Rusanda Alexandru’s Post

I wrote an article for Reset! network about the issue of access to infrastructure for representatives of the independent cultural sector, about the precarity and lack of predictability of the alternative cultural spaces and about the collective efforts that we are coordinating to create sustainable models of participatory governance of public infrastructure. Please check it out! https://lnkd.in/d6qhraSX

New post on the “Remote XUAR” blog on #Uyghur Creative Production Across Borders ➡️ Sonya Imin reflects on her recent field trips to Almaty, #Kazakhstan in September 2023, Tashkent, #Uzbekistan in October 2023, and Istanbul, #Turkey in July-August 2024. ➡️ These three field trips showcase the diverse ways in which different Uyghur communities are using art to cope with experiences of disconnection and diasporic exile. Between the two visual art programs, there was a generational difference between the Central Asian artists and the Uyghur youth in Turkey. Whereas many of the Central Asian Uyghur artists migrated in the 1950s and 1960s, the Uyghur diaspora in Turkey arrived relatively recently. Many of the Uyghur youth came to Turkey between the ages of nine and fifteen, around 2012 to 2016, so they have their own memories of the homeland. The artists exhibiting in Tashkent, however, were either born in Central Asia or migrated as children around the 1960s. Some of the younger Uyghur artists were predominantly Russian speaking. The older generation of artists, some who were in their mid-80s, has been creating work for many decades. Some were self-taught, other received training in Soviet-era schools. By exhibiting in an established Tashkent art gallery, they positioned themselves in dialogue with other Central Asian contemporary artists. The Uyghur youth in Turkey, on the other hand, were not practicing artists. Some of the organizers and participants were studying fashion, design, or animation, but none had received formal fine arts training. Therefore, the focus was more on the role of art in cultural maintenance, connecting with identity and heritage, and what Uyghur visual culture looks like in diaspora. ➡️ Based on this fieldwork and conversations with artists from diaspora groups in Turkey and Central Asia, Western representations were not a prevailing concern. Uyghur artists that I spoke to are less concerned with, or even aware of, how they are being represented in Western media. They do, however, contend with the ways China has tried to erase, flatten, and appropriate their culture. They spoke about how their art expressed elements of what it meant to be Uyghur, often signaled by memories of the homeland, re-imaginations of Uyghur visual culture, or even abstract expressions of personal sensations. The presence or absence of Uyghur material culture, such as musical instruments, textiles, or household objects, signaled differing strategies and attitudes in what visual symbols of Uyghur culture are important to hold on to under colonial erasure. Some artists hold a preservationist mindset, where they desire to document the visual history and memory of the homeland. Other artists take a personal expressionist approach, using art to liberate themselves from perceived stereotypes or self-exoticisms. https://lnkd.in/e7X86gYf

From Abstract to Urban: A Guide to Understanding Artistic Styles https://lnkd.in/dH5Cdspq

Why is political vision in Ireland so terribly lacking? When challenged in the Dail, ministers will claim to have excellent vision. However, I suggest this vision barely extends to the political horizon. A matter of some 5 kilometers on a good day, if viewed at sea level! Sadly, our political leaders are quite unable to see beyond their own political horizon and, only ever play infrastructural catch-up on all fronts. The many examples include: A (totally inadequate!) 2 lane M5, even when this major Dublin ring road was grant aided by the EU. A still incomplete 3000 room hospital, brilliantly sited on a handkerchief. The Western Development Commission's latest 25 year Report, is yet another Report outlining the Western Region's current infrastructural shortcomings. Yet in post-war Germany, the magnificent 171km long Rhine-Main-Danube ship canal, linking the North Sea with the Black Sea, was built at an estimated cost of a mere €2.3 billion. For examples of one man's apolitical vision for the Western Ireland Region see:

Honor those who are important, those who serve, or your community's history, heritage and culture by adding themed elements to your playground design. Here are examples of first responder themes in honor of National First Responders Day! #municipalparks #municipalities #customplaygrounddesign

This insightful article explores how architecture is pivotal in rebuilding Ukraine post-war, highlighting innovative designs and sustainable practices. David McFadden, CFA Owner. What are your thoughts? https://buff.ly/3VS5RdK, #RebuildUkraine, #WarRecovery, #SustainableDesign, #InnovativeArchitecture, #UrbanPlanning, #ArchitecturalReview, #DesignInnovation, #GreenBuilding, #ArchitecturalSolutions, #PostWarReconstruction, #Architects, #SustainableArchitecture, #BuildingDesign, #UrbanDevelopment, #ResilientArchitecture, #Construction, #ArchitectureNews, #DesignReview, #ArchitecturalTrends, #FutureOfArchitecture, #ArchitecturalEngineering, #BuildingSustainability, #SmartCities, #EcoFriendlyDesign, #ArchitecturalInspiration, #Reconstruction, #ArchitecturalDesign, #WarImpact, #DesigningForTheFuture

