FRANZ FERDINAND PROJECT

SARAJEVO // BELGRADE // SAINT-ÉTIENNE

THE CONTEXT

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In 2014, France, Austria and Germany initiate the project "Sarajevo, heart of Europe", whose aim is to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1st World War, which would have began in Sarajevo, through the assassinate of the prince Franz Ferdinand on the latin bridge over Miljacka river, in the heart of the city.

Several events are proposed on this occasion, all of them celebrate the war memory as it was built by the main belligerents of the 1st World War.

THE PROJECT

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The Franz Ferdinand project was born from the will of artists, searchers and cultural places owners to question this working memory, as it is going to be presented during those commemorations.

If Franz Ferdinand assassinate means the beginning of the 1st World War for Austria and France, it is also representative, in Bosnia and in all Balkans, of the anti-colonial fights against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is also representative of a part of the history of anarchism in Central Europe.

Gavrilo Princip, Serbian student of Bosnia-Herzegovina, yougoslavian nationalist and murderer of the Prince, is shown as a terrorist to French and Austrian people. However, he is also a major figure of resistance in Balkans, since he has embodied one's people fight against the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the defense of a Yougoslavian dream.

Considered as a hero in the royal Yougoslavia of Alexander the 1st and then under Tito's time, Gavrilo Princip was celebrated through a memorial stone in Sarajevo, on the place of the attack. This stone described him as a "freedom fighter". This stone was destroyed by the nazis in april 1941 and replaced by another, and destroyed once again by the army of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina during the 1992 war.

In this context, it sounded interesting to question the building of national and international memories in the frame of the commemorations. Memories are built through historical issues, and none of them is more legitimate than another.

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Thinking about those memorial and historial issues, through one century, seems necessary and needs being shared with a large audience. We would like this thiniking to be held by artists whose common feature is that they all experienced European history in their initimate life. Historians will work with them so as to bring lights and perspectives to those memorial issues.

A cooperation between cities, cultural places and artists

This project proposes to use commemoration of the 100th anniversary of 1st WW as a starting point of a general thought about the building of national and transnational memories.

Four cultural places, Gran Lux in Saint-Étienne, Duplex 100m2 in Sarajevo, Hostellerie de Pontempeyrat and Research Station for contemporary Art Perpetuum Mobile in Belgrade, decided to think about those issues : each of them will invite 2 artists to observe commemorations in Sarajevo in June 2014.

ARTISTS INVITED

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FOR SERBIA / /

> DiStruktura : http://www.distruktura.com/

> Branislav Nikolic : http://branislavnikolic.net/

FOR BOSNIA / /

> Adela Jusic : http://adelajusic.wordpress.com/

> Lana Čmajčanin (to be confirmed) : http://www.lanacmajcanin.com/

FOR FRANCE / /

> Stéphane Bonjour : http://stephanebonjour.over-blog.com/

> Marianne Maric : http://maricmarianne.over-blog.com/

Historians of the 3 countries (France, BiH, Serbia) will bring their knowledge on those issues.

The artists will then be invited in Belgrade and Saint-Etienne so as to product a work of art about memorial issues.

A collective exhibition will be held in Grand Lux in Saint-Etienne in 2014 and in Sarajevo and Belgrade in 2015.

THE PARTNERS

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L’HOSTELLERIE DE PONTEMPEYRAT / LOIRE, REGION RhÔNE-ALPES

The Hostellerie de Pontempeyrat is a place for artistic residencies and experimentation situated in the the mountains, in the Region of Loire.

Hostellerie_vue_nuit_david_duchon_doris

GRAN LUX / SAINT-ETIENNE, REGION RhÔNE-ALPES

The Gran Lux is a place for projection and production of experimental movies situated in a former factory, in the suburbs of Saint-Etienne.

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GALERIE DUPLEX 100M2 / SARAJEVO, BOSNIE-HERZEGOVINE

Duplex 100m2 Gallery in an art center situated in the heart of Old Sarajevo, on the banks of Miljacka River, that welcomes projects and exhibitions of Bosnian artists.

Galerie_duplex_100m2

Research Station for contemporary Art Perpetuum Mobile / BELGRADE, SERBIA

Research Station for contemporary Art Perpetuum Mobile is an art center created by Serbian artists and situated on the banks of Danube River, in Belgrade.

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Franz Ferdinand Project

The publications