A travelling exhibition
about European identity
and today’s Europe.
The project
Do you feel European? Does Mr O’Keeffe in Ireland feel more or less European than Mrs Stylianou in Cyprus? And if so, why? What is the idea behind Europe and do Europeans feel included? Do Europeans trust their leaders? Maybe there are as many different answers on these questions citizens in Europe.
The United States of Europe (U.S.E) project presents various reflections on those questions through four dimensions:
- 1. Artists interpretations. Curators and artists and been invited to give their interpretations on European identity through photos, multimedia, video and other installations.
- 2. Sociological studies. 50 people from 10 different countries countries have been interviewed. The result is video-recorded interviews that give comparable results of a potential belonging to a European entity.
- 3. An interactive laboratory. This is a place at the exhibition where the artistic and sociological parts are combined. It’s a creative environment for real-time exchange about Europe today.
- 4. A series of debates. Several aspects will be discussed, for example “What does it mean to be European and how is contemporary art dealing or not with that question?” and “Europe, its politicians and the people – about confidence and commitment today”.
The concept of the U.S.E exhibition project is to play with the notion of identity, cultural borders and political militancy in order to provoke and wake up people’s minds. U.S.E aims to make us listen to others, interact with each other and give the vast European public a voice.
Between November 14 2011 and April 30 2013 the exhibition will take place in Poland, Finland, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Portugal, Cyprus, Germany, Belgium, France and Ireland.
