An Artist Talks Forum Survival, Resistance, Werkschau Special, 26.02.2011, Kunsthaus Tacheles.

The discussion took place in the Neue Gallery among the works from the artists exhibiting in the Werschau 2011. 

Were present photographer Petrov Ahner, musician and painter Michaela Hartmann, Alexandr Rodin Bielorussian painter and visitor guest Nathalie Toye.

Petrov Ahner shared his experience as he first started to collaborate in the I support Tacheles project, where he has collected an amazing number of pictures from supporters, from all over the world. He discovered the importance of The Tacheles Kunsthaus, in the social cultural scene, and what it represents for people.

He started to organize Flash mob resistance activities. The goal was to enlarge the vision of the media and enhance the coverage of the campain, to save the tacheles. He is a very active photographer, and has started to exhibit his works in Berlin since 2010, (see  talks with  Petrov Ahner on Blog).

Alexander Rodin is a famous Bielorussian painter and his works describe the resistance as an artist in his project "Global Warning" ( see artist talk). He has experience of difficult regimes and knows how political pressure can weigh over the artist's creativity, and push them, in many cases, to move abroad. 

He has recently organized an exhibition in Minsk, and collaborates regularly with artists from Europe and Minsk. Within the Festival Dach, that has taken place in the Kunsthaus, he devellops cultural exchange between Bielorussia and Germany. "This free space, The Tacheles, is very well known by youth and artists", he says," in Bielorussia and symbolizes strongly the freedom of expression, that we have here in this part of the world".

But nevertheless, Michaela Hartmann underlines the fact that, even in Germany, because of material issues, and the dispute around the free spaces alike Tacheles, the survival of artists, can be also a battle. 
The artist working in an environment can be quickly caught up in difficulties,often some have an extra activity, and feel it is difficult to produce the art works in such conditions.

It was also discussed, that these difficult conditions to survive can be stimulating, in an unusual way. The artists in Bielorussia are very close, and the same phenomena appears in the Tacheles Kunsthaus, where artists join and devellop new projects, to save the free space.
These reactions, to political and economical pressure, this resistance/survival, is a know reaction  for artists,  and some times  becomes part of an important creative process...