News
Caucasus Analytical Digest
artasfoundation and its project partners commit themselves to broaden their range of experience through the exchange of ideas on art and artistic collaboration and thus enable a diversity of opinions and give new impulses to (civil) society. In the latest edition of the Caucasus Analytical Digest on Arts in Society, edited by our project manager Sandra Frimmel as a special editor, our long term project partners explore the question of how artists as well as newly founded grass root institutions are seeking exchange with the so called international art world by means of field reports and self analysis without completely losing sight of the local traditions and starting conditions. It's worth a read!
Jour Fixe on 18 Aug 2021, 17.15 h, Swiss time
The Jour Fixe will take place in a hybrid form, both, in our office at Lindenbachstrasse 21 in Zurich and in virtual space.
This time we are inviting filmmaker Lea Fröhlicher, who will show her film Yerevan for the Time Being.
Observations on one of the largest construction sites in the center of Armenia's capital are juxtaposed with the living situation of three neighbors. They have been living or working here for years. A wall of one of their rooms is directly alongside the excavation pit. The club rooms of the choir Litte Singers of Armenia are located in a part of the building, which recently started to collapse. The living situation and place of work are literally insecure and sooner or later they too may give way. The film also portrays people involved in the construction site: Construction workers, the project architect and the site manager.
The film will be shown in Armenian language with English subtitles.
artasfoundation invites you to its regular meeting Jour Fixe every 3rd Wednesday of the month in order to discuss ongoing projects as well as answer questions raised by the work or relevant political developments. Since Covid-19 started, we have been holding the Jour Fixe via Zoom, taking the opportunity to also invite people from further away. Depending on participants the discussion will take place in English or German.
If you wish to be informed about the agenda each month, please sign up on our Jour Fixe e-mail distribution list here.
Circular
From the current circular
In the small town of Berd near the border of Azerbaijan, Armen Melikyan, the director of the local cultural centre, describes how ‘now in the post-war depression’, the interest in art has increased. ‘Parents want something uplifting for their children, we have more requests than usually,’ he says. The invitation to our dance project comes just at the right time. This is also the impression of Shoghakat Mlke Galstyan, with whom we have already worked on several projects, and whose art initiative for refugees from Karabakh we supported when the borders were still closed for us due to Covid-19. Shoghakat shares our desire to deconstruct images of the enemy through art activities. But she reports how difficult this is at the moment: ‘You should see the horror images that are being spread on social media right now. All our young people see them, and then we try to tell them that on the other side of the border there are people like us.’
How easy it is to destroy and how much time and patience it takes to rebuild!
Dear friends of artasfoundation, we are not discouraged by this! Here we are telling you about the steps that we currently take to support such rebuilding.
Thank you for your interest and your contribution!
The artasfoundation team