Shirin Neshat Turbulent - Public Programme
The woman usually took a passive position and was perceived as an object of contemplation in the history of art. Society prescribed her with useful roles, such as a mother, faithful wife, or a mistress. Thus, women were unable to succeed anywhere except housekeeping.
In the history of art, women were encouraged to needlework and to maintain other useful affairs related to the household. Therefore, on the question Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?, Linda Nochlin gives an example of the mechanism of various institutions, as well as the formation of the very term "genius." Even today, we experience the consequences of centuries of social experience. So, in the field of cinema, literature and advertising, the term "male gaze" means representation of a woman from a purely male point of view. Consequently, a woman acts not as a subject who speaks on its own behalf, but as a passive object.
In the 1970s, with the new wave of feminist movements, the attitude towards women began gradually shifting. These changes concerned both her social role and the problems of perceiving her corporeality. Art has become a powerful indicator of these changes and opened new opportunities for women to talk about discrimination, violence, cultural identity and their own body. For Ukrainian society, the theme of gender inequality remains exceptionally relevant and requires comprehensive reflection not only in the scientific field but also in the artistic.
Turbulent is a work by Iranian artist Shirin Neshat raising the question of juxtaposition of men and women using the example of Iranian music history. It is known that a woman in Iran had no right to sing in public places since such behaviour was considered provocative. Even after the situation improved, female singing was in "media silence." That led to the displacement of a woman from the history of Iranian music and to levelling her contribution to the development of art. The work of Neshat shows the difference in the position of women and men in a traditional society, but it also gives hope for the possibility of emancipation.
As part of the public programme for Shirin Neshat Turbulent, there will be a series of events dedicated to the issue of gender inequality, the role of women in the history of art and her position in modern society.
Lecture by Tetyana Solovey Gender in Fashion
April 11, as part of the public programme for Shirin Neshat Turbulent, there will be a talk by Tetyana Solovey regarding the relationship between gender and the fashion industry.
At the lecture,Tetyana Solovey will discuss the phenomenon of "agender fashion." Almost everyone has a certain conception and representation of gender that also determines the process of creating clothing. Using the example of clothing collections, Tetyana Solovey, the editor of the Ukrainian fashion magazine Vogue, will analyse the presence of the "male gaze" throughout the history of fashion.
Tetyana Solovey is the editor of Fashion and Jewellery department of Vogue Ukraine; the author of the Unbearable Fashion programme on Old Fashioned Radio; an academic editor of the Ukrainian edition of Rachel Bernstein's Brilliance and Fire: a Biography of Diamonds; speaker of educational projects On the Sixth Floor (Vogue), Fashion Revolution (Kyiv Academy of Media Arts), Kiev Fashion Institute, Ukrainian Fashion Campus; an independent curator of the Ivan Honchar Museum; the curator of Ukrainian Vogue’s exhibition Ukraine in Fashion.
April 11 (Thursday); 7PM
IZONE Creative Community; Floor Two
Naberezhno-Luhova, 8 (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Free entry
Lecture by Maria Kulikovska: The Art of Shirin Neshat. The Experience of Comprehension
April 25, as part of the public programme of the exhibition Shirin Neshat Turbulent artist Maria Kulikovska will hold a lecture titled The Art of Shirin Neshat. The Experience of Comprehension.
At the lecture, the artist Maria Kulikovska will talk about the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat through the prism of her artistic practice, and she will demonstrate some issues that female artists have to face on a regular basis and how women cope with them in their artworks.
Maria Kulikovska is an artist and sculptor. She was born in Kerch and now lives and works in Kyiv. She has a Master’s Degree in Architecture from the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kyiv; she was the winner of the RUTARUNA 2013 prize for young artists from Ukraine and Sweden (PinchukArtCentre gallery), the winner of In Search for Spaces for Interaction (the CSM Foundation, 2012), the AKKU 2011-2012 Award (Zurich, Switzerland), MUKhi-2010 (the Bottega Gallery, Kyiv) and many more.
April 25 (Thursday); 7PM
IZONE Creative Community ; Floor 2
Naberezhno-Luhova, 8 (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Free entry
Workshop PRACTICE by Artist Alina Kleitman
On May 2, as part of the public programme of the exhibition Shirin Neshat Turbulent, there will be a workshop where the participants will be able to create a video-work under the supervision of artist Alina Kleitman.
