Dialoge I: Art – Political Responsibility – Social Justice

Under the title Dialoge, the Center of Contemporary Art has established an event in which internationally renowned artists and scientists are regularly brought together to exchange their specific contributions to the complex phenomena and problems of contemporary life. The Dialoge are carried out in cooperation with art institutions in Graz under an every two years changing main theme.

Dialoge I: Art – Political Responsibility – Social Justice

The first series of Dialoge is entitled "Art – Political Responsibility – Social Justice." By doing this, the Center of Contemporary Art is setting a focus which, due to the socio-political events of recent years, is a topic of great relevance and significance. The focus will be on political conflict zones in Europe, with a particular emphasis on the developments in Ukraine. It will also include diversity, questioning and redefining concepts of identities that are closely tied to the LGBTQ+ community and issues around colonialism and imperialism.

Social justice has always been an important topic when considering the relationship between art and politics, such as when questioning and discussing images and artworks representing colonialism. Europe's role in the history of oppression becomes an issue, so by questioning these dominant narratives, artists and theorists shape a dynamic cultural approach. Theories of art, culture, discourse and (inter-)mediality are concerned with who is allowed to speak to whom, in which contexts and what effects are produced. Such ideas of having a "legitimate" voice and thus contributing to the writing of art and cultural histories are intertwined with bitter controversies about race, representation and authorship.

In this regard, the Dialoge I: Art – Political Responsibility – Social Justice deals with various ideas that provoke a response connecting to the Myth of Home & Postmigration, Trust & Intransigence, Identity, and Forms of Resistance. The Dialoge I bring selected international viewpoints on these topics to Graz in order to enable a dialogue between them. Scientists and artists deal with political responsibility and social justice in various ways and thus create innovative fields of thought, which in the course of the Dialoge should be used productively. Political responsibility and social justice are two topics that we must aim to keep within the current discourse with an effort to involve the public — as dialogue without borders.

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