Art, Activism, and Power in the Contemporary Post-Soviet Space

This session invites artists, curators, and researchers to reflect on the evolving role of art and activism in the contemporary post-Soviet space.

Across much of the region, the legacies of Soviet control intersect with new forms of authoritarianism. Freedom of expression remains precarious, and public space is heavily politicised. Artists are often forced to navigate a difficult terrain between resistance, self-censorship, and co-optation. At the same time, post-Soviet regimes have become increasingly skilled at instrumentalising art to reinforce nationalist, militarist, or neo-imperial narratives—whether through state-sponsored works, urban branding, or selective cultural diplomacy abroad.

Analysing this situation is particularly urgent in today’s climate of escalating repression and surveillance, where subversive creative strategies are often appropriated or neutralised by the state. How can creative resistance persist under such conditions? What new methods of insurrection, withdrawal, or double meaning are emerging within the post-Soviet context? And how might we—as artists, scholars, and cultural practitioners—engage critically with these practices without inadvertently reinforcing the very systems we aim to question?

By foregrounding shared experiences from across the region, this session aims to move beyond simplified Europe/Asia binaries and instead open a dialogue on how power is negotiated and contested through visual culture in the post-Soviet space today. 

Submit your Paper via this form. Please download, complete and send it directly to the Session Convenor(s) below by Sunday 2 November 2025:

Anastasiia Korableva, University of Essex, a.korableva@essex.ac.uk