S.M.A.K. Museum, March, 2024
Disentangling Eurasia: Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and their Successors
Third Tallinn Summer School in Soviet History & Culture, July 2023
The Third Tallinn Summer School in Soviet History and Culture convened scholars specialising in Soviet and post-Soviet history for a week-long program aimed at reassessing and critically examining the field in the context of significant upheaval in the region. This interdisciplinary gathering facilitated a dynamic exchange of ideas through keynote presentations, workshops, and an engaging cultural program. Participants actively explored and challenged conventional approaches to Soviet multinationality, seeking to disentangle the diverse trajectories of the various nations and groups within the Soviet realm. The program encouraged a deeper understanding of the complexities and nuances that characterise the historical narratives of these groups, fostering an environment conducive to innovative scholarship in the field.
Why Remember?: Reframing Trauma
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, July 2024
The ‘Why Remember?’ conference 2024 addressed the complex and contested questions that face post-conflict societies. What should we remember, what should we forget, and, ultimately, why? How can traumatic pasts be engaged with in the present in productive ways? It will explore the role of publicly visible memory and its potential impact on issues such as reconciliation and healing in the wake of conflict and how, either consciously or unconsciously, memory processes shape the present and the future. These questions of memory (and forgetting) are intensely political and have far-reaching consequences, and thus these debates are vital to institutions of cultural memory that engage with the past to make sense of the present and build a more peaceful future.
University of Arts, London, March 2024
How do we conceptualise research and the formation of theoretical frameworks, as well as the notion of research as inherently entwined with artistic practice? Is there a distinct clarity in the intersections of these domains, or does the relationship remain inherently ambiguous? This inquiry aims to dissect and elaborate on the multifaceted perspectives surrounding research within the arts, focusing specifically on the duality of practice as research and theory as a form of practice. Our objective is to illuminate how research in the visual arts manifests in practice through a combination of scholarly readings, stimulating discussions, and collaborative efforts.
In this context, I had the privilege of co-organising the symposium alongside Caterina Albano and Northeastern University in Boston. My role extended beyond coordination; I actively participated as a speaker and presented my research paper, contributing to the rich dialogue and collaborative exploration of these themes within the arts research community.
University of Arts, London, March 2024
Established in 2004, the Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation (TrAIN) engages in comprehensive research that spans historical, theoretical, and practice-oriented dimensions within the fields of art, architecture, craft, and design.
The centre's research initiatives are motivated by a critical examination of prevailing concepts of globalisation. TrAIN seeks to broaden the discourse by introducing alternative perspectives that address pressing issues such as social injustice, the decolonisation of cultural institutions, and the development of a more inclusive and diverse global narrative in art history.
During my participation in this scholarly forum, I presented a detailed overview of my PhD research, highlighting my ongoing progress and the implications of my findings within the context of TrAIN's broader objectives. My presentation aimed to contribute to the critical dialogue on how artistic practices can serve as catalysts for social change and help reframe our understanding of cultural identity in a transnational context.
TrAIN Research Centre, 2021
I had the opportunity to present my research paper titled "An Underground Bridge to Free Collective Memory: Exhibitionary Practices in Georgia (1985–1995)" at the Postsocialism Art conference. This event was organised by the Transnational Art, Identity, and Nation (TrAIN) Research Centre, which is known for its rigorous exploration of the intersections between art, identity, and socio-political contexts. The conference was further supported by the British Society of Aesthetics and the Association for Art History, both of which are pivotal in the discourse surrounding contemporary aesthetics and historical art practices.
In my paper, I explored the role of exhibitionary practices in Georgia during the transformative period of the late 20th century, particularly focusing on how these practices contributed to the construction and re-interpretation of collective memory in the context of post-socialism. By analysing the socio-political landscape of Georgia in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's dissolution. This research not only sheds light on the specific regional dynamics but also contributes to broader discussions about the function of art in post-socialist societies.
University of Arts, London, 2024
The opportunity to present PhD research and its current progress at the student-led spring symposium was invaluable. This event was designed to foster meaningful conversations and strengthen the sense of community among students and faculty. The presentation covered the key objectives of the research, the methodologies employed, and preliminary findings that contribute to the understanding of the field. Engaging with peers and receiving feedback enriched the work and facilitated connections with fellow researchers.
Tbilisi Bristol Association talk, March 2024
A presentation was delivered to the members of the Bristol Tbilisi Association about the ongoing research entitled, “Collective Art Practices in Georgia 1985-1995: Collaborative Strategies for Addressing Political Turbulence.” This work explores the role of collaborative artistic practices in navigating the political challenges of that era.
Invited as a speaker at the “ before and after silence “, a lecture series, workshops and a multimedia exhibition. The project explored the discipline of collapsology through multimedia art installations and centred on an exhibition which opened on 8th September, Tbilisi, Georgia.
University of the Arts, London
Slavs & Tatars, December 2024
Slavs and Tatars is an internationally renowned art collective devoted to an area East of the former Berlin Wall and West of the Great Wall of China known as Eurasia. Since its inception in 2006, the collective has shown a keen grasp of polemical issues in society, clearing new paths for contemporary discourse via a wholly idiosyncratic form of knowledge production, including popular culture, spiritual and esoteric traditions, oral histories, modern myths, as well as scholarly research. Their work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at institutions across the globe, including the Vienna Secession; MoMA, New York; Salt, Istanbul; Albertinum Dresden, amongst others. The collective’s practice is based on three activities: exhibitions, publications, and lecture-performances. The collective has published more than twelve books to date, including their first children’s book, Azbuka Strikes Back with Walther und Franz König. In 2020, Slavs and Tatars opened Pickle Bar, a Slavic aperitivo bar-cum-project space a few doors down from their studio in the Moabit district of Berlin, as well as a residency and mentorship program for young professionals from the region.
I led the seminar that looked at Slav & Tatar’s extensive work on language and how this informs our understanding of regionalism.
Kateryna Botanova, February 2025
Becoming local: decolonial practices in visual arts in post-Maidan Ukraine
In the book Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climate Regime, Bruno Latour underlines the acute need for “carrying out two complementary movements that the ordeal of modernisation has made contradictory: attaching oneself to a particular patch of soil on the one hand, having access to the global world on the other.” Even though Latour’s message was primarily addressed to the Global North, which needed to reattach itself to the localities that were uncomfortably changing due to climate change and global migration, it has its urgency when read from outside the power node of the Global West.
The decolonial ‘reattachment to a particular patch of soil’ is a fight for regaining agency and voice, which is one’s own and the hierarchies that are implied within. However, these movements are often seen (and blamed) as nationalistic and driven by exclusive identity politics in the West.
The presentation by Kateryna focused on changes in visual art practices in Ukraine after 2014 that, instead of attempting to be ‘global’ and ‘universal,’ focused on localities and personal histories, on the meaning of being rooted, connected, caring, and responsible for them, and inquires about their invisibility for “Western” eyes.