In 2008 the Serbian artist Tanja Ostojić is the recipient of the Köstlin-Jubilee Fellowship of the Schering Stiftung.

In automn 2008 she presents her first solo exhibition in Austria at the Kunstpavillion, where she provides for the first time an overview of important works and work cycles developed between 2000 and 2007. Ostojic describes the field of her artistic approach by means of research, reflection, communication, interaction and criticism towards today’s society. Over the last few years, she has consistently created an œuvre including performance, video and photography and a considerable amount of archival material, which depicts, criticizes, and partially satirizes socio-political realities. An exhibition catalogue is available. It was made possible with the support of the Köstlin Anniversary Fellowship, KulturKontakt Austria and the Tyrolean Artists Association.

In her “Crossing Borders” series, Tanja Ostojic looks into the different strategies for crossing borders, which migrants have been using for decades, exploring topics such as the Schengen Treaty, marriages of convenience, and methods of control. With her work “L’origine du monde/After Courbet,” a photograph of the artist’s lower abdomen clad in EU underpants, shown as a public billboard in Vienna in late 2005, Ostojic spelled out that for a large number of female immigrants the only way to enter Europe is by entering into prostitution.

The “Integration Project” deals with the various debates around the issue of integration: language schools, immigration laws, the legislation on asylum in the different EU countries, deportation, illegalization, discriminatory legislation, and the instrumentalization of the term “terrorism.” The Integration Project Archive is part of the exhibition and comprises many hours of unedited video interviews, audio recordings, books, photographs, and brochures. For those interested there will be the opportunity to receive photocopies of the documents.

The video installation “Naked Life” deals with the ethnic group of the Roma and Sinti, Europe’s largest minority group, touching on issues such as deportation, social and political exclusion, governmental racism, xenophobia, and how we deal with different cultural identities.

Additional information can be found at: http://www.van.at/see/tanja/

Exhibition Dates:
September 19 – November 8, 2008
Opening Hours:
Tue – Fri, 10 – 12 a.m. and 2 – 6 p.m.
Sat, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Exhibition Opening: Thursday, September 18, 2008, at 7 p.m.
Finissage: Friday, November 7, 2008, at 5 p.m.
Presentation of the book “Integration impossible?”: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 7 p.m.

Kunstpavillon der Tiroler Künstlerschaft
Rennweg 8a
6020 Innsbruck
Austria

Artist’s discussion:
On March 2, 2009, 7 p.m. there will be an artist’s discussion with Tanja Ostojic at the newthinking store (Tucholskystr. 48 in Berlin-Mitte) about migration and integration.