20 Years tranzit.org

AIL hosts this year’s assembly by tranzit.org in Vienna

‘tranzit’ is a unique network of civic associations working independently in the field of contemporary art in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania and across the borders of a wider Europe

For more than twenty years, the network tranzit.org has connected independent art initiatives in Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Cluj, Iași, Prague, and Vienna. After a year of events across Europe, all seven organizations are coming together in one room. The evening will mark the high point of tranzits anniversary year.

Tranzit is a critical (and self-critical) platform, which challenges established canons of post-war European (art) histories. It promotes contemporary art practices, theory and social discourses with the aim to contribute to present-day mobilizations of solidarity and community building in a Europe of narrowing nationalism, cultural essentialism, growing economic egoism, and social as well as gender inequality.

Tranzit.org’s goal is to support and articulate emancipatory practices, establish connections between culture and society by moving across geographies, generations, and political realms.

The evening is dedicated to the memory of Boris Marte. As the CEO of ERSTE Foundation, he played a crucial role in establishing the tranzit network as well as countless other important cultural, educational, and social initiatives. Tranzit is not planning a look back for its own sake. Instead, they are asking:

What is worth carrying forward from two decades of work, and how can art and culture respond to a time of polarization and growing political pressure?