“MISPLACED WOMEN?” Participatory Art Project Archives, ongoing since 2009 @Art-Lab Berlin

Tanja Ostojić is exhibiting photos, stories, videos, drawings, signs and performance scores from the “MISPLACED WOMEN?” participatory art project archives (ongoing since 2009) in the form of multimedia installation in the frame of Beautiful Trouble: Rethinking Art-ivism, Arrival City exhibition at the Art-Lab Berlin. Within this project Ostojić and project contributors of diverse backgrounds embody and enacts some of everyday life’s activities that thematise displacement, as it is known to transients, migrants, war and disaster refugees and to the itinerant artists travelling the world to earn their living.

Exhibition opening: 

Friday, September 14, at 7 pm.

Exhibition duration: 

September 14-30, 2018.

Art-Lab Berlin

Perleberger Straße 60 

10559 Berlin-Moabit

Tanja Ostojić: “MISPLACED WOMEN?” participatory art project archives (ongoing since 2009) installation view at Art Lab Berlin, September 2018. Photo: Tanja Ostojić

“MISPLACED WOMEN?” , Performance series ongoing since 2009 / Project’s Archive, mixed media installation includes:

2 Works on textile:

1) Tanja Ostojić / Marta Nitecka Barche: “Misplaced Women?” Banner 49,5 X 181,5 cm, 2016, Canvas, marker, embroidery.

2) Monika Janulevičiūtė: “Misplaced Women?” self made sign on textile 49,5 X 90 cm, used at the Vilnius International Airport, Lithuania, November 2016.

 

25 Photographs from the following performances:

3) Performance by Hyla Willis. Central train station Zagreb, Croatia, June, 25, 2009, during the PSi conference Zagreb. Photo: subRosa.

4) Delegated performance by Valentina Medda, during Performa festival. White Box, New York City. November 21, 2009, 5 pm, New York time.

5) Performance by Tanja Ostojić, November 21, 2009, 11 pm Berlin time (5pm New York time, simultaneously with Valentina Medda), at the Tegel airport Berlin, Germany. Photos: DNK.

6) “Misplace Women?” sign held by Wai Wai at the arrival section, Zürich International Airport, Switzerland, October 25, 2012. Photo: Tanja Ostojić.

7) ”Misplace Women?” sign held by Amy Bryzgel, on Aberdeen International Airport, Scotland, March 31, 2015. Photo: Tanja Ostojić.

8) “Misplaced Women? Marking the City.” Performance by Kwestan Jamal Bawan at Western Union, Bergen, Norway, November 2, 2011 at 12:55.pm. Organised by Stiftelsen 3,14. Photo: Mariel Lødum.

9) Performance by Tanja Ostojić on the Bergen International Airport. November 8, 2011. Production: Stiftelsen 3,14, Bergen, Norway. Photos: Jannicke Olsen.

10) Performance by Sigrid Pawelke, (during the “Missplaced Women?” workshop conducted by Tanja Ostojić). Shopping district, Aix-en-Provence, France, December 16, 2015. Photos: Tanja Ostojić.

11) Performance by Anaïs Clercx, at Préfecture d’Aix-en-Provence / Police headquarters, City of Aix-en-Provence, France, during the “Missplaced Women?” workshop with Tanja Ostojić. December 16, 2015. Photo: Tanja Ostojić.

12) Performance by Ashley McNaughton on Torry bridge, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, during the “Misplaced Woman?” workshop with Tanja Ostojić in Torry neighbourhood, organised as a part of the Aberdeen Festival of Politics 2016. March 10, 2016. Photo: Renée Slater.

13) Performances by Kirsty Russell and Marta Nitecka Barche in front of the public library in Torry, as a part of “Misplaced Woman?” workshop with Tanja Ostojić during the Aberdeen Festival of Politics 2016. March 10, 2016. Other participants: Amy Bryzgel, Caroline Gausden, Sarah Jackson, Karolina Kubik, Angela Margaret Main, Ashley McNaughton, Marta Nitecka Barche, Tanja Ostojić, Kirsty Russell, Francesco Sani, Renée Slater, Gabriel Tracy, Rowan Young and many other amassing people. Photo: Renée Slater.

