ironapplause.net

International exhibition and symposium of Young Visual Artists Awards network (yvaa.net)

4 October 2011 – 26 February 2012

Venue: Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava, Esterházy Palace, 3rd floor

Curators: Lucia Gavulová, Tijana Stepanović

Participating artists: Aneta Mona Chişa & Lucia Tkáčová, Hristina Ivanovska, Šejla Kamerić, Eva Koťátková, Jaroslav Kyša, Luiza Margan & Miha Presker, Mladen Miljanovič, Alban Muja, Verdan Perkov, Sašo Sedlaček, Ivana Smiljanic, Kamen Stoyanov, Samuil Stoyanov, Kateřina Šedá, Tomáš Vaněk, Katarina Zdjelar, Enkelejd Zonja

Exhibition Brochure  

The main theme of the exhibition is the phenomenon of ‘iron applause’, the complex connotation system of which enables us to think about issues that are inextricable from the role and mission of the YVAA network.  The iron applause is a slow, synchronized applause with which audiences, primarily in Central Europe and especially in Hungary, acknowledge outstanding artistic performance. The terms ‘iron curtain’ (‘eiserner Vorhang’) and ‘iron applause’ can be traced back to 18th century Germany, where all theatres were obligated to install fire-proof metal curtains. It was Winston Churchill who popularized the phrase ‘iron curtain’ as a political term in the 20th century.  

The first section of the show refers to applause as an explicit expression of appreciation, providing an opportunity to explore issues of artistic success, appreciation, reward, reflection, respect and various relations within the complex system of contemporary culture. As all of the YVAA network’s member countries once belonged to the realm of Soviet influence, a.k.a. that ‘behind the Iron Curtain’, the second part of the exhibition engages with the regional character of iron applause, dealing with the complex social processes and cultural paradoxes taking place in the contemporary societies of the former ‘Soviet bloc’. Furthermore, as iron applause can also be seen as an example of synchronization of networks, this exhibition is an attempt to interpret the importance of networks, collaboration, self-organization and social interaction.

Entire curatorial text

Further information: www.yvaa.net

Network and Synchronization 
international symposium

3 - 4 October 2011

Venue: Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava, Atelier

Symposium participants: Marco Antonini/US, Alenka Gregoric/SI, Juraj Cerny/SK, Viviana Checchia/IT, Nikita Kadan/UA, Chelsea Haines/US, Albert Heta/KS, Gjorgje Jovanovik/MK, Jiri Skala/CZ and others.

A two-day international symposium accompanies and further elaborates on the theme of the exhibition. YVAA artists, arts organizations, arts professionals and active sponsors from the 10 countries of the program as well as other international speakers and guests will gather in Bratislava around broad concepts such as: performance and reception; infrastructures and collaboration; and admiration and influences in contemporary art. The first day of the symposium will be an internal discussion of YVAA organizers and artists and the second day will be composed of three panel discussions.  

Monday, October 3

internal meeting of YVAA organizers

Tuesday, October 4

Session I -- Presenting, documenting and historicizing contemporary art.
Recent exhibitions of YVAA artists and other international projects will be discussed in terms of critical approaches to curating and contextualizing contemporary art of the YVAA countries internationally.

Session II -- Creating infrastructures and systems of support for contemporary art.
Artist collaborative projects, arts managers and organizations come together to discuss infrastructures and support systems for artists, the production and presentation of art. 

Session III -- Artists’ legacies, institutions, relationships and influences. 
Artists are invited to speak about their affinity to and collaboration with other artists, while institutions concerned with preserving and presenting artists' ideas, practices and legacies will do so in terms of promoting artistic development and public discussion.

Detailed information:

Organizer: The Foundation for a Civil Society, New York
Local coordination: The Foundation – Center for Contemporary Art, Bratislava 

Main partner: ERSTE Foundation.
Additional support by: Central European Initiative, Ministry of Culture of Slovakia, United States Embassy in Slovakia, Slovak National Gallery, Trust for Mutual Understanding, and various other US embassies. 

Awards and their organizers: ARDHJE AWARD – TICA – Tirana, Albania; ZVONO AWARD - Sarajevo Center for Contemporary Arts, Bosnia and Herzegovina; BAZA AWARD – Institute of Contemporary Art – Sofia, Bulgaria; RADOSLAV PUTAR AWARD - Institute for Contemporary Art, SCCA Zagreb, Croatia; JINDRICH CHALUPECKY AWARD - Jindrich Chalupecky Society, Czech Republic; ARTIST OF TOMORROW AWARD - Kosova Art Gallery, Kosovo; DENES AWARD - Contemporary Art Center Skopje, Macedonia; DIMITRIJE BASICEVIC MANGELOS AWARD – Dez org and Remont Gallery, Serbia; OSKAR CEPAN AWARD - Foundation/Center for Contemporary Arts, Slovakia; OHO AWARD - Zavod P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E. Gallery in Center P47, Slovenia.