Towards the end of 2014 the previous editor of Visual Culture in Britain invited a variety of authors to contribute a page or two to a roundtable discussion on a variety of political and cultural events and changes. We solicited contributions from representatives of the British Universities, the Museum sector and Research Centres to respond to this idea of a changing Britain through the prism of British art and visual culture, using cogent examples wherever possible, and bringing to the fore the authors observations, understandings and positions within this rapidly developing context. For the re-launch of Visual Culture in Britain, the new editors have invited, via the same process we went through in 2014, amounting to a series of ‘reflections on Visual Culture in Britain now and the role of journal to address some of these ideas and observations, especially in an era of political upheaval and economic duress. To this end, what does Britain look like and how do we see these shifting landscapes through a multiplicity of mediums.’ This covers, of course, a sometime dramatic and often troubling context including, for example, the manipulation of Brexit, the murder of Jo Cox, the fire in Grenfell Tower, the escalation of Russian attacks in UK and elsewhere, the fires in the cathedral of Notre Dame and The Glasgow School of Art, Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson’s leaderships, Coronavirus, lockdown, protestors’ removal of the statue of Edward Colston, the death or downfall of UK monarchical figures, 2021’s warmest New Year’s Eve on record and so on. Any tone was admissible, rhetorical, humorous, discursive, contemplative, argumentative etc …

Discover a captivating new narrative emerging from the Middle East in this thought-provoking article: @notrealartworld

On top of this week's rainstorms, the State of Florida’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget that was signed by Governor DeSantis significantly reduced the "Cultural Arts" budget. In total, $32 million in grants that would have supported 663 arts and culture organizations around the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture was cut from the Budget. Under these circumstances, I think it appropriate that us Floridians take time to consider the importance of Art & Culture in our communities, the value of it in our lives and contact your State representatives to voice your opinion. ART AND ITS IMPACT ON SOCIETY..... The Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account recent release put out by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) shows that arts and cultural economic activity accounted for 4.3 percent of GDP, or $1.10 trillion!! So these numbers quantify the value of Art beyond the intrinsic beauty of Art. Based on simple dictionary definition, art is “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power”. Nevertheless, the definition of what is art is an extremely complex task because it is an abstract concept. Art has undergone major changes over time and can be defined quite different, depending on the culture in which this debate takes place. Art transcends language, political, social and cultural boundaries — seeking to bring people together as members of the human race instead of dividing us. Art can be considered powerful because it promotes communication between cultures, preserves history, can change people’s opinions and preserve the feelings of a culture. Arts are often considered to be the archive of a society’s memory. Art is valuable too because it can potentially influence our culture, politics, and even the economy. Throughout human existence, art has been an imperative tool in measuring cultural development and recording history. Humans have shared their lives and experiences through art, leaving behind cultural monuments that still exist such as Stonehenge, the Parthenon, Roman Colosseum and more. There is no doubt that society and the culture in which you live have been shaped by art. Click on the link below to read more about this important issue facing Floridians… #artserve #arts #culture #art #makingadiffence #visualart #performingarts #GDP #valueofart

This insightful article explores how architecture is pivotal in rebuilding Ukraine post-war, highlighting innovative designs and sustainable practices. David McFadden, CFA Owner. What are your thoughts? https://buff.ly/3VS5RdK, #RebuildUkraine, #WarRecovery, #SustainableDesign, #InnovativeArchitecture, #UrbanPlanning, #ArchitecturalReview, #DesignInnovation, #GreenBuilding, #ArchitecturalSolutions, #PostWarReconstruction, #Architects, #SustainableArchitecture, #BuildingDesign, #UrbanDevelopment, #ResilientArchitecture, #Construction, #ArchitectureNews, #DesignReview, #ArchitecturalTrends, #FutureOfArchitecture, #ArchitecturalEngineering, #BuildingSustainability, #SmartCities, #EcoFriendlyDesign, #ArchitecturalInspiration, #Reconstruction, #ArchitecturalDesign, #WarImpact, #DesigningForTheFuture