Artist Alina Kleitman will talk about her own experience of creating video-works regarding gender inequality, women's representation and identification, and she will detail some artistic techniques which she uses to develop the theme of feminine bodily integrity in her own artistic practice. Workshop participants will also be able to create their own work by taking video on their devices; then, the artist will comment on each work and provide her feedback.
Alina Kleitman is an artist from Kharkiv; now, she lives and works in Kyiv. She studied at the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts, in the workshops and studios of Zhanet Solovyova, Alexander Ridnyi, Vitaliy Kulikov, Volodymyr Kochmar, Sergei Bratkov; she is the Laureate of the Special National Prize of the PinchukArtCentre Prize.
May 2 (Thursday); 7PM
IZONE Creative Community ; Studio 2
Naberezhno-Luhova, 8 (Kyiv, Ukraine)
The number of places is limited so registration is obligatory
Form for registration
Presentation of the Social Game Being a Woman
On May 18, as part of the public programme for Shirin Neshat Turbulent, there will be a presentation of the social game Being a Woman that explores existing examples of gender inequality and stereotypes about women in modern Ukrainian society, whilst also examining possible instruments for combating gender discrimination.
Players have the opportunity to reincarnate into one of eight heroines. Characters in the game are super-heroines with magical powers. Every day the women are forced to defend equal rights and overcome prejudices for the sake of their own happiness and success. The prototypical context for the game is the situation in Ukraine where women actively engage in social activism, business, education, building relationships and creating a family, as well as protecting their motherland in the state armed forces.
The event will be supported by the Stabilization Support Services, a Canadian non-governmental organization, partner of the British Embassy in Ukraine. The Foundation's activities focus on the reform and development of social services for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the promotion of technical awareness and professional skills amongst employees of Ukrainian government institutions.
May 18 (Saturday); 2PM
Creative Community IZONE; Studio 2
Naberezhno-Luhova, 8 (Kyiv, Ukraine)
The number of places is limited so registration is obligatory
Form for registration
Discussion: Why Have There Been Great Women Artists in the Ukrainian Art?
On May 31, as part of the public programme for Shirin Neshat Turbulent, there will be a public discussion Why Have There Been Great Women Artists in the Ukrainian Art?
In the early 1970s, the American researcher Linda Nochlin raised the issue of the presence of great female artists in the history of classical art while her publication in ArtNews became a determinative element for forming of gender and feminist theories.
- What was the socio-political and critically artistic agenda in Ukraine in the 70s?
- How did rising point on gender and equality in the 70s rebound on the society of Ukraine then?
- Should be the same question regarding the presence of women in the history of Ukrainian art opened?
Participants of the discussion:
- Tetyana Zhmurko is an art scholar working in the National Art Museum of Ukraine;
- Tetyana Solovey is the Fashion & Jewellery department editor of Vogue UA;
- Lizaveta German is a curator and art critic.
Moderator:
- Kateryna Iakovlenko is a member of the PinchukArtCentre Research Platform; an editor of the book Why does Ukrainian Art Have Great Female Artists?
May 31 (Friday); 7PM
IZONE Creative Community; Studio 2
Naberezhno-Luhova, 8 (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Free entry
Tamara Zlobina's Lecture Gender in the Arts
June 6, as part of the public programme for Shirin Neshat Turbulent, Tamara Zlobina will give a lecture Gender in the Arts.
Tamara Zlobina is an editor of the platform Gender in Details (in cooperation with the representative office of the G. Boll Foundation in Ukraine). She graduated from the National Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Ukraine; Ph.D. in Philosophy. Tamara works with the themes of civil society development and innovative world-view, gender equality, feminism, and contemporary art; she is a participant in international training and research projects. Her recent research on gender was published in the book New Imaginaries: Youthful Reinvention of the Ukrainian Cultural Paradigm (New York, 2015) and Gender Studies. Donbas Studies Project (Kyiv, 2015).
June 6 (Thursday); 7PM
IZONE Creative Community; Studio 2
Naberezhno-Luhova, 8
Free entry
Screening: Women without Men, a Film by Shirin Neshat
On June 13, as part of the public programme for Shirin Neshat Turbulent, there will be a screening of the debut film by the Iranian artist, Women without Men.
The film tells the story of four women living in the Iranian capital of Tehran during military coups and major political and ideological changes. Neshat reconstructs the historical events of Iran in the 1950s from the perspective of these heroines, who were forced to realize themselves as political identities for the first time.
June 13 (Thursday); 7PM
IZONE Creative Community; Studio 2
Naberezhno-Luhova, 8 (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Free entry