“Pause/Play: Culture under Pressure” is an international laboratory for artists, cultural practitioners, and other professionals passionate about digital technologies as vital tools in their artistic endeavors. The title captures the intricate dynamics of the contemporary art and culture scene in the (post)pandemic era, woven with political repressions in Belarus, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the post-war crisis in Armenia, and the turbulent situation in the South Caucasus. The project began in 2022 in Tbilisi, Georgia, and continued in Yerevan, Armenia, in November 2023. It also incorporated a preparatory online program, including lectures and mentoring sessions.
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The heightened insecurity within the cultural sector forced many institutions and individuals to suspend their regular activities indefinitely or shift them to digital formats. On the other hand, the digital environment opened up new perspectives and dimensions, facilitating international collaboration beyond political boundaries and institutional hierarchies. Consequently, this nurtured the growth of decentralized communities and horizontally structured initiatives.
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The laboratory offered lectures, presentations, and discussions on digital technologies and trends, such as AI, VR, the Metaverse, and Blockchain, exploring their use and impact on art and culture. Special attention was given to socially oriented and activist media art, as well as to strategies for forming self-organized initiatives, based on the principles of decolonization, social inclusion, solidarity, and active engagement with the local context and community.
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Participants in the project included artists and cultural practitioners who live in or recently migrated to Armenia, Georgia, Germany and Poland. Through their critical art and activist initiatives, they spoke out to resist wars, political repressions, neo-colonial and imperial ambitions of authoritarian states, and dictatorships.
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The selection of Tbilisi as the initial project location was motivated by several reasons. First, after the political repressions in Belarus and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it emerged as a focal point for refugees from Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Secondly, it symbolized Georgia’s transition from its Soviet past toward Europeanization and Westernization. The complex geopolitical dynamics within the South Caucasus, where Russia wields substantial influence and political pressure, gave rise to cultural transformations, intensified polarization, and increased colonial, political, and social conflicts.
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The successful conclusion of the first laboratory revealed the need for the project to extend and expand. This commitment to project expansion led organizers to select Yerevan, Armenia, as the next destination. While the Second Karabakh War in 2020 and the ensuing post-war crisis presented considerable challenges for the country with its young democracy, they also served as catalysts for transformative breakthroughs. Furthermore, in the wake of the war in Ukraine and the military operation targeting Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia witnessed a substantial influx of migrants. These ongoing developments exerted a profound impact on the socio-cultural fabric, which the project aimed to address within its program framework.
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Alongside an initial preparatory online program consisting of expert sessions in art, digital technologies, and decentralized project management, the laboratory included visits to local cultural institutions in Yerevan, discussions with cultural practitioners, contributions to projects, and the curation of a pop-up exhibition “Translating Transition” at Goethe Zentrum Eriwan with a series of public events, including performances and discussions on the experiences of migration, existence and development of art and culture in the face of political crises.
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The exhibition was also created in a virtual format.
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The final event - talk & zine launch took place in April 2024 at NgbK Berlin in cooperation with Disruption Network Lab.
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The project was curated and organized by Kulturschafft e. V. and CSN Lab, in partnership with Untitled Tbilisi, with financial support from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
✳
The heightened insecurity within the cultural sector forced many institutions and individuals to suspend their regular activities indefinitely or shift them to digital formats. On the other hand, the digital environment opened up new perspectives and dimensions, facilitating international collaboration beyond political boundaries and institutional hierarchies. Consequently, this nurtured the growth of decentralized communities and horizontally structured initiatives.
✳
The laboratory offered lectures, presentations, and discussions on digital technologies and trends, such as AI, VR, the Metaverse, and Blockchain, exploring their use and impact on art and culture. Special attention was given to socially oriented and activist media art, as well as to strategies for forming self-organized initiatives, based on the principles of decolonization, social inclusion, solidarity, and active engagement with the local context and community.
✳
Participants in the project included artists and cultural practitioners who live in or recently migrated to Armenia, Georgia, Germany and Poland. Through their critical art and activist initiatives, they spoke out to resist wars, political repressions, neo-colonial and imperial ambitions of authoritarian states, and dictatorships.
✳
The selection of Tbilisi as the initial project location was motivated by several reasons. First, after the political repressions in Belarus and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it emerged as a focal point for refugees from Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Secondly, it symbolized Georgia’s transition from its Soviet past toward Europeanization and Westernization. The complex geopolitical dynamics within the South Caucasus, where Russia wields substantial influence and political pressure, gave rise to cultural transformations, intensified polarization, and increased colonial, political, and social conflicts.
✳
The successful conclusion of the first laboratory revealed the need for the project to extend and expand. This commitment to project expansion led organizers to select Yerevan, Armenia, as the next destination. While the Second Karabakh War in 2020 and the ensuing post-war crisis presented considerable challenges for the country with its young democracy, they also served as catalysts for transformative breakthroughs. Furthermore, in the wake of the war in Ukraine and the military operation targeting Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia witnessed a substantial influx of migrants. These ongoing developments exerted a profound impact on the socio-cultural fabric, which the project aimed to address within its program framework.
✳
Alongside an initial preparatory online program consisting of expert sessions in art, digital technologies, and decentralized project management, the laboratory included visits to local cultural institutions in Yerevan, discussions with cultural practitioners, contributions to projects, and the curation of a pop-up exhibition “Translating Transition” at Goethe Zentrum Eriwan with a series of public events, including performances and discussions on the experiences of migration, existence and development of art and culture in the face of political crises.
✳
The exhibition was also created in a virtual format.
✳
The final event - talk & zine launch took place in April 2024 at NgbK Berlin in cooperation with Disruption Network Lab.
✳
✳
✳
✳
The project was curated and organized by Kulturschafft e. V. and CSN Lab, in partnership with Untitled Tbilisi, with financial support from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.