14) Performance by Tanja Ostojić on the La Grand Escalier de la Gare du Saint Charles / railway station, Marseille, France 2013. Participants: Helen Averley, Alix Denambride, Robyn Hambrook, Tanja Ostojić, Kim Mc Cafferty, Jane Kay Park, Emma Edvige Ungaro and Patricia Verity. Production: Préavis de Désordre Urbain and Red Plexus, Marselle. Photos: Anne Carles.

15) Performance by Tanja Ostojić, Göteborg city centre tram station, Sweden, September 4, 2015. Production: Live Action 10, Photo: Xiao Lu.

16) Marija Jevtić, Tanja Ostojić, Suncica Šido and Nela Antonović performing “Misplaced Women?” inside the Info Park, Central Bus station Belgrade, Serbia, as one of the group performances in public spaces in Belgrade, conducted on October 29, 2015, during “Misplaced Woman?” workshop with Tanja Ostojić, thematising solidarity with the refuges on the Balkan route. Organised as a part of the From Diaspora to Diversity, Remont, Belgrade, Serbia. Participants: Nela Antonović, Gorana Bačevac, Tatjana Beljinac, Tamara Bijelić, Jelena Dinić, Irena Đukanović, Milica Janković, Marija Jevtić, Nadežda Kirćanski, Irena Mirković, Bojana Radenović, Sanja Solunac, Sunčica Šido. Photo: Lidija Antonović.

17) Performance by Tanja Ostojić on the Central bus station in Varaždin, Croatia, Jun 11, 2016. Production: Dani performansa, Varaždin, Croatia. Photo: Vedran Hunjek.

18) Perfromance by Rhea Ramjohn: “Which colonial comfort would you like to consume today?”, Misplaced Women? workshop, Tempelhoferfeld, Berlin, January 2018. Photo: Tanja Ostojić.

19) Performance by Tanja Ostojić: “Misplaced Women? and The Tourist Suitcase”, May 11, 2018, 30 min performance at Haupt Bahnhof/ main train station, Innsbruck. Art in Public Space Tyrol, Photo: Daniel Jarosch.

20) Perfromance by Tanja Ostojić: “Misplaced Women? and The Tourist Suitcase”, May 12, 2018, 60 min Performance by Tanja Ostojić at the Goldenes Dahl, Altstadt, Innsbruck. Art in Public Space Tyrol, Photo: Daniel Jarosch.

Tanja Ostojić: “MISPLACED WOMEN?” Participatory Artproject Archives (ongoing since 2009), installation view @ Art Lab Berlin, Sept. 2018. Photo: Tanja Ostojić

2 Performance Scores

21) Score #1: unpacking a bag of your own (by Tanja Ostojić), and

Score #2: Holding the Misplaced Women? Sign (by Tanja Ostojić)

4 Drawings:

22) Drawing by David Caines of the performance by Teresa Albor in Westfield Shopping Mall, in the frame of the “Misplaced Women?” performance art workshop by Tanja Ostojić in LADA, London, December 2016.

23) Drawing by David Caines of the performance by Dagmara Bilon, in Olympic Park, in the frame of the “Misplaced Women?” performance workshop by Tanja Ostojić in LADA, London, December 2016.

24) Drawing by David Caines of the performance by Sophie Cero in the frame of Tanja Ostojić’s “Misplaced Women?” performance workshop in LADA, London, December 2016.

25) Drawing by Tanja Ostojić on a prize tag used in the “Misplaced Women? and The Tourist Suitcase”, Performances Innsbruck, May 2018. Art in Public Space Tyrol.

 

10 Written Stories by:

26) Jasmina Tešanović, women without homeland, who lives and works on-line.

27) Mmakgosi Kgabi, Gaborone, Botswana

28) Tanja Ostojić, Berlin, Germany: Bergen Airport Story

29) Sigrid Pawelke’s Statment, Aix-en-Provence, France

30) Anaïs Clercx, Marseille, France

31) Marta Nitecka Barche, Aberdeen, Scotland: Marta’s Story on Trauma of imprisonment in the USA.

32) Helen Averley, Belfast, Northern Ireland

33) Bojana Videkanić, Toronto Canada: Holding the “Misplaced Women?” sign on the Toronto Airport and diving into her profoundly touching memories about her initiation into the life of a refugee escaping Sarajevo siege in 1992

34) Rhea Ramjohn; Berlin: Which colonial comfort would you like to consume today?

35) Elena Marchevska, holding the “Misplaced Women?” Sign at Heathrow Airport London, December 12, 2016.

 

3 Videos:

36) “Misplaced Women?” Performance by Tanja Ostojić, 1-channel digital video, 28:16min, 2016. Video recording of the performance in Goteborg International Airport, Sweden. September 2, 2015. Live Action 10

37) Misplaced Women? performed by Tanja Ostojić, dedicated to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada. October 16, 2016, in front of the Art Gallery of Ontario, 7a*11d, Toronto, Canada. Video clip.

38) Documentary video about the “Misplaced Women?” performance workshop by Tanja Ostojić in London. 3:50 min long by Dr Elena Marchevska, produced by Live Art Development Agency, London, 2017. People talking in order of appearance: Tanja Ostojić, Nicholas Harris, Teresa Albor, Dagmara Bilon, Camila Canocchi, and voice over: Elena Marchevska.

Tanja Ostojić: “Misplaced Women? and The Tourist Suitcase”, 2018, 30 min performance at Haupt Bahnhof/ main train station, Innsbruck. Art in Public Space Tyrol. Photo: Daniel Jarosch

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I am pleased that our installation has been set up so well and I am grateful to all the project participants for all their generous contributions to the project!!! 

For any necessary corrections, please write to me in person. I would be very grateful and pleased to correct and improve each information and credits further.– Tanja Ostojić

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Artists included: 

Tanja Ostojić

Mohammed Badarne

Göksu Kunak

Rabih Mroué

About the exhibition:

The protest movements of over the last ten years have brought the importance of the body as a means of political articulation back into our attention. Thereby, the vulnerability and fragility of the protesting bodies have often become disturbingly clear. The exhibition presents works by artists who reflect on the significance of physical presence of the body in public space, on the possibilities (and limitations) of art as a space to negotiate the social and the political and the role of activism and protest in the contemporary world with its neo-liberal understanding of globalisation. It offers a new perspective on the articulation of the political in contemporary art and reflects on the possibilities of art to express dissenting voices. 

The exhibition Beautiful Trouble. Rethinking Art-ivism is organised in the frame of the Arrival City project, which seeks to investigate questions pertaining to artistic relocation and offer a forum for international and newly arrived artists in Berlin. The term “arrival city” was coined by the journalist and writer Doug Saunders in his book Arrival City (2011). Saunders described cities and areas which had been shaped by migration, processes of relocation and the stories of their inhabitants. Although he did not deny challenges, his conclusion was overall positive as he highlighted the vitality that the newcomers brought to their new homes. With this project we would like to take up this idea and reflect on the city as a form of “cultural laboratory” as a space of co-existence of people with diverse backgrounds and experiences. The project will take the form of four exhibitions and two panel discussions, organised throughout 2018.  — Curated by Charlotte Bank and Salah Saouli

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Venue:

Art-Lab Berlin

Perleberger Straße 60 

10559 Berlin-Moabit

Exhibition duration:  September 14-30, 2018.

Exhibition opening hours: Friday—Sunday, from 4-7pm

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“Misplaced Women?” Project Blog

About the Project

 

 

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Which colonial comfort would you like to consume today?

In the frame of Tanja Ostojić´s Misplaced Women? workshop, January 22–24, 2018, hosted by Kunsthalle am Hamburger Platz, Berlin, the following performance has been developed and performed for the first time:

Which colonial comfort would you like to consume today?  By: Rhea Ramjohn. 

By unpacking “colonial commodities” which Rhea uses to express her identity, she is confronting both her own and the public’s understanding of the “post-colonial” existence. She urges you to ask questions such as, What is exotic? What is indigenous? What is the composition of our identities, both national and imagined?

Performance duration: ca. 40 minutes

Location: Tempelhoferfeld, Berlin

Rhea Ramjohn: “Which colonial comfort would you like to consume today?”, Misplaced Women? workshop, Tempelhoferfeld, Berlin, January 2018. Photo: Tanja Ostojić

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“You’re from Boston! But where are your parents from? Originally?”

There’s that word again, Originally. This question is a sharp jab to the carefully-crafted concept of my identity. It is a reminder that I am a Misplaced Woman. As with many migrants from the Caribbean my heritage is varied, complex, and in many instances- undocumented. Growing up in Trinidad to parents who had little written history of our family’s migration (forced and otherwise) from Asia, Africa, and Europe, I was left to deduce for myself, the understanding of my “ethnic” identity. Furthermore, moving to the U.S. and later to Europe makes that identity-establishment more complex. I’ve found that through language and through cuisine, I can come close to physically presenting my identity, which is defined in no small part to misplacement and the Caribbean Diaspora. 

