tranzit.hu/

Date: 20-21 October 2023
Venue: Práter 63. (63 Práter Street, 1083 Budapest)

Download the program in PDF here.

Educating young people about human rights, democratic action and solidarity plays a crucial role in enabling them to form opinions about the events happening around them and to stand up against the growing extreme right-wing and authoritarian ideologies, as well as the political movements that emerge from these.

The use of artistic methods can play a crucial role in cultivating a culture of debate and critical thinking. In recent years, the importance of informal forms of learning, including participatory art strategies and activist art, has gained ground as a means to encourage political participation and action within communities. The transdisciplinary nature of art and its practice of thinking outside of the box, supporting experiential learning and critical thinking is providing young people with opportunities to not only explore their creativity but also to feel included and engaged.

We consider the format of our gathering a workshop-conference because its primary goal is to share knowledge through practical experience. The original meaning of the term ‘conference’ is a meeting of two or more persons to discuss matters of common concern, and this is what we wish to emphasise. The workshop-conference aims to connect NGOs, artists, critical educators, and young people to gain multiple perspectives, think together and find solutions to challenges in activism and civil participation within an interdisciplinary laboratory. During the two days, all participants will engage in workshops led by artists and political scientists, and equally contribute to the discussions guided by the questions posed by the youngest generation.

📅 Thursday 19 October

18.00- 20.00
Exhibition Opening:
Keeping Freedom in Mind. Civil Resistance 2010-2023
The exhibition highlights major civil movements organised in response to the anti-democratic measures of the NER (acronym of Nemzeti Együttműködés Rendszere / System of National Cooperation in English), which was announced in 2010 by the FIDESZ and Christian Democratic People’s Party fraction. NER is a seemingly democratic social contract, but in fact an over regulated and anti-democratic system, close to the structure of dictatorial government. This leadership of the country is , currently in its third term of governance, has held power for nearly a decade and a half. This research-based documentary exhibition, accompanied by the works of contemporary artists, covers civil ‘answers’ of this period for the suppression and unjustice, emphasising the importance of art both as a field and as a means of resistance.

📅 Friday 20 October

Informal-Radical Education
The first day will focus on education, art and activism, exploring questions such as: How can critical pedagogy and art activism support active citizenship education? How can learning communities outside the public education system challenge the status quo and why is it necessary? What are the experiences in education that hinder active participation in society? And what kind of civic education do young people envision?

10.00-10.15
Welcome and Program Introduction

10.15-15.00, including lunch break between 12.30-13.30
Workshop and action with Marina Naprushkina and Nadira Husain, artists based in Berlin.
The workshop by Nadira Husain and Marina Naprushkina will centre around the concept of art education, equal access to educational institutions, using *foundationClass, an educational initiative for immigrant students within Weißensee Kunsthochschule, as an example, and the creation of self-organised platforms, like Neue Nachbarschaft/Moabit and Moabit Mountain College. Both artists have activist practice and are lecturers of the *foundationClass, beside that Naprushkina is a founder of Nachbarschaft as well. By asking ourselves questions such as: What constitutes a place of learning? And if places of learning are not limited to schools and universities, how can knowledge be acquired, and how do self-organised spaces like alternative schools emerge and function? Participants will delve into concepts and strategies around the idea and practice of equal access to study, regardless of race, socio-economic status, gender, or age. We explore artistic practices as tools for communication, visibility, sharing history and addressing concerns, particularly within marginalised communities. You will be invited to join the discussion and contribute to shape the educational landscape.

15.00-15.30 Coffee Break

15.30-17.30 World Cafe
Discussion circles in World Cafe format, hosted by young people. Participants rotate between three groups
This session aims to bring together different informal educational formats that have emerged as responses to the need for change, often transforming or transcending existing institutional boundaries. Activists, artists, and researchers working with these unveil and explain social and political problems before they become widely recognised. How can their insights be effectively communicated to a broader audience and take a form of action?

Thematic Sessions

1. Free art schools

▪ *foundationClass, Berlin is a study programme at Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin, consisting of lectures, workshops and excursions led by professional artists, designers, academics and activists with migration backgrounds.
▪ Freeszfe Society is an independent theatre and film school founded in 2020, aiming to continue the traditions of the former University of Theatre and Film in Budapest following a political change in school leadership.
▪ SZEMinárium is a free and critical educational initiative of a college for advanced studies at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj, linked to the critical portal Új Szem (https://ujszem.org/).
▪ Youth Center CK 13, Novi Sad is an independent social and cultural centre dedicated to strengthening the self-organising and social engagement of citizens, with a particular focus on youth.

2. Neighbourhood

▪ Pneuma Szöv. is an art co-operative, active mainly in Budapest since 2008, with collaborations and temporary initiatives in Germany and beyond. The collective has been building an open network in the 8th district of Budapest.
▪ Orczy-Neighbours Project initiated by neighbourhood-based Gólya Cooperative and is a participatory research and art project focusing on the history and the communities living in the Orczy neighbourhood of Budapest’s 8th district, with the aim to change the stereotypical view connected to it.
▪ Uccu Roma Informal Educational Foundation, Budapest is an informal education initiative providing a platform for dialogue between Roma and non-Roma communities to combat prejudices and negative stereotypes related to Roma.
▪ Neue Nachbarschaft Moabit is a self-organised migrant-based community founded in 2013 in Berlin. Professional artists of different disciplines collaborate with self-taught artists and individuals with no artistic background, focusing on knowledge exchange and mutual support.

3. Informal Learning in a Nonformal Setting

▪ Rena Rädle & Vladan Jeremić are visual artists based in Belgrade and Berlin. In their collaborative practice the artists explore the relation between art and politics, unveiling the contradictions of today's societies and developing transformative potentials of art in the context of social struggles.
▪ Romaversitas, Budapest is the first comprehensive support and training program for talented Roma youths in Hungary, founded in 1996. The organisation helped 300 students to successfully complete their academic studies.
▪ Deviszont Community Space, Budapest is an initiative that provides young people in vocational education and training with an alternative learning and leisure opportunity.Their project-based activities are in critical pedagogy and experiential education and support young people to become informed adults and active citizens.
▪ Polémia Institute, Budapest is a community of young social scientists dedicated to making politics more understandable for people not specialised in the field.
▪ Space of Opportunity, Budapest is a cultural-educational programme and a community space for young adults (16-35 years old). It provides an opportunity to engage in critical thinking and in dialogue in encounters, experiential learning and creation.