Socially Engaged Art after Socialism: Art and Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe

The post-1989 period has seen artists in Central and Eastern Europe embrace socially engaged practices, harnessing the politically subversive potential of social relations based on trust, reciprocity and solidarity. Izabel Galliera traces the development of socially engaged art from the early 1990s to the present in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, demonstrating that projects were primarily created for exhibitions organized and funded by the Soros Centers for Contemporary Art and EU institutions. Today, socially engaged art is characterised by the proliferation of independent and often self-funded artists initiatives in cities such as Sofia, Bucharest and Budapest, leveraging social capital as a vital means of communication and action.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 07 April 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The post-1989 period has witnessed a significant shift in the artistic landscape of Central and Eastern Europe, with artists embracing socially engaged practices that reclaim public life from the ideologies of communist regimes and neoliberalism. These projects harness the politically subversive potential of social relations based on trust, reciprocity, and solidarity. Drawing on archival material and exclusive interviews, Izabel Galliera traces the development of socially engaged art in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania from the early 1990s to the present. In the early 1990s, projects were primarily created for exhibitions organized and funded by the Soros Centers for Contemporary Art. In the early 2000s, prior to Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania entering the European Union, EU institutions also funded socially-conscious public art in the region. Today, socially engaged art is characterized by the proliferation of independent and often self-funded artists' initiatives in cities such as Sofia, Bucharest, and Budapest. Galliera employs sociological and political theories to reveal that, while social capital is generally considered a mechanism of exclusion in the West, in post-socialist contexts, it has been leveraged by artists and curators as a vital means of communication and action.

Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350276680