Early Contemporary Art in Post-Soviet Mongolia: Where is Green Horse Galloping now?
November 19, 2019 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
ACMS Speaker Series with Dr. Tsendpurev Tsegmid
Abstract:
Dr Tsegmid presents the collective work of the Green Horse Society (1990-2002), pioneers of contemporary art in post-Soviet Mongolia. The academic lecture is the first public introduction of the society based on the article published in the peer reviewed journal produced by the Afterall Research Centre of the University of the Arts London, located at Central Saint Martins, UK.
“In Mongolia, contemporary art begins to shape itself with the post-communist art movement Nogoon Mori (Green Horse Society, GHS), which emerged in the early 1990s out of perestroika and the Mongolian Democratic Revolution. In her essay, Tsendpurev Tsegmid details how its members broke from the tradition of Socialist Realism and its attendant aesthetic and intellectual suppression by looking afresh at pre-communist Mongolian culture (the time when Genghis Khan emerged from history to replace Vladimir Lenin as a figurehead). The GHS found their theoretical basis not in the urban centre, but in the spirituality, aesthetics and cultural practices of the remote provinces where people lived off the land in much the same way as had been done for thousands of years. Not without incident, their experimental approach to learning led them to develop the Green Horse Modern Art College; students who trained at that experimental school continue to influence contemporary practices in the country today.” (Candice Hopkins, Co-editor, Afterall, Issue 44, 2017)
About the presenter:
Dr Tsegmid is a conceptual artist, freelance curator and academic, who is specialized in contemporary art practice, conceptual art theory and modern art history of Mongolia. She holds a PhD from the Leeds Beckett University, UK School of Contemporary Art and Graphic Design, Faculty of Art, Environment and Technology; has taught at the Mongolian State University of Arts and Culture, School of Art, at postgraduate levels; and continues to teach extensively on contemporary art, photographic practices, art theories, and concept development to local artists, curators and cultural professionals.
Her current research focuses on Soviet art, post-Soviet art of Mongolia, and contemporary art of Mongolia and Central Asia. In particular, she is interested in chronicling and exploring the making of “modern art” and “contemporary art” in Mongolia and former USSR countries. Artistically, she continues to explore her female, cultural and national identities through photographic and mixed media practices.
She is also the founder and the chief curator of Vanjil Arts Institute (est.2013), which is an independent research organization based in Ulaanbaatar and one of the leading specialist institutions in Mongolia. VAI promotes young and emerging researchers and curators and supports contemporary art practice, art research and art education in the country. Through VAI, she runs arts consultancy and creative workshops for organizations in order to fund its research activities.
