In 2007 the artist Atousa Bandeh Ghiasabadi (1968 Iran) has initiated Sideways, a platform to reflect on the relation between art, reception and changing contexts. The discussions that took place – besides Bandeh the artists Sara Blokland (Netherlands 1969), Bassam Chekhes (Syria 1965), Katrin Korfmann (Germany 1971), the artist-writer Nickel van Duijvenboden (Netherlands 1981) and philosopher Tina Rahimy (Iran 1975) contributed to the project - have resulted in an exhibition in Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem (NL), till 20 June 2010, and in the publication Sideways. The book Sideways is the visual and textual expression of personal and non-personal narratives on subjects such as culture, art and context. Above all all the contributors interrogate the general ideas of cultural diversