Belarus remains one of the least known and least connected countries in Europe. Beside the occasional news regarding “the last European dictatorship” and rare companies or artists that managed to work abroad, Belarus and its cultural sector are little known in IETM.

And yet there is a number of artistically and socially engaged initiatives that are active in the independent sector and that produce exciting and challenging art. This Caravan was an opportunity for a small group of IETM members to discover this unknown scene and perhaps plant seeds for future collaborations.

The meeting was organised with the kind help of IETM members Grzegorz Reske and Sinta Wibowo. You can read a few first impressions here below:

“We have met some 40 people on various places of the Belarusian capital, a clean & green city of 2 million people.
Among them quite a number of art journalists who are passionate to inform their readers via several magazines such as pARTisan, Art Aktivist, Kyky.org and 34Mag.net. Researching, announcing and reporting, they are avid supporters of the contemporary arts. The premiere of Korniag Theatre fueled our conversations with discussions about social values, gender perception & roles, artistic forms & categorisation.
A place like Y Gallery gives another voice and is a true discovery for its engagement to the arts with their fine wine bar, functioning several times as our meeting point. Soon we will post a more in detail report about the encounters in Minsk. Don’t shy away to get in touch with the Caravan members for contacts and more details.”
 

Image in banner: © Aliaksandr Palanetski

The Caravan was organised in collaboration with EEPAP – East European Performing Arts Platform and local partners.