Secondary Archive at Manifesta 14 Prishtina in Kosovo!
Over 160 female artists from Albania, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine are participating in the Secondary Archive project at 14th Manifesta Biennial. Secondaryarchive.org is a unique online archive that presents statements of three generations of female artists from Central and Eastern Europe. Manifesta 14, which this year takes place in the capital of Kosovo – Prishtina, is an opportunity for the platform to go beyond its current virtual framework. The archive will resonate in the space of the National Gallery in Kosovo as a sound-based piece composed of the voices of over 160 female artists. Manifesta 14 will last until 30.10.2022. All the exhibitions and events within the 100-day biennale program are free and open to the public.
The secondaryarchive.org platform was created in response to the lack of visibility of women from Central and Eastern Europe in recent art history. The digital archive, which the Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation and its partners have been working on for two years, is designed to showcase the works of female artists from this region and create a space where they will be able to speak in an active voice. So far, the platform has managed to collect hundreds of artistic statements by female artists from Belarus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine. All the artists in the archive were invited to participate in the exhibition at Manifesta 14. They were joined by artists from Albania, Kosovo and Serbia, whose statements will later be included in the digital archive.
The installation presented at Manifesta 14 intends to show a virtual archive in a real space through the medium of sound. The Secondary Archive resonates in the interiors of the National Gallery in Kosovo as a sound-based piece composed of the voices of female artists from 9 countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The content of the recordings takes various forms: from manifestos, through sound poetry, confessions and even arguments to simple words whispered or repeatedly shouted out.
This powerful wave of sound manifests the lack of presence, makes visible the invisibility of women, regions, unrecognized borders, languages and narratives. The project aims to help explore the cultural areas of the countries represented by the artists – to bring closer the intangible practices, knowledge and experiences of women in art, which have left few or no tangible traces.
The partners of the project decided to cancel out the role of a curator as well as selection of artists, wanting to avoid giving a preference to specific country or issue. To reflect the diversity and complexity of a region that is often perceived as culturally homogeneous, artists’ voices are recorded in the language of their choice. Subtitles in English and Albanian will ensure a dialogue between female artists from very different generations and political contexts, but who face similar issues of lack of recognition on western art scene.
Manifesta, which changes its location every two years, will is held this year in the capital of Kosovo, Prishtina. The nomadic biennial purposely strives to keep its distance from what is often seen as the dominant centers of artistic life, seeking instead fresh and fertile terrain to engage local, national and international audiences with new aspects and forms of artistic expression. The program created together with the local community focuses on catalyzing positive changes and empowering citizens in their efforts to reclaim public space. Manifesta 14 Prishtina will run from July 22nd to October 30th, 2022. All the exhibitions and events within the biennial are free and open to the public. More information: www.manifesta14.org
The Secondary Archive project at Manifesta 14 Prishtina is organized by the Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation (Poland) together with partners: Tirana Art. Lab (Albania), Ambasada Kultury (Belarus/Lithuania/Germany), MeetFactory (Czech Republic), Easttopics (Hungary), Oral History Initiative (Kosovo), Center for Cultural Decontamination (Serbia), björnsonova (Slovakia), Artsvit Gallery (Ukraine). The initiative is supported by the Visegrad Fund.
Secondary Archive at Manifesta 14 Prishtina
22.07-30.10.2022
The National Gallery of Kosovo
Artists:
Albania: Bora Baboçi & Jona Xhepa, Donika Çina, Yllka Gjollesha, Ledia Kostandini, Iva Lulashi, Violana Murataj, Silvi Naçi, Flutura Preka, Edit Pula, Merita Selimi, Eli Xoxa.
Belarus: Xisha Angelova, Alena Davidovich, Zhanna Gladko, Janna Grak, Masha Maroz, Volha Maslouskaya, Vika Mitrichenko, Marina Naprushkina, Ulyana Nevzorova, Ala Savashevich, Nadya Sayapina, Olga Sazykina, Antonina Slobodchikova, Anna Sokolova, Tamara Sokolova, Olia Sosnovskaya, Varvara Sudnik, Masha Svyatogor, Galina Vasilyeva, Natalya Zaloznaya, Alesia Zhitkevich.
Czech Republic: Darina Alster, Veronika Šrek Bromová, Markéta Garai, Libuše Jarcovjáková, Magdalena Jetelová, Alena Kotzmannová, Viktorie Langer, Mirka Ptáčková, Sráč Sam, Sláva Sobotovičová, Adéla Součková.
