Euroacademia Conferences
Europe Inside-Out: Europe and Europeanness Exposed to Plural Observers (9th Edition)April 24 - 25, 2020
Identities and Identifications: Politicized Uses of Collective Identities (9th Edition)June 12 - 13, 2020
8th Forum of Critical Studies: Asking Big Questions AgainJanuary 24 - 25, 2020
Re-Inventing Eastern Europe (7th Edition)December 13 - 14, 2019
The European Union and the Politicization of Europe (8th Edition)October 25 - 26, 2019
Identities and Identifications: Politicized Uses of Collective Identities (8th Edition)June 28 - 29, 2019
The European Union and the Politicization of Europe (7th Edition)January 25 - 26, 2019- 7th Forum of Critical Studies: Asking Big Questions AgainNovember 23 - 24, 2018
Europe Inside-Out: Europe and Europeanness Exposed to Plural Observers (8th Edition)September 28 - 30, 2018- Identities and Identifications: Politicized Uses of Collective Identities (7th Edition)June 14 - 15, 2018
Constructing Alternative Narratives of Europe in Contemporary Art: A PIGS’ Perspective
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Presentation speakers
- Patricia Mayayo, Department of Art History and Theory, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Abstract:
The impact of 2008 economic crisis, which has been particularly harsh in southern European countries (PIGS, according to the derogatory acronym used in financial circles), and the erosion of social and labour rights caused by austerity measures have led to a growing dissent among civil society in southern Europe to the current policies of the European Union. In Spain, we have seen the emergence of new grassroots mobilizations, but also of new forms of cultural agency, as artists and art institutions show a growing concern about Europeanness and the construction of Europe. This paper focuses on two recent art exhibitions held in Spanish museums: Prophetia (Fundación Miró, Barcelona, 2015) and PIGS (Artium Museum, Vitoria, currently on display). These exhibitions raise a number of interesting questions about the European Union: Are we witnessing a “new abduction” of Europe by financial powers? Is the north-south divide based on old cultural and social clichés? Are these neo-colonial discursive strategies pervading European institutions and public opinion? How can we rethink European identity from the margins? By examining these two particular case-studies, my paper seeks to underline the usually neglected role of contemporary art in recent debates on Europe. I will emphasize the ways in which artistic practices and art institutions have contributed, specially in southern European countries, to reflect critically on the official definitions of Europe and to imagine alternative narratives of the European project.
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