School of Social and Political Science

Description

Speaker: Dr. Künnej Takaahai (University of Warsaw)

 Chair: Dr. Jiazhi Fengjiang (University of Edinburgh)

Abstract:

The Virtual Exhibition of Sakha Artists (2024) is part of the larger To Be – Named project – https://to-be-named.org/about/, a partnership between the European Union-funded CoLing project (Faculty of “Artes Liberales” the University of Warsaw) — a multinational, multi-institutional program focused on minority languages; the Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network (New York, Bard College), which connects academic centers worldwide; and the Recovering Voices Program at the Smithsonian Institution (USA), which supports community efforts for language revitalization. The TBN project includes three branches: an edited volume (contracted with Routledge), a traveling exhibition, and a website.

 The Sakha Virtual Exhibition showcases the works of seven independent artists and two artistic groups from the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). The collection of unique works by renowned artists is an expression of Sakha ethnic identity, and each piece was selected in line with the To Be – Named project’s concept of names and naming, allowing viewers to engage with the original Sakha culture and form their own interpretations of the artistic visions.

The exhibition presents the diversity of contemporary Sakha art: photographs of Yakutia’s pristine nature, sculptures made from mammoth tusk, bone, wood, and ice, jewellery, small sculptural forms, graphic arts, lithographs, paintings, performance art, theatre, and cinema. The meeting and dialogue space is virtual, provided by the project on the “To Be – Named” website. This approach ensures the transnational nature of the event, blending science with art and offering the opportunity for free creative expression. Visitors to the “To Be – Named” project website will have a unique opportunity to explore the original culture of the Sakha people through the artworks of renowned Yakutian artists