(Dis)solutions
- dekoloniale Begegnungen
The Goethe-Institut’s project (Dis)solutions – Decolonial Encounters focuses on Eastern Europe and Central Asia as regions with a particular post-colonial character. There are many decolonial approaches in the cultural scenes and civil society initiatives there, but these have so far mostly remained within national borders – borders that are themselves often of colonial origin. At the same time, marginalised perspectives on topics such as identity, history, language or cultural heritage lack visibility and a public platform. The project is being implemented by the Goethe-Instituts Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
In a first phase in 2023, six experts from Armenia, Estonia, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were commissioned to map post- and decolonial practices in art, culture and civil society. Based on this analysis, a concept for the follow-up phase, which is at the centre of the evaluation, was developed in collaboration with the experts. Three curators used this to develop a residency programme that invites artists from twelve countries to participate in artist travel and short residencies in several countries in the regions mentioned. Between 2024 and 2025, 19 artists were able to take part in four trips to a total of eight countries. On site, the artists are supported by local organisations, gain access to archives, museums and cultural scenes and engage intensively with the respective postcolonial realities. The residencies offer space for artistic reflection, interdisciplinary exchange and the development of new works. Accompanying measures such as workshops, participation in the RUTA Association conference in Ukraine (2024, 2025) and the production of an English-language podcast series complement the programme.
The evaluation examines the extent to which the project was able to contribute to the overarching goal of promoting an exchange between Europe and the world. In particular, it analyses the cultural-political significance of the project with a focus on decolonial encounters in the regions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as well as the project’s working methods and formats for facilitating these encounters. In line with the Goethe-Institut’s “kultur wirkt”-approach, the evaluation provides a basis for learning and development processes. In line with a decolonial approach, the individual perspectives of those involved are placed at the centre alongside the institutional and project perspectives. As part of the evaluation, qualitative interviews with experts and stakeholders from the regions, focus groups with participating artists and host organisations, content analyses of the podcast series and a network analysis will be conducted.
