03 Dec 2014

Spaces of Uncertainty at Hungarian University of Fine Arts

SPACES OF UNCERTAINTY

Today, the globally mutating megalopolis, whether post-industrial or developing, third world or first world, is a demographic amalgamation of nationalities, religions and classes. This diversity of peoples provides an abundantly rich environment within which the objectives and values of daily life are played out. Each day, on street corners, in parks, factories, office buildings and shopping malls – on the metro, in cafes or homes - the consequences of globalization and the precariousness of fragile urban and planetary ecosystems are encountered and experienced.

The fragmented nature of the urban condition, the tenuousness of the dominant markers of identity and the blurring of stabilizing ideological and cultural foundations adds uncertainty to city life; this unbalancing of social cohesion frequently fosters fear of the foreign or unfamiliar: the immigrant, subaltern or socially marginal. Demagogic fear mongering, persistent forms of sexual discrimination, various forms of media misrepresentation and overt racism are now frequently employed in debates regarding immigration, cultural diversities, religion and the characteristics of national or cultural identity.

The shadows of economic uncertainty exist alongside the anxieties fostered by acts of political violence. Streets, areas of mass transit, safeguarded shopping malls all remain vulnerable despite the pervasive technologies of urban surveillance; encroachments on mobility or the disappearance of public spaces have displaced utopian visions of the urban environment. By chance or design, undercurrents of fear or foreboding enter into the rhythms of daily life.

These issues are covered by the diverse projects that define the Spaces of Uncertainty exhibition presented in the Barcsay Hall of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts. The work is the result of collaboration between seven fine art programs at European universities and art academies. It includes work by over fifty local, Erasmus and visiting students from Europe and Latin America and Asia. The exhibition has been organized and curated by the Mapping the Local program at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts.

Curators: Eszter Lázár and Allan Siegel (MKE)

Participating Institution Coordinators: Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Bratislava -Kisspal Szabolcs, Lutherova Senesi; Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee - Edward Summerton, Tracy Mackenna; Hungarian University of Fine Arts - László Lelkes, Valeria Sass, Bea Istvánkó, Márta Rácz; Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow - Artur Tajber, Bogdan Achimescu; Kingston University - Fleeta Chew Siegel; Nottingham Trent University - Andrew Brown; State Academy of Fine Arts, Stuttgart - Oliver Wetterauer;

Special Thanks: Eszter Dalma Kollár, Ráhel Molnár, Luca Pintér, Anna Tüdős, Krisztina Varga

Related programmes

01 December 5 PM Barcsay Hall, main building (1062 Budapest, Andrássy 69-71)
prof. Judit Bodnár, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Central European University, Budapest - Public Space—An Open Script
Public space is peculiar to cities; it is the clearest expression of the urban predicament, the tension between physical proximity and moral remoteness. Living among strangers requires embracing uncertainty. The talk examines the ambivalence and political potentials of this condition.

02 December 5 PM, Barcsay Hall, main building
Kriszta Varga, Róza Tekla Szilágyi, Tamás Don - MA students at the Art Theory and Curatorial Department, Hungarian University of Fine Arts
Mapping the cultural institutions

03 December
OpenCity – Budapest sound tour from 2.30 and 4 PM.
Andrew Brown, senior lecturer at College of Art & Design and Built Environment, School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University