The Romanian Cultural Institute in London is delighted to partner with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and fellow EUNIC members in supporting “Fluid Futures: Recalibrating Land and History in Global Eastern Europe”, a one-day international symposium bringing together artists, curators, and researchers to explore the cultural, ecological, and political landscapes of Eastern Europe in a global context.
The event will examine how photography, moving image, and digital practices contribute to new understandings of the region’s past and present. Through three thematic panels, a keynote lecture, and a film screening, the event will open a dialogue on the ways in which artistic and intellectual practices address histories of State Socialism, post-socialist transformations, and contemporary global challenges.
Maja and Reuben Fowkes, co-founders of the Translocal Institute for Contemporary Art and co-directors of the Post-Socialist Art Centre (PACT) at University College London, will deliver the keynote lecture. The film screening will compriseMarxism Today (2010) anduse! value! exchange! (2010) by Phil Collins and Siniša Mitrovic.
The Romanian Cultural Institute is proud to highlight the participation of two distinguished Romanian speakers:
RALUCA VOINEA, curator and art critic, will be a key speaker in the panel “Land, Ecology and the Global Ecosystem.” Her presentation will reflect on her her longstanding work engaging with ecologies and natural resources/landscapes in Eastern Europe, and their global intersections and interactions. Based in Bucharest, Voinea is co-director of Tranzit Romania, with a long roster of relevant curatorial and research projects to draw on, which have had an international profile in institutions across Europe. Voinea was curator of the Romanian Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale.
ILEANA SELEJAN, Lecturer in Art History, Culture and Society at the University of Edinburgh, will contribute to the panel “Globality in Eastern Europe” and discuss her ongoing research into points of contact between Eastern Europe and Latin America. Focussing on a discursive model of cross-cultural and aesthetic transmission, her paper will offer a compelling and integral perspective of regional histories of global exchange. Selejan has held numerous academic positions in research and teaching at prestigious universities, including University College London, Wellesley College, West University Timisoara, and New York University. She was co-curator of the 2024 edition of BredaPhoto biennial.
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME:
10:00 – Museum opens and guests arrive
10:15 – Introduction and welcome
LAND, ECOLOGY AND THE GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM
10:20-11:10 – Keynote Lecture: Maja and Reuben Fowkes (University College London)
11:10-11:30 – Raluca Voinea (Tranzit Romania)
11:30-11:50 – Joanna Rajkowska (artist)
GLOBALITY IN EASTERN EUROPE
11:50-12:30 – Emese Mucsi (Capa Center) with Timea Junghaus (European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture)
12:30-12:50 - Ileana Selejan (University of Edinburgh)
12:50-14:00 – lunch
REFRAMING INHERITANCE
14:05 – Welcome back
14:10-14:40 – Anna Keszeg (MOME) and Kincső Bede (artist) in conversation
14:40-15:00 - Libuše Jarcovjaková (artist)
15:00-15:40 – Wiktoria Michalkiewicz (Independent Curator) in conversation with Lia Dostlieva (artist) and Anya Tsaruk (artist)
15:40-16:00 – coffee break
16:00-17:00 - Phil Collins and Siniša Mitrović (artists) film screening and in conversation with Catherine Troiano (V&A)
17:00 – close
Fluid Futures is supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute, Hungarian Cultural Centre, Adam Mickiewicz Institute Poland and the Czech Cultural Centre. Organised by the V&A Photography Section in collaboration with Emese Mucsi (Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center) and Wiktoria Michalkiewicz (Independent Curator).
