to discuss, through the lenses of photography, different perspectives on the Cold war and transition in their countries, and current policies of memory connected to its heritage.

The training consists of theoretical and practical sessions, coordinated by trainers and associates from Documenta and the partner organizations. It will have a hybrid format, including:

 

• Online international sessions
  5 June 2024, 17:00 – 18:30 – First online session
  12 June 2024, 17:00 – 18:30 – Second online session
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• Study visits to local place of memory
  21 June 2024, 12:00 – 14:00 – (Study visit tour to Heroes ́ Monument of the Red Army, Schwarzenbergplatz, 1030 Vienna, Austria

The participants will participate together in the online sessions, and visit one location in their country.
Chosen photos from all participants will be included in an online exhibition.
The international sessions will be held in English language, and Study visit to local place of memory will be in German.

 

LOCAL PLACE OF MEMORY

Heroes ́ Monument of the Red Army (Heldendenkmal der Roten Armee), Schwarzenbergplatz, 1030 Vienna, Austria

The Heroes’ Monument of the Red Army, located in Vienna’s Schwarzenbergplatz, was erected by the Soviet Union in 1945 to commemorate Soviet soldiers who died during the liberation of Vienna from Nazi occupation. The monument was built in the aftermath of World War II, marking the Soviet contribution to the defeat of the Nazis and the liberation of Vienna. It served as a symbol of gratitude and remembrance for the sacrifices made by the Red Army when 17000 of its soldiers were killed.
The monument serves as a historical reminder of the complex relationship between Austria and the Soviet Union during the post-war period, however, it has undergone changes over the years as discussions arose about the appropriateness of Soviet monuments in various European cities. In 2013, it was decided to keep the monument in place, but with modifications to its inscription to reflect a more neutral and historical perspective. The modifications aimed to emphasize the importance of reconciliation and understanding between Austria and Russia, acknowledging the evolving political landscape and the desire
for peaceful relations.

 

More information about the Open Call is available on this link.

 

The call is organized through the project (In)Visible traces. Artistic memories of the Cold War and financed by the European Union through the Creative Europe program.