Noemi Smolik, introduction speech
For some years now, questions of colonialism, its legacy and the way how to address this legacy have been central themes of contemporary art. It is noticeable that while artists and theoreticians from North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Arab countries are represented in exhibitions, symposia and debates on this topic, representatives from countries that were subject to the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union are simply not present.
The war in Ukraine has not only exposed Moscow's colonial claims but also revealed an ambivalent relationship between Western countries and those in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. While Western countries sought to address the security concerns arising from Moscow's colonial claims, insufficient attention was paid to the security, respect, and self-determination needs of these countries.
Therefore, it is necessary to ask: Why is it that in the West, hardly any attention is paid to the experiences of these countries? Why a supposedly binding global knowledge about colonialism and racism is produced without the inclusion of the experiences of the people from these regions, as witnessed by the absence of representatives from these countries in the current postcolonial debate? It is time for the people of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia to raise their voices.
The symposium in Prague, initiated by Hope Recycling Station and the working group it has launched at CCA Berlin in spring 2023, has set itself the task of making these voices heard.
Noemi Smolik grew up in Prague. She studied Art History, History and Philosophy in Cologne and New York. She has held chairs as Professor of Art History and Art Theory at the Universities of Fine Art in Hamburg and Dresden. Her texts on the topic of the Russian Avant-garde in the early 20th century and on contemporary art were published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in frieze/London, in artforum/New York, in e-flux/New York and Kunstforum/Cologne as well as in exhibition catalogues. She is a co-founder of Hope Recycling Station, a platform for lectures and discussions in Prague in order to connect Czech art scene with the international and to open a debate on colonialism, post colonialism and racism from Central and Eastern Europa and Central Asia. 2020 she received the ADKV-Art Cologne Preis for art critic. Her new book „Malevich`s Slap in the Face of Modern Taste. An Attempt to Decolonize the Writing of Art History“, which rewrites the art development between 1861 and 1921 in Russia from a postcolonial point of view, will be published next year by Matthes&Seitz, Berlin. She lives and works in Berlin and Prague.