Felhívás /// Work in Context International Symposium Central European Photography: past, present, future

Work in Context /// International Photography Symposium
Theme /// Photography in Central Europe: past, present, future
June 25th - 26th 2021 off- and online

The symposium aims to discuss advantages and disadvantages of the Central European Photography scene through past and present experiences while keeping an eye on future challenges. What binds us together and what tears us apart? What unites us and what divides? What should be learned from failures, what opportunities do we face now and where do we need to improve in the future?

In photographic practices, several generations work together parallel to each other. In 2021, practically speaking, three generations are active: the first, who had been accustomed to the past era, the communist period. In their worldview social sensitivity and documentary criticism are key factors to describe the present. They witnessed societal changes, shifts in political settings and economics.
The second, the ‘mid’ generation received its artistic education in the nineties. They were the newcomers who had possibility to travel, to get international grants and to be part of the global photography life. Their practice faced the challenge of rapid technological change from analog to digital. They made judgments on what is artistic and what is commercial technology. They attempted to redefine 'East-European' identity dealing with the heritage of previous generations, and breathed in the new experience of the nineties, democracy.
And finally, the youngest of generations is flexible and free-thinking in defining who they are. For them global interests and problems to photograph are a must, and it seems to that the comparison between local and global fades away. Still, the personal environments and the communities they've come from are facing them, facing us, and facing the 'West' with the fact that Central Europe still has a distinct flavour and character.

Regarding our common historical and visual backgrounds, dialogue is a mutual interest: the symposium intends to find best practices that help us to cooperate in articulating our shared Central European identity. Considering the edifications of the past, we understand our present artistic reactions. With the analysis of possible opportunities of the art-education and the career models, maybe we can model a better assertion in the forthcoming years.

Keywords /// Central European Photography, cultural exchange, narrating history, educational methods, shared knowledge, common cause, art and politics, prospects of photography,

Sections and Fields of inquiry ///

/// PAST (How did we end up here?) /// History of photography: what do we know of each other? How to share information at the Central European level and how to interconnect parallel histories of photography? Do we have ideas on how to build inviting photographic platforms?

/// PRESENT (Who are we now?) /// Examples to follow, good practices and successful strategies artists and institutions apply to make international impact? What are the best practices used by artists to build on their Central European identity? The external view: what are the expectations of the global art scene?

/// FUTURE (What shall we learn?) /// What is the role and responsibilities of art education today and in the future? What paths educators should take to keep up with global dynamics? How should the institutional structure change to better represent Central European talent? How can we integrate the common platforms and social media tools in the institutional frames to help artistic carriers?

Application /// Submitted proposals for the 30 min presentations should address the three mentioned sections. Abstracts are very welcome from specialists working in different fields of research and education: philosophers, specialists in cultural studies, art historians, anthropologists, sociologists as well as those who are involved in practical research: museum workers, curators, collectors or artists.

Application form /// https://forms.gle/6MqdcdEpLHAdakdh6

Important dates /// Deadline for submissions: 31st March, 2021 Notification of authors: 20th of April, 2021
Conference: 25th - 26th of June, 2021

Location /// The symposium will be held on- and offline at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest (MOME), Department of Photography. To reduce carbon footprint, we only support travel by train or coach.

About the Organizing Committee:
Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest (MOME), Media Institute, Department of Photography. The Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) is home to quality education, research and innovation, where with the tools of creativity, we all work for a future where people are central.
Judit Gellér curator of Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, PhD student at ELTE, lecturer at MOME
Gábor Arion Kudász photographer, associate professor, head of Photography MA program of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design
Gábor Máté photographer, associate professor, head of Photography BA program of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design
Zsolt Petrányi art historian, head of the Contemporary Art Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery, lecturer at MOME

For more information please contact our Photography Department manager:
Tímea Fábry
email: fabry.timea@mome.hu
phone: +36 30 157 8953

Cover photo /// Balázs Turós: Parallel Realities, 2017