Aspects of Presence.
Art in Times of Militarisation
Taking the current deployment of a German brigade to Lithuania as a starting point, the symposium “Aspects of Presence: Art in Times of Militarisation” addresses contemporary militarisation from an artistic perspective. Focusing on the situation in Central and Eastern Europe, international artists and scholars explore the intersections of military, ecological and technological developments – as well as related artistic practices – through lectures, panel discussions and artistic contributions. The symposium also raises the question of how militarisation is shaping our present and future. A film programme and a performance will accompany the event.
The current deployment of the German brigade in Lithuania – for the first time in Bundeswehr history, soldiers are being permanently stationed abroad – is part of NATO’s strategy to reinforce its eastern borders in response to Russia’s ongoing military aggression against Ukraine. This deployment marks a significant geopolitical shift, reflecting profound transformations and historical continuities. It also brings to the fore shifting perceptions and global entanglements, cultural conflicts and anxieties that extend far beyond the military sphere.
The project “Aspects of Presence”, which is a collaboration between the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) in Vilnius, the Akademie der Künste, and the Goethe-Institut in Lithuania, unfolds in three stages: a symposium at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, an exhibition at CAC Vilnius and, ultimately, a publication.
Programme
Thursday, 5 June, 5:30 – 10 pm
5:30 pm, Welcome addresses and introduction “Aspects of Presence”
Manos Tsangaris, President of the Akademie der Künste
Johannes Ebert, Secretary General of the Goethe-Institut
Johanna M. Keller, Head of Programming, Akademie der Künste
Anna Maria Strauß, Head of the Goethe-Institut in Lithuania
Valentinas Klimašauskas, Director of the Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius
6 pm, Keynote
Tomas Venclova
7:30 pm, Film screening
Where Russia Ends, Ukraine 2023, 25 min.
Oleksiy Radynski
8 pm, Keynote
Necropolitics of Elemental Colonialism: From Mechanical to Decolonial Solidarity
Svitlana Matviyenko
8:30 pm, Panel discussion
The Footprint of War: Ecological Threats and the Militarisation of Infrastructures
With Nabil Ahmed, Philipp Goll, Svitlana Matviyenko
Moderation: Asia Bazdyrieva
Friday, 6 June, 3 – 10 pm
3 pm, Project presentations
Artistic Strategies in Response to Militarisation
Magda Szpecht, Tobias Zielony
Moderation: Virginija Januškevičiūtė
4:30 pm, Panel discussion
Images of War: Technological Violence, Aesthetics & Archive
With Maithu Bùi, Anna Engelhardt (online), Ali Akbar Mehta
Moderation: Clara Herrmann
6:30 pm, Panel discussion
Militarisation and Its Impact on Societies
With Teresa Koloma Beck, Deimantas Narkevičius
Moderation: Eglė Elena Murauskaitė
8:30 pm, Performance
Instructions for the Woodcutters and other songs
Lina Lapelytė
Film programme (ongoing), daily from 11 am
An Orange from Jaffa, France / Poland / Palestine, 2024, 27 min.
Mohammed Almughanni
Onset, UK/Poland 2023, 25 min.
Anna Engelhardt und Mark Cinkevich
I’m Not the Enemy, Germany 2011, 25 min./loop
Bjørn Melhus
The Dud Effect, Lithuania 2008, 15 min.
Deimantas Narkevičius
“Aspects of Presence” is a project by the Goethe-Institut in Lithuania, the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC), Vilnius and the Akademie der Künste.
Supported by the Lithuanian Cultural Attaché in Germany and the Lithuanian Culture Institute (LCI)
An event in the context of “Widerstand der Ästhetik” (Resistance of Aesthetics)
At a time when the narrative styles of social media, short clips, fake news and AI are becoming a political power factor, a resistant, ultimately enlightening aesthetic is becoming a duty. However, it often unfolds its power precisely when it is not overtly political. How can resistance then succeed? The Akademie is devoting a series of events to this question.