Europe: The Forgotten East

Eastern Europe is not only a geographical region of a continent, it is a cultural entity defined by thousands of years of historical development. It is commonly known for its previous communist regimes, which led it to be called the 'Eastern Bloc' during the Cold War. Ever since the end of the Cold War in 1991, the countries within this group began trying to re-establish themselves after decades of oppression, corruption, and a weakening economy. These countries are still struggling today to meet the European standards of a democratic nation in order to be accepted within the European Union. They have been standing on their own feet for only 21 years, which in terms of changing a country's political system is very short. Nevertheless, some countries have proved to advance faster than others, to the point where they have been asked to help in the current European Debt Crisis. In late 2011, a European Union plan for the bailout funds, pressured Slovakia to get involved. Many Slovaks resented being asked to put up roughly $10 billion in loan guarantees to rescue countries richer than theirs, like Greece and Portugal. More recently, due to this decision, the ratings agency, Standard & Poor's, downgraded Slovakia's debt, making it costlier for the country to pay down its debt as investors demand that the government pay higher borrowing costs to compensate for risk. And even through all of the hassle to 'fit in', most of Eastern Europe is still called the "Black Hole" by Western Europeans.

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Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kiev, Ukraine

The art world has also seen a tough road through these years. Until recently have Eastern Europe galleries and artists been invited to show in international art fairs. This is due to many factors, but the main one says Jonas Zakaitis of Vilnius, from Lithuania's Tulips & Roses Gallery, "Across the region there is not a lot of governmental support for contemporary art. So the art scene is driven by personal initiatives, or by some crazy guy who has an idea." A positive outcome of such challenges are projects like Villa Reykjavik. This project is composed of 14 Western and Eastern European galleries that have come together to set up an international art district in Iceland’s capital every month of July. “It is very important to develop a regional exchange of ideas,” says Lukasz Gorczyca, an organizer from Poland. “We understand each other well because of the black hole of communism that we all went through.” Boris Marte, managing director of the Vienna-based Erste Foundation, adds to this by saying that no one thought about transitioning cultural institutions from a communist to a capitalist system. “So you find many institutions like museums (which) still run like communist times,” he says. “I hope local governments are beginning to understand that having a (strong) art scene is important for a vibrant democracy.”
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Installation at Foksal Gallery Foundation in Warsaw, Poland
Cezary Bodzianowski, 'Birthday', 2009 (sculpture); Piotr Janas, 'Poster / Hangover', 2010   

An example of this is Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, a small contemporary art museum established in  2000 on a peninsula in the Danube River, near Bratislava, Slovakia. Built to resemble a Roman galley ship, the museum is set dramatically in the famous river, near the point where the borders of Slovakia, Hungary and Austria converge.The museum's location reflects the heart of a reunited Europe, which gave the project “that extra dimension,” said one of the museums founders, Gerard Meulensteen. Meulensteen, the 68-year-old entrepreneur who has been the museum’s main financial back is not alone in its journey to revive the ex-Communist country. The other founder of the museum is Vincent  Polakovic, a former Slovakian art dealer and gallery owner.

Still as with any new museum, it has had a rough start. Nonetheless, the museum has managed a continuous schedule of more than 70 exhibits, with works from a selection of well-known artists, including Sam Francis, Pierre Alechinsky, and Christo and Jeanne-Claude. But, even if these artists are well-known, they do not fit into the contemporary category anymore as some are dead and others' work seems irrelevant within a today's context. Many young Slovakian artists and gallery owners feel the same way. They see Danubiana as mainly a showcase for older artists, with little relevance for a contemporary scene that has moved on to other media. The museum hopes to set itself apart and slowly grow into the hearts of art lovers.
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The museum has to embrace the countries new identity within the European Union before being accepted into the contemporary lens of the world. Old ways are unacceptable with a country struggling to renew itself within the eyes of the world. Is this a loss of tradition and culture, not so much; simply a new face for a new tomorrow.

Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum aerial shot