A Frightened Modernity: Language, Politics, and Identity in Belarusian Cultural Projects of the 1920s and 1930s - Instytut Pileckiego

Lecture by Anna Karpenko and commentary by Olga Shparaga as part of our series “Mehrzahl Moderne” in cooperation with the FernUniversität in Hagen.

A Frightened Modernity: Language, Politics, and Identity in Belarusian Cultural Projects of the 1920s and 1930s

Lecture by Anna Karpenko
Commentary by Olga Shparaga (FernUniversität in Hagen)

19.06, 18.00 | Pariser Platz 4A, 10117 Berlin | Registration: https://forms.gle/fLX11v5SKx8BHLKs5

The event will take place in English and German. Contributions in both languages will be simultaneously interpreted into the respective other language.

The history of Belarusian modernity is marked by profound ambivalences. While the 1920s are often regarded as a period of cultural and national revival, they also witnessed the emergence of increasing political repression directed against Belarusian culture. In her lecture, Anna Karpenko explores various cultural projects from this era, when Belarusian national and cultural identity was challenged both by the Soviet East and by the West.

Drawing on the history of the avant-garde in Vitebsk, the work of the art historian Mykola Shchekotikhin, and the activities of the first Institute of Belarusian Culture (InBelKult), she examines the diverse attempts to develop an independent cultural modernity. At the same time, the lecture addresses how European modernism was received and transformed in Eastern Europe, and why Belarus is often described as a place that never fully experienced “modernity.”

This event marks the conclusion of the Mehrzahl Moderne lecture series, organized jointly by the Chair of Public History at FernUniversität in Hagen and the Pilecki Institute Berlin.

About the “Mehrzahl Moderne” Series

How can the recent histories of Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus be narrated as part of European history? How can the historical experiences of these societies be made visible without reproducing inherited notions of asymmetry, backwardness, or superiority?

The Mehrzahl Moderne series proposes understanding modernity not as a single developmental path, but as a plurality of interconnected and entangled processes. Attending to the polyphony, complexity, and interconnectedness of the region opens new perspectives on what are often perceived as Europe's peripheries. By placing their histories at the center, we are reminded that the future of Europe is also being decided in Ukraine today.

All events in the series have been recorded. Recordings of previous lectures are available on the Pilecki Institute’s YouTube channel. The recordings will also be made available in autumn 2026 as part of Module M1 of the MA History of Europe program at FernUniversität in Hagen.

Anna Karpenko is a curator, writer, and cultural researcher whose work focuses on art, memory cultures, and processes of social transformation in Eastern Europe. She studied at the European Humanities University in Vilnius and completed the Curatorial Studies program at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig). She holds a BA in Philosophy, an MA in Sociology, and an MA in Curatorial Studies, and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA).

As a curator, she has organized exhibitions and research projects in collaboration with numerous international institutions, including Museum Sztuki in Łódź, Gallery Arsenal in Białystok, Galeria Labirynt in Lublin, Badischer Kunstverein in Karlsruhe, the Museum of Contemporary Art and GfZK in Leipzig, Halle 14 Leipzig, ifa (Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations) in Berlin, the Pilecki Institute Berlin, and KU Leuven in Belgium. Her essays and articles have been published in Springerin, BLOCK, Dwutygodnik, RTV, Magazyn SZUM, and Kulturaustausch. In 2023, she published and edited the book When The Sun Is Low, The Shadows Are Long with Spector Books in Leipzig.

Born and raised in Belarus, Anna Karpenko remains deeply connected to her hometown of Minsk. She currently lives and works between Leipzig and Berlin. Her research and curatorial practice operate at the intersection of art, history, memory, and social change in Eastern Europe.