On Colonial Continuity: Art and Migration in the New EUrope I
First broadcast: Mon 07.06.2010, 11.00 Uhr MEZ
A Broadcast in collaboration with: Ana Hoffner, Ivana Marjanovic
Ljubomir Bratic, philosopher and writer from Vienna, and Ivana Marjanovic, curator and theoretician from Vienna, discuss the history of Austrian migration and possibilities for artistic intervention in the new EUrope. Introduction and moderation by Ana Hoffner.
The discourse of European unification, constantly present in all contemporary socio-political, economic, and cultural fields, is inextricably connected to the history of European colonialism and expansion. Austria plays an important role in the present process of transition and integration of Eastern Europe into a unified EUrope. Even if Austria is not defined as a colonial power in the hegemonic version of history, Austria’s connection to eastern European states bears signs of colonial domination, going back to the Habsburg monarchy. It is evident that colonialism is not a closed historical epoch but rather a form of domination encountered in the present as well. Contemporary Austrian racism, the basis for policies hostile to migrants which result in deportation and illegality, derives its tradition from the history of European colonialism. Without this tradition the racist practices, which are widely supported by the Austrian population, would not be possible today. For this reason it is necessary to investigate the continuity of colonial modes of operation, not in order to formulate an essential declaration on Austria’s past, but rather to open up a capability for action in the present.
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Ana HOFFNER (*1980 in Yugoslavia) is an artist, theorist, performer and mentor based in Vienna. Hoffner studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and works in the fields of queer and migrant/postcolonial politics. Her projects include exhibitions, performances, lectures and publications in Austria and abroad.
www.anahoffner.com
Ivana MARJANOVIĆ is a curator, author, and the director of Kunstraum Innsbruck since 2019. Her work focuses on art and cultural production in the context of transnational knowledge, migration, the post-Yugoslavian space, and gender debates. Marjanović studied art history at the University of Belgrade (graduated in 2005). She completed her doctoral studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 2017. Since 2019, she has been a member of the editorial team of Migrazine – online magazine by migrant women for all (migrazine.at). Ivana Marjanović was a Büchsenhausen Fellow 2011-2012. During this time, she wrote the first chapter of the book QueerBeograd Cabaret at Künstler*innenhaus Büchsenhausen.