Censorship and Identity | Performing Identity- Performance Art facing contemporary societal challenges

Censorship and Identity | Performing Identity- Performance Art facing contemporary societal challenges

17-25.02.2024, Poznan, Poland
Seminar and Workshops

Why identity censorship ???

THE MAIN ELEMENT OF THE POZNAN WORKSHOP IS A CYCLE OF WORKSHOPS LED BY ARTISTS/PEDAGOGUES/CURATORS REPRESENTING THE THREE THEMATIC BLOCKS FOR CENSORSHIP AND IDENTITY:

– PUBLIC SPACE AND THE BODY

– POLITICS AND ART

– CENSORSHIP, GENDER, DEMOCRACY

THESE 3 BLOCKS, WHICH ARE STRONGLY INTERCONNECTED AND INFLUENCE EACH OTHER, WILL RESPOND TO THE OFTEN-IGNORED PROBLEM OF FREEDOM IN ART.

TO THE IGNORED PROBLEM OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN SOCIETIES WHERE CENSORSHIP IS LATENT.

POLAND IS NOW ONE OF THE LEADING EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES VIOLATING DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES, VIEWING CULTURE THROUGH THE PRISM OF POLITICS, RELIGION AND CULTURAL DEPENDENCIES. WHAT PREVIOUS GOVERNMENTS BUILT UP FOR 30 YEARS AFTER LEAVING COMMUNISM HAS BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY DESTROYED BY A VERY RIGHT-WING GOVERNMENT OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS.

THERE HAS BEEN NO INSTITUTIONALISED CENSORSHIP IN POLAND SINCE APRIL 1990.

HOWEVER, IT STILL EXISTS AND HAS INTENSIFIED IN RECENT YEARS, ESPECIALLY IN ARTS AND HUMANITIES EDUCATION, WHERE THE IMPOSITION OF CERTAIN ‘CORRECT’ IDEAS IS STANDARD.

THIS IS STRONGLY REFLECTED IN THE ARTS, AS WELL AS ARTS EDUCATION. INSTITUTIONS THAT PROMOTE CULTURE ARE CENSORED. THE SAME APPLIES TO THE PUBLIC MEDIA. HUMAN RIGHTS HAVE BEEN INCREASINGLY VIOLATED.

ARTISTS HAVE TO FACE THE PROBLEM OF CENSORSHIP MORE THAN ONCE. THIS APPLIES TO GALLERIES, THE LACK OF ACCESS TO OPEN FESTIVALS (WHICH FUNCTIONED UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO).

CONTEMPORARY ART, ESPECIALLY PERFORMANCE, IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS THAT HAS DISAPPEARED FROM PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS PROMOTING ART AND CULTURE. IN THE LAST EIGHT YEARS.

THE WORKSHOP WILL BE BASED ON A PROVOCATIVE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE SCOPE OF FREEDOM AND ITS LIMITATIONS OPERATING IN MANY (NOT ONLY EUROPEAN) COUNTRIES…