Testing the Boundaries and Paving the Way to Democratization: East European Literary Magazines 1945-2004 (Exhibition, Trieste)
Literary magazines have played a fundamental role in the European history of the second half of the twentieth century. The exhibition opening in Trieste on Monday, January 29th, explains how and why.
The exhibition features a selection of documents from Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Poland, and Slovenia, representing the numerous attempts at resistance and openness to democracy undertaken by various literary magazines from 1945 to 2004.
As Jacques Derrida wrote, "There is no democracy without literature and no literature without democracy."
This exhibition marks the conclusion of a two-year research project based at the Department of Humanities of the University of Trieste, within the European project LITMAG. The research, involving collaborations from eight partners across six European countries, focused on the role of opposition and resistance played by some literary magazines in Eastern Europe and subsequently their impact on the processes of democratization in the involved nations. The exhibited materials trace the history of twelve literary magazines, including "La battana," founded in Fiume in 1964 as part of the cultural initiatives of the Union of Italians in Istria and Fiume. It played a significant role in cultural connections between Italy and Yugoslavia. The collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the State Library of Trieste has allowed the showcasing of various issues of these magazines present in the library's catalogs.
The vernissage will take place monday, January 29, 2024 Starting at 4:00 PM, at the Stelio Crise State Library, Exhibition Halls (2nd floor), Largo Papa Giovanni XXIII, 6, Trieste.
The exhibition will be introduced by the library director, Dr. Francesca Richetti, and presented by Sergia Adamo and Iwan Paolini, who will guide the audience through the exhibited materials. A reception will follow.
Opening hours: Monday to Thursday: 8:30 AM – 6:30 PM; Friday: 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM.
The exhibition will remain open until February 15, 2024.
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Scientific-Organizational Committee of the Exhibition:
Sergia Adamo, Francesca Richetti, Iwan Paolini, Vesna Mikolič.
In collaboration with Ministry of Culture
Project coordination: Beletrina Academic Press
Partners: Slovenia National Museum of Contemporary History, Slovenia; University of Salzburg, Austria; University of Bielsko-Biala, Poland; University of Pécs, Hungary; The Directorates of Vilnius Memorial Museums—Venclovas' House-Museum, Lithuania; Science and Research Centre Koper, Slovenia.