The Kyiv International – ’68 NOW

Visual Culture Research Center announces The Kyiv International – ’68 NOW, the second edition of The Kyiv International – Kyiv Biennial 2017, to take place in Kyiv at the House of Cinema, May 11 – 25, 2018.

The Kyiv International project aims to reveal the emancipatory potential in the idea of the political International, which first emerged in Europe. The Kyiv International edition of May 2018 will take place in the format of an international forum for art and knowledge and for the first time will bring to Ukraine such outstanding contemporary philosophers and historians as Jacques Rancière (France), Chantal Mouffe (Belgium), Aleida Assmann (Germany), Agnes Heller (Hungary) and Alexei Yurchak (USA).

This project explores the political and cultural heritage of the revolt and struggle of 1968, considering the antinomies of this moment for the West and East of Europe fifty years onward. The legacy of May 1968 remains a symbol of liberation and rebellion against entrenched power structures, and a cultural and artistic benchmark for Western Europe. The commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Prague Spring and Soviet military invasion of Czechoslovakia – most immediate in Eastern Europe – continue to define political and cultural divides across the continent. By comparing different dimensions of this event, as a departure for contemporaneous understanding, ’68 NOW contributes to a united European subjectivity grounded in democratic internationalism, based upon the principles of solidarity and inclusivity.

The Kyiv International – ’68 NOW will begin on May 11 with a lecture by the French philosopher Jacques Rancière, entitled “Repoliticizing the French 68.” The Belgian political thinker Chantal Mouffe will deliver a lecture “The Affects of Democracy” on May 18. A symposium “Living Newspaper: The Legacy of the Prague Spring Today” will take place on May 19 with the participation of the highly noted Hungarian philosopher, Agnes Heller. Lectures and discussions will take place alongside screenings, artist talks, and presentations, including a workshop by Experimental Jetset (The Netherlands) on May 12, and another event with Igor Grubić (Croatia) on May 13. The program wraps up with the lecture “1968 in Germany – a Generation with Two Phases and Faces” by the German historian and cultural anthropologist Aleida Assmann on May 23 and the lecture “Laboratory of the Future: Lenin’s Body between Biochemistry and Art” by the Russian-American cultural anthropologist, Alexei Yurchak on May 25.

Address: The House of Cinema, 6 Saksahanskoho St.

Admission to all events will be free of charge.

Organized by Visual Culture Research Center (Kyiv, Ukraine).

Emblem by Experimental Jetset, Amsterdam, 2018.

Institutional Partners: De Balie (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), European University Viadrina (Frankfurt (Oder), Germany), Krytyka Polityczna (Warsaw, Poland), Medusa Books (Kyiv, Ukraine), tranzit.cz (Prague, Czech Republic).

With the Support of: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Prince Claus Fund.