Bridge Guard: Transnational Artists, National Populist Politics
and Cross-Border Inter-Ethnic Relationships

J 2014

Bridge Guard: Transnational Artists, National Populist Politics and Cross-Border Inter-Ethnic Relationships

METYKOVÁ, Monika

Basic information

Original name

Bridge Guard: Transnational Artists, National Populist Politics and Cross-Border Inter-Ethnic Relationships

Authors

METYKOVÁ, Monika (703 Slovakia, guarantor, belonging to the institution)

Edition

East Central Europe, Brill, 2014, 0094-3037

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

Literature, mass media, audio-visual activities

Country of publisher

Netherlands

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14230/14:00078178

Organization unit

Faculty of Social Studies

Keywords in English

Bridge Guard – contemporary art projects – Hungary – Slovakia – national populist politics

Abstract

V originále

This article concentrates on an artist-in-residence project that is linked to the Mária Valéria Bridge on the border between Slovakia and Hungary. The article traces the history of the bridge and of the ethnically mixed populations living on the opposite sides of the Danube River that the bridge connects in order to suggest the complexity of the cross-border relationships in this particular corner of Europe. In more recent decades relationships between Hungarians and Slovaks have been influenced by national populist politics exercised on both sides of the Danube after the fall of communism in the late 1980s. The consequence of such politics is a narrow understanding of “national” interests and “national” culture that prevents a more open, more cosmopolitan approach to the relationship among the ethnic groups living in the area. The long awaited and often delayed rebuilding of the Mária Valéria Bridge is symbolic of the shortcomings of the “national container” approach. A more cosmopolitan outlook is opened up by a transnational artistic project that is—perhaps not surprisingly— largely ignored by cultural and political elites in Slovakia and in Hungary. Bridge Guard was launched in 2004 and continues to attract artists from around the world whose art works are intended to “build virtual bridges to protect the real bridge.”

Links

EE2.3.20.0184, research and development project

Name: Vytvoření interdisciplinárního týmu v oblasti výzkumu internetu a nových médií

Citovat

METYKOVÁ, Monika. Bridge Guard: Transnational Artists, National Populist Politics and Cross-Border Inter-Ethnic Relationships. East Central Europe. Brill, 2014, vol. 41, 2-3, p. 277-295. ISSN 0094-3037.

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   article_number = {2-3},
   keywords = {Bridge Guard – contemporary art projects – Hungary – Slovakia – national populist politics},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {0094-3037},
   journal = {East Central Europe},
   title = {Bridge Guard: Transnational Artists, National Populist Politics and Cross-Border Inter-Ethnic Relationships},
   url = {http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/18763308},
   volume = {41},
   year = {2014}
}

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PY  - 2014
TI  - Bridge Guard: Transnational Artists, National Populist Politics and Cross-Border Inter-Ethnic Relationships
JF  - East Central Europe
VL  - 41
IS  - 2-3
SP  - 277-295
EP  - 277-295
PB  - Brill
SN  - 00943037
KW  - Bridge Guard – contemporary art projects – Hungary – Slovakia – national populist politics
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N2  - This article concentrates on an artist-in-residence project that is linked to the Mária Valéria Bridge on the border between Slovakia and Hungary. The article traces the history of the bridge and of the ethnically mixed populations living on the opposite sides of the Danube River that the bridge connects in order to suggest the complexity of the cross-border relationships in this particular corner of Europe. In more recent decades relationships between Hungarians and Slovaks have been influenced by national populist politics exercised on both sides of the Danube after the fall of communism in the late 1980s. The consequence of such politics is a narrow understanding of “national” interests and “national” culture that prevents a more open, more cosmopolitan approach to the relationship among the ethnic groups living in the area. The long awaited and often delayed rebuilding of the Mária Valéria Bridge is symbolic of the shortcomings of the “national container” approach. A more cosmopolitan outlook is opened up by a transnational artistic project that is—perhaps not surprisingly— largely ignored by cultural and political elites in Slovakia and in Hungary. Bridge Guard was launched in 2004 and continues to attract artists from around the world whose art works are intended to “build virtual bridges to protect the real bridge.”
ER  -

METYKOVÁ, Monika. Bridge Guard: Transnational Artists, National Populist Politics and Cross-Border Inter-Ethnic Relationships. \textit{East Central Europe}. Brill, 2014, vol.~41, 2-3, p.~277-295. ISSN~0094-3037.

Detailed Information on Publication Record