The Radio Disaster Series: Colonialism in Camouflage

Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean announces The Radio Disaster Series: Colonialism in Camouflage, a public programme co-curated by the collective Beyond the post-soviet and Mudam. This second edition of The Radio Disaster Series will be devoted to decolonial thinking and how it can be used to critically reflect on and resist the insidiousness of imperialist and colonial rhetoric and practices across Europe and in post-colonial territories.

The first chapter is a response to the urge of acknowledging continued imperial violence in Central Eastern Europe, the Baltic States, the Caucasus, Central Asia and beyond, as well as their repercussions on societies and their expression in visual arts. Beginning in November 2022, Colonialism in Camouflage will unfold in a series of events: a lecture by Epp Annus, a listening session, a close reading of an artwork from the Mudam Collection and two workshops.

The programme borrows its title from Soviet Postcolonial Studies: A View from the Western Borderlands (2018), a book by scholar and writer Epp Annus, who uses the expression ‘colonialism in camouflage’ to highlight diverse strategies of Soviet domination that she considers to be disguised forms of colonialism. In response to this, the programme seeks to build a safe space with the participants, where theoretical and artistic input, discussions and debates will include individual and collective stories and memories as valuable sources of knowledge. These moments of learning intend to lead to a collective unlearning of the ideas and perspectives rooted in imperialism and pervading Western societies.

The second chapter, starting in January 2023, will expand on these themes and focus on the long-lasting consequences of Western European colonialism. Conceived by Mudam, this part will be curated by Line Ajan, Clémentine Proby and Joel Valabrega. 

Chapter I: Imperial violence and occupation in (post-)Soviet territories and beyond​

November 6, 2022, 3pm, opening lecture
“Colonialism in camouflage and the subaltern who speaks: politics and resistance under Russian rule” by Dr. Epp Annus
This talk will address the history and legacy of the Russian empire and the Soviet Union from a postcolonial perspective, relying on case studies from the Baltic region and Ukraine. It will be followed by a discussion between Epp Annus, Beyond the post-soviet and the audience.

December 4, 2022, 2pm, listening session
“Are we post-colonial?”
In line with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s series of articles titled “Are we post-colonial? Post-Soviet space” (2005), the listening session is imagined in close dialogue with the invitees, curator and thinker Vasyl Cherepanyn, artist Lia Dostlieva, artist and curator Tatiana Fiodorova, philosopher Renata Saleci as a space for sharing knowledge of various forms of occupation—political, territorial, cultural, ideological—, and for rethinking frameworks for such an exchange. The audiences are invited for attentive listening, while at the end of the session, an informal assembly will be held in the auditorium of Mudam without microphones.

The full programme will be announced here.

Beyond the post-soviet
Beyond the post-soviet emerged in 2021 as a non-hierarchical collective, which aims at producing and disseminating knowledge around geographic and cultural regions, previously referred to as ‘post-soviet space’ and ‘post-socialist’ countries. The group approaches research affectively and relies on multiple types of knowledge such as: theoretical knowledge, works of art and fiction, individual and collective stories, memories and emotions. It gathers artists, researchers, thinkers, and curators based in and working across different contexts.

Also on view 
Martine Feipel & Jean Bechameil. Garden of Resistance through January 9, 2023
Sung Tieu. Civic Floor through February 5, 2023
Tacita Dean through February 5, 2023
Tarek Atoui. Waters' Witness through March 5, 2023
Face-à-Face. Moderne Galerie/Mudam Luxembourg: Two collections in dialogue through April 2, 2023
25 years of the Mudam Collection through May 29, 2023

Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean promotes creativity, visionary thinking, openness and cultural participation for all. Like Luxembourg itself, Mudam is situated in Europe but has a global and outward-looking vision. Mudam is committed to a more inclusive and more responsible world in which museums play a leading role in the transmission of our cultural heritage to future generations.

Our mission is to collect, conserve and present the most relevant contemporary art of our time and make it accessible to a wide audience. Through its exhibitions, publications, and artistic and educational programmes, Mudam fosters research and dialogue while giving special attention to the changing nature of art and its production across the world.