Srpski ispod.

As part of the preparation for establishing an international cooperative of visual artists, we are launching a reading group as a space for collectively reflecting on solidarity, collective work, and the political foundations of organizing in the arts. Besides being a legal and economic matter, the formation of a cooperative is also a question of understanding historical struggles around emancipation, ideology, and social change.

We will begin on Friday, March 20, in the afternoon. The first meeting will be introductory and dedicated to getting to know the participants, presenting the Shared Visions project, and agreeing on the working format of the reading group. After that, meetings will take place every Friday online via Zoom. In the period of two weeks, we will read around 30 pages, which participants will be able to discuss at any of the two consequent sessions. Discussions will focus on understanding both the historical context of the texts and their contemporary implications. The working language of the group is English, as it is intended for an international team.

The first text will be Fathers and Sons by Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1861), a novel that, through generational conflict and the emergence of nihilism, raises questions of political emancipation and social tensions. We will then continue with What Is to Be Done? by Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Notes from Underground, and later with twentieth-century dystopian novels (We, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, 1984), tracing how ideas of collectivity, self-management, and their critiques unfold through literature. You can read more about the reading plan here.

The reading group will be led by cultural worker Nebojša Milikić and builds on the earlier experience of the program “THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE (D)EVIL” (Bibliotok, Cultural Centre Rex in Belgrade), in which literature was approached as a site where ideological conflicts are articulated. Here as well, our aim is to connect reading with the contemporary effort to build a cooperative structure in the field of visual arts, particularly in the context of the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

You can apply to participate by submitting a form by March 15. After the registration period closes, all participants will receive details for accessing the Zoom meetings.

*The illustration is a cadre from François Roland Truffaut's movie “Fahrenheit 451” in which one of the books that are burned is Turgenev's Fathers and Sons.

Priključite se našoj čitajućoj grupi DOBAR LOŠ Z(N)AO

U okviru pripreme osnivanja međunarodne zadruge vizuelnih umetnika pokrećemo čitajuću grupu kao prostor zajedničkog promišljanja solidarnosti, kolektivnog rada i političkih osnova organizovanja u umetnosti – jer izgradnja zadruge nije samo pravno i ekonomsko pitanje, već i pitanje razumevanja istorijskih borbi oko emancipacije, ideologije i društvene promene.

Počinjemo u petak, 20. marta, u popodnevnim časovima. Prvi susret biće uvodni i biće posvećen upoznavanju učesnika, predstavljanju projekta Shared Visions i dogovoru o načinu rada čitajuće grupe. Nakon toga, susreti će se održavati svakog drugog petka onlajn, putem Zoom-a. IU periodu od dve nedelje pročitaćemo oko 30 stranica, koje će učesnici moći da diskutuju na bilo kojoj od naredne dve sesije. Razgovori će biti usmereni na razumevanje istorijskog konteksta i savremenih implikacija pročitanog. Radni jezik grupe je engleski, jer je namenjena internacionalnom timu.

Prvi tekst će biti „Očevi i deca“ Ivana Sergejeviča Turgenjeva (1861), roman koji kroz sukob generacija i pojavu nihilizma otvara pitanja političke emancipacije i društvenih napetosti. Zatim, nastavljamo sa „Šta da se radi?“ Nikolaja Černiševskog, „Zapisima iz podzemlja“, a potom i sa distopijskim romanima XX veka („Mi“, „Vrli novi svet“, „Farenhajt 451“, „1984“), prateći kako se ideje kolektivnosti, samoupravljanja i njihove kritike razvijaju kroz književnost. Više o planu čitajuće grupe možete čitati ovde.

Čitajuću grupu vodi kulturni radnik Nebojša Milikić i ona se nadovezuje na ranije iskustvo programa „Dobar loš z(n)ao“ (Bibliotok, KC Rex u Beogradu), u okviru kojeg je književnost bila čitana kao prostor artikulacije ideoloških sukoba. I ovde nam je cilj da čitanje povežemo sa savremenim pokušajem izgradnje zadružne strukture u polju vizuelnih umetnosti, posebno u kontekstu Balkana i Istočne Evrope.

Prijavite se za učešće do 15. marta, a nakon zatvaranja prijava, svim učesnicima ćemo poslati detalje za pristup Zoom sastancima.

*Ilustracija je kadar iz filma „Fahrenheit 451“ Fransoa Rolana Trifoa, u kojem je jedna od knjiga koje se spaljuju Turgenjevljev roman „Očevi i deca“.