Turning the focus on Balkan art
Tracing the common ties between Balkan countries is to follow their complicated, turbulent history which is marked by shifting alliances, controversies and tension. Ethnic and political ruptures have been as much a part of the Baltic region as a sense of unification has, a common consciousness cultivated among people long held under the single power of the Ottoman Empire, followed, for some Balkan countries at least, by a shared communist regime. It is to this common background, so much associated with the «Balkan identity,» that recent history has added yet another reason for thinking of Balkan countries in unified terms: This is the common challenge of making the transition from communist societies to free market economies; a transition that is also faced by many other countries but, in the case of the Balkans, is arguably distinct because of the countries’ different societal structures. «European Contemporary Art. The Art of the Balkan Countries,» an art exhibit currently on view at the State Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki and conceived by its director, Miltiades Papanikolaou, is largely about this transition. A collaboration between the state museums of contemporary art in nine Balkan countries, including Greece, the exhibit shows the works of artists selected by each museum director from their own country. The countries included are Greece, Albania, Turkey, Slovenia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The fact that the works are selected by official, state museums makes this more of an exhibit about emerging situations in art’s institutional structure than about identifiable artistic trends. This is not the place to look for a representative sample of each country’s art for the simple reason that the selection is too fragmentary to help make conclusive remarks. And neither is it good for drawing a distinct Balkan artistic identity. If there is a common Balkan artistic identity, it is to be found less in the art than in a more general transition in respect to the organization, promotion and marketing of art. Like the art produced, this kind of transition varies from country to country, with Greece – the only fully Western country – and Turkey standing out from the rest. Although one can perhaps speak of cultural «emerging situations» in both countries, each is quite distinct. In the case of Greece, for example, it can best be captured in the recently founded museums. Realizing that art and culture can be instruments of efficient politics, Balkan countries are gradually bolstering their own institutions. According to Irina Subotic, professor of modern art history at the Academy of Fine arts in Novi Sad and the School of Architecture in Belgrade, who helped organize the exhibit, one of the currently most dynamic museums in the Balkans is in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is a museum with an international perspective and has a director who is promoting both experimental works and networking but, more importantly, has an association of both private and public sponsorship to rely on. An interesting emerging situation is also to be found in Bucharest, home to a newly founded Center for Contemporary Art. Things also look promising for Serajevo where «Ars Aevi,» a project initiated by a group of Bosnian artists and supported by international curators, will, at some point, materialize in a museum for contemporary art. Singling out the situation in Serajevo and Ljubljana, Subovic explains how Bulgaria and Romania are still facing financial problems which are more severe in the cases of Skopje in FYROM. She also mentions the museum in Sofia as an example of an institution which still holds onto old-fashioned values. In view of these varied situations, Subovic believes that the current exhibit is extremely important for putting the institutions to the test as well as providing an impetus for competition and improvement. By giving institutions the chance to make a public statement, the exhibit provides an opportunity for Balkan countries to escape their cultural isolation and bring their art to international attention. Art from the Balkans has, of course, been shown before but more in independent curatorial work – which has been extremely dynamic – than through state museums. International curators have also looked into Balkan art in the past and many Balkan artists themselves have made significant international careers (some are included in the exhibit). But the time has come for art to be promoted by the state institutions, an objective which the current exhibit could help attain. That the initiative comes from the State Museum of Contemporary Art is also indicative of the museum’s policy. Balkan art has been a field of interest for the museum – particularly its more experimental department, the so-called Center for Contemporary Art, which organizes an annual forum on the art of Southeastern Europe – and there are plans for more Balkan-related projects. «European Contemporary Art. The Art of the Balkan Countries” is, however, an exhibit that can also be enjoyed on another level. One of its major objectives is to show that the Balkan region is not limited to problems, rivalry and conflict but is an area with a rich cultural heritage now claiming a more global identity. As such, it is an exhibit about cultural politics and the growing significance placed on art as a tool for policy-making. It is also an exhibit that helps trigger some thought on what is local, international and global in art.