In the frame of Tanja Ostojić´s Misplaced Women? workshop, I explore this expression by unpacking a suitcase of food and other objects on the runway of the no-longer operating airport, Tempelhof. Once unpacked, the set-up should appear similar to the market vendors of my childhood Trinidad. For the performance, I chose the closed airport because it addresses my memories of travelling, where I first fell in love with the idea of visiting other places. Furthermore, choosing to stage my performance as a Trinidadian market vendor is alluding to the strong influence of global trade on my existence. Colonialism in particular, has not only affected my life, but all of us collectively. The night before the performance, I carefully selected the objects which I wanted to present because each of them serves a very particular way in which I present my identity. 

Rhea Ramjohn: “Which colonial comfort would you like to consume today?”, Misplaced Women? workshop, Tempelhoferfeld, Berlin, January 2018. Photos: Tanja Ostojić and Alice Minervini

My suitcase was packed with the following objects:

A beach mat, a white tarp, a red Chinese robe, a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, a map of Trinidad, 2 sarongs from the Bahamas one red and one blue, a bag with a whale design, 2 straw placemats, a wok, a wooden spatchala, a stuffed toy lobster, pairs of chopsticks, star-themed napkins, a purple Chinese fan, a bar of Trinidadian chocolate, a bag of Trinidadian coffee, 2 mangoes, 1 cassava, a bag of brown cane sugar, plantains, potatoes, lemons, chilli peppers, rice, ginger, garlic, amchar marsala, madras curry powder, 3 Bahamian seashells, the  Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, Black Berlin, a Trinidadian passport, an American flag postcard, and my writing notebook from 5^th class.  

With the presentation of these objects, I am attempting to exert the representation of my fragmentally determined ethnic/racial/national/personal misplacement through the narrative of colonial and “post-colonialism”. Because colonies are exploited for their resources, each of these objects serves as a symbol of that exploitation and subsequent misplacement.  

I challenge the public to recognize the connection these products have to colonialism, slavery, and immigration. How does un-/forced migration contribute to the Diaspora in terms of the re-framing of identity, misplacement of people, culture, and commodities? How are the effects of colonialism still felt/manifested today?  The title question of this performance, Which colonial comfort would you like to consume today? confronts my own search for a connection to an ancestral and cultural heritage which is inextricably linked with misplacement.  

 

Rhea Ramjohn: “Which colonial comfort would you like to consume today?”, Misplaced Women? workshop, Tempelhoferfeld, Berlin, January 2018. Photos: Tanja Ostojić and Alice Minervini

Some background on a few of the items:

The map of Trinidad: designed in the mid 90s, it was found in a flea market in Germany and outlines the industries and agriculture of Trinidad at that time- two points which focus solely on the country’s resources.

The postcard and star-themed napkins: the postcard is a replication of a 1970s black and white photo of a Black man waving an American flag. This in combination with the star themed napkins is a subtle ironic nod to my American identity, which is fraught with pride yet dismay at the racial and socio-economic injustices of my surrogate homeland.

The bag of brown cane sugar, bar of Trinidadian chocolate, and Trinidadian coffee: indigenous products to the island, these are clear representatives of the many reasons Trinidad and much of the world was colonized and exploited for monetary profit. I attempt here to bring to light two significant products usually labelled as “European” (i.e. coffee as a typically Italian product, and chocolate as a typically Swiss, Belgian, German, Dutch product), and sugar- a globally important commodity, yet whose history is steeped in the horror of slavery and colonialism.

Mangoes, plantains, potatoes, cassava, lemons, madras curry powder, amchar masala, chillies, rice, ginger, and garlic: these products represent the scope of the Diasporan traditions reflected not only in Trinidad, but throughout the Caribbean and the Americans. Asia and Africa in particular play monumental roles in the shaping of Caribbean societies, and are therefore instrumental in my identity as a Caribbean-American person.

2 sarongs from the Bahamas and 3 Bahamian seashells: gifts from a Trinidadian aunt who emigrated there, they are representative of yet another instance of a Caribbean woman emigrating to another place- a trend common in the Caribbean, yet hardly known internationally. The seashells carry the eternal sounds of the sea- a constant reminder of how far removed we are from our origins.

