As a place of communication, initiation and networking, an institute for experiments and enlightenment which bases its general principle on the ideal of practical example and exemplary practice, the Bauhaus Dessau is the initiator of the the first international video festival to focus on Eastern Europe.
OSTranenie '93, conveived and developed by staff members of the Bauhaus Dessau, is directing its gaze towards Central and Central- Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and also Russia, and in doing so recalls the many artistic, scientific and scholarly relationships which led to productive results in the Bauhaus during the twenties: artists like Otti Berger (Yugoslavia), Marcel Breuer (Hungary), Ruth Consemueller (Poland), Wassily Kandinsky (Russia), Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (Hungary), Lucia Moholy (Czechoslovakia) and others became part of the history of the Bauhaus. In those days the Bauhaus recognized the signs of the times and reacted positively to Eastern-European tendencies.
Today is no different in the Bauhaus Dessau: The Bauhaus Dessau sees itself as a forum for artists, scientists and scholars from various countries, who can use video to initiate a discussion of the artistic/visual cultural landscape in the Eastern European countries. Here for the first time Eastern Europe is being given priority in order to set off a constructive discussion about the complex cultural, artistic and political realities. Artists, scientists and scholars from the post-socialist countries of Eastern and Central Europe incorporate attitudes towards art, every-day life and politics into their work and show critical reactions to the medium of video.
We are being called upon to respond to these attitudes. Whether we take them as a challenge to existing ways of thinking or as an opportunity for cooperation, we cannot remain silent.
Although the festival and the exhibitions of our decentralized museum, as well as this our staffïs publication, have been self- financed, we wish to thank our partners in cooperation at this point, who have supported us directly - in particular the Ministry of Culture of Saxony-Anhalt, the Foundation Kulturfonds and the Department for Foreign Affairs, as well as the City of Dessau, all of which have promoted our institute and its work.
Rolf Kuhn Director, Bauhaus Dessau