Poland: Basia Bańda, Anna Baumgart, Beata Ewa Białecka, Dobrawa Borkała, Bogna Burska, Izabela Chamczyk, Magdalena Ciemierkiewicz, Ewa Ciepielewska, Agata Cieślak, Martyna Czech, Tatiana Czekalska, Iwona Demko, Monika Drożyńska, Karolina Gembara, Małgorzata Goliszewska, Barbara Gryka, Małgorzata Gurowska, Izabella Gustowska, Joanna Helander, Marta Hryniuk, Ewa Hubar, Karolina Jabłońska, Edka Jarząb, Zuzanna Janin, Katarzyna Józefowicz, Agnieszka Kalinowska, Kle Mens, Kolektyw Łaski, Dominika Kowynia, Katarzyna Kozyra, Marta Krześlak, Aleksandra Kubiak, Agnieszka Kurant, Natalia LL, Ewa Łuczak, Agnieszka Mastalerz, Martyna Miller, Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Małgorzata Mycek, Ania Nowak, Dorota Podlaska, Aleka Polis, Marta Romankiv, Irmina Rusicka, Jadwiga Sawicka, Anna Siekierska, Aleksandra Ska, Jadwiga Subczyńska, Katarzyna Szumska, Małgorzata Turewicz-Lafranchi, Ewelina Węgiel, Jaśmina Wójcik, Agata Zbylut.
Hungary: Nikolett Balázs, Marianne Csáky, Orshi Drozdik, Sári Ember, Andrea Fajgerné Dudás, Viola Fátyol, Judit Kis, Katalin Ladik, Ágnes Éva Molnár, Viktória Monhor, Tímea Oravecz, Katharina Roters, Katarina Šević, Eszter Ágnes Szabó, Eszter Szabó, Lilla Szász, Henrietta Szira, Kata Tranker, Dominika Trapp.
Kosovo: Lirije Buliqi, HAVEIT, Majlinda Hoxha, Zake Prelvukaj, Miradije Ramiqi, Kaltrinë Rrustemi, Fitore Isufi Shukriu-Koja, Alketa Xhafa Mripa, Rudina Xhaferi, Valbona Zherka.
Serbia: Dubravka Đurić, Isidora Ilić, Ivana Ivković, Ana Knežević, Bojana Knežević, Neda Kovinić, Milena Maksimović (1976-2014), Marina Marković, Jelena Micić, Darinka Pop Mitić, Mima Orlović (1965-2020), Tanja Ostojić, Andrea Palašti, Vesna Pavlović, Jelica Radovanović, DRUGarica Milica Rakič, Ivana Smiljanić, Jasmina Tešanović, Milica Tomić, Vesna Vesić, Katarina Zdjelar, Dragana Žarevac.
Slovakia: Leontína Berková, Pavlína Fichta Čierna, Ľubomíra Sekerášová.
Ukraine: Yana Bachynska, Tereza Barabash, Oksana Chepelyk, Olia Fedorova, Uli Golub, Ksenia Hnylytska, Alevtina Kakhidze, Tetiana Kornieieva, Yulia Kostereva, Yulia Krivich, Maria Kulikovska, Anna Manankina, Valeria Troubina, Anna Zvyagintseva.
Project leader: Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation
Partners: Tirana Art Lab (Albania), Ambasada Kultury (Belarus/Lithuania/Germany), MeetFactory (Czech Republic), Easttopics (Hungary), Oral History Initiative (Kosovo), Center for Cultural Decontamination (Serbia), björnsonova (Slovakia), Artsvit Gallery (Ukraine).
In collaboration with: Asia Tsisar (Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation), Adela Demetja (Albania), Anna Chistoserdova and Valentina Kiselyova (Belarus), Piotr Sikora and Daniela Šiandorová (Czech Republic), Róna Kopeczky (Hungary), Erëmirë Krasniqi and Renea Begolli (Kosovo), Mirjana Dragosavljević, Simona Ognjanović, Dejan Vasić and Jelena Vesić (Serbia), Lucia Kvočáková (Slovakia), Iryna Polikarchuk (Ukraine).
Project manager: Ewa Mielczarek
Sound design: Ninja Guru Studio (Nick Acorne, Valerio Zanini)
Design and graphic identification: Marcel Kaczmarek
Website: Aleksandra Gajda
Promotion of the project: Joanna Andruszko
Promotion support: Zuzanna Andruszko
Production support: Magdalena Majewska (supervision), Natalia Nikoniuk, Vitalii Hetman, Maria Behmat, Renea Begolli
Supported by: Visegrad Fund