Integration
Project
by Tanja Ostojic
History of the project:
After the "Illegal border crossing",
(June 2000) which consisted of two simple actions (two times border was literary illegally
crossed by the artist - duration 3 days) on Slovenian/Austrian border, (which is the
border to European Union and where approximately 8-9 illegal person are captured per day)
and "Waiting for a Visa" which took place in front of the Austrian consulate in
Belgrade during, August 2000, (six hours queuing action, with no result: from 6am until
noon, I was standing in regular queue with hundreds of other people, with about
20-document papers and few guaranty letters, in order to get visa);
in August 2000 I started the project "Looking For
a Husband with EU passport". On the occasion of that project I exchanged
above 500 letters with people from different European countries, from the States and from
Australia. After a six months long correspondence with German artist Klemens Golf we
arranged our first meeting as public performance
held on November 28, 2001 on the grass field in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art in
Belgrade. On January 9, 2002 we got married in Marriage office in New Belgrade. With
international marriage certificate and other necessary documents I applied for visa. After
eight weeks I got one entrance visa for Germany, 3 months only. Finally, on March 19, I
moved to Düesseldorf where I live now with my husband.On April 25 I had unsuccessful
appointment with Ausländerbehörde office in Düesseldorf in order to get permission to
live and work in Germany for three years.
From April 7 to May 7, I installed myself in Badischer Kunstverein in Karlsruhe (having
temporary office of "integration project" within "Uncertain Signs-True
Stories" exhibition curated by Angelika Stepken), having intensive German course and
trying to get in touch with art people and institutions in region in order to have some of
them collaborating within the process of my integration in new art community. |
Photo: Borut Krajnc
Capital & Gender
(January 17. – 24. 2001, Skopje)
[the letters] |
Visitors were welcome to my temporary office of the
INTEGRATION PROJECT. They were asked to feel comfortable and were free to stay there as
long as they fined convenient during the open hours of the Badischer Kunstverein. They
were welcome to look video documentation, to read any of catalogues or art magazines
available, as well as artist documentation. They were free to serve them-selves with tea
and biological apples.
Development of the project:
I expect Integration project to be at least 3 years long. I received 3 years permission to
live in Germany and finished one month basic course of German language.
By now I sent 90 letters - requests for collaboration, to different art institutions, art
curators, artists, journalists and writers around Germany and in EU region. I received
about 20 answers. Very few of them are positive in the direction of possible future
collaboration. With about 5 of them I started discussion on future collaboration. .
I am interested to make and publish a project book with collaboration of sociologist,
philosopher art historian, artists, about divers phenomenon this project is investigating.
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