The talk addresses the interconnection between public space, sports, digital apps, and the human body (human health) from the perspective of civically engaged art. The talk presupposes a post-production phase during the Summer School of the EHU Laboratory of Critical Urbanism (August 17-29, Visaginas). The talk will be based on the practice of BRUT collective (Marija Nemčenko and Anna Tüdős), a multidisciplinary project encompassing art, pedagogy, and a socially engaged approach to architecture. The members, artist Marija Nemčenko and curator Anna Tüdős, work towards portraying a hopeful image of high-rise living, the strong communities within, and highlighting the necessity for public space and services. They are currently curating a summer school for children, living in peripheral areas in Glasgow, Scotland, where they will re-address the public space and re-consider how it can be utilized for the public, especially young people’s, well-being post the isolation caused by the global pandemic. The school project is based on research that explores how the sport was historically presented and exercised in an urban context, reflecting on Foucault’s notion that the body is political. In the case of Visaginas, the sport has always played an important role for the inhabitants of the city. Investigations into the city’s sport’s history will be complemented by the screening of the film “Cheer up, Virginijus!” (1961) By Viktoras Starošas and the presentation of international examples from BRUT Collective’s research, where prefabricated architecture allows for physical exercise. The duo will also introduce their long-term plan to develop a multifunctional app, that will be inspired by orienteering, running, or trekking apps, but they will use their features to create an interactive guided tour, in this case representing the sport’s history of Visaginas.
Marija Nemčenko is a visual artist, educational activities facilitator, writer, and combat sports athlete working between Lithuania and Scotland. She received her MFA from Glasgow School of Art in 2016 and Ba(Hons) in Sculpture from Camberwell College of Arts in 2013. In her practice, she draws from personal experience of migration and subsequent cultural assimilation to the UK. Using photography, film, text, stickers, glitter, newspaper hacking, public speaking, and other less traditional approaches she subverts and reclaims the meaning of cultural stereotypes, of which, the most historically popular ones seem to be the ones connected to other cultures’ eating habits. As with the eating, so with the sports – she aims to challenge the popular stereotypes applied to it. In her life and, more recently, in art, she uses combat sports from a woman perspective to encourage learning, challenging and strengthening one’s body, mind, and relation to society. www.marijanemcenko.com; www.intheeyesoflisa.org
Anna Tüdős is a curator and researcher based between Glasgow, UK, and Budapest, Hungary. After attending the Hungarian University of Fine Arts she graduated from the MLitt Curatorial Practice course at Glasgow School of Art. Her professional interests relate to the intangible heritage of modernist architecture, including prefabricated housing, public space and experimental playground structures. In her work with young people, she investigates the societal impacts of new technology, specifically artificial intelligence. She favors collaborative curatorial and artistic methodologies and processes that are illustrated in her projects developed with BRUT, Roundabout collective, Büro imaginaire, C3 Foundation and Goethe Institute.
NB! The event will take place on July 12, at 5 PM (Vilnius time). To participate, register via the link.