Text written by: Rhea Ramjohn

Rhea Ramjohn: “Which colonial comfort would you like to consume today?”, Misplaced Women? workshop, Tempelhoferfeld, Berlin, January 2018. Photo: Alice Minervini

Rhea Ramjohn is a Trinidadian-American Creative Writer and Poet based in Berlin.

 

Photo and video documentation by: Tanja Ostojić and Alice Minervini

 

Misplaced Women? @ Art-In-Public-Space Tyrol, Innsbruck

In the frame of the “Misplaced Women?” performance art workshop by Tanja Ostojic, realised in the frame of the Art in Public Space Tyrol, in Innsbruck, Austria (May 2018), two workshop participants have been chosen on the base of open call. And the following six performances by Tanja Ostojic, Li Fu and Pippa Chase have been developed and performed in the carefully chosen variety of public spaces, in front of, and in interactions with diverse and numerous audiences:

 

On Friday, May 11, 2018:

“Misplaced Women? and The Tourist Suitcase”, 30 min performance by Tanja Ostojic at Haupt Bahnhof/ main train station, Innsbruck. Photo: Daniel Jarosch

“Misplaced Women? and The Tourist Suitcase”, 30 min performance by Tanja Ostojic, on Friday, May 11, 2018, from 14:30-15:00h, at Haupt Bahnhof, Innsbruck.

 

 

“CODE: Ich habe ja nichts zu verbergen!” 35 min performance by Li Fu, at Landhausplatz, Innsbruck. Photo: Daniel Jarosch

“CODE: Ich habe ja nichts zu verbergen!”, 35 min performance by Li Fu, on Friday, May 11, 2018, from 15:25-16:00h, at Landhausplatz, Innsbruck.

 

 

“Eve is a Bridge”, 20 min performance by Pippa Chase, at Innbrücke, Innsbruck. Photo: Daniel Jarosch

“Eve is a Bridge”, 20 min performance by Pippa Chase, on Friday, May 11, 2018, from 16:20-16:40h at Innbrücke, Innsbruck.

 

 

On Saturday, May 12, 2018:

“Misplaced Women? and The Tourist Suitcase”, 60 min Performance by Tanja Ostojic, at the Goldenes Dahl, Altstadt, Innsbruck. Photo: Daniel Jarosch

“Misplaced Women? and The Tourist Suitcase”, 60 min Performance by Tanja Ostojic, at the Goldenes Dahl, Altstadt, Innsbruck. Photo: Daniel Jarosch

“Misplaced Women? and the Tourist Suitcase”, a 60 min Performance by Tanja Ostojic, on Saturday, May 12, 2018, from 9:50-10:50h, at the Goldenes Dahl, Altstadt, Innsbruck.

 

 

“Doing Gender 8102.05.3*” , a 60 min performance by Li Fu, in front of the University, Innsbruck. Photo: Daniel Jarosch

“Doing Gender 8102.05.3*” , 60 min performance by Li Fu, on Saturday, May 12, 2018, from 12:25-13:25h, in front of the University, Innsbruck. Realised with performance assistance by Pippa Chase.

 

“Der Roter Faden”, 42 min performance by Pippa Chase, in Hofgarten, Innsbruck. Photo: Daniel Jarosch

“Der Roter Faden”, 42 min performance by Pippa Chase, on Saturday, May 12, 2018, from 15:00-15:42h, in Hofgarten, Innsbruck, with performance assistance by Li Fu.

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On Sunday, May 13, the public presentation and discussion about the Misplaced Women? workshop and the six performances we’ve realised in Innsbruck took place in the Die Bäckerei – Kulturbackstube. 

Misplaced Women? public discussion in Die Bäckerei, Innsbruck, May 13,2018 Photo: Ingeborg Erhart

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Development and production: Tanja Ostojic, “Mispleced Women?” (2009-2018)

Produced with the support of: Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Tirol /  Art in Public Space Tyrol, Austria.

Photos: Daniel Jarosch

For more information please see the event’s publicity and press coverage:

The Misplaced Women? Project Blog: 

Category: Innsbruck

Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Tirol / Art in Public Space Tyrol:

Die Bäckerei (online and printed program):

Tiroler Tageszeitung 12.5.2018.

SeeCult cultural portal 13.5.2018:

Radio Beograd 2, 17.5.2018 (12-13h):