Curating the invisible: contemporary art practices and the production of meaning in Eastern Europe

Abstract

This article addresses the system of art and the issue of contemporary art curatorship in the area known as ‘Eastern Europe’, with a particular emphasis on the status of curatorial practices in the postsocialist condition. The problems explored are focused firstly around the issues of the representation of Eastern Europe and contemporary Eastern European art, in terms of organizing exhibitions in the context of globalisation, and secondly the role of a contemporary art curator as compared to the role performed by a contemporary cultural manager. The question to be raised is related to ‘The Image of Eastern Europe’ within the functioning of global cultural imperialism, i.e. how do the models of contemporary artistic and especially curatorial practices respond to the up-to-date demands of cultural policy issues related to the area of the former communist/socialist countries in Eastern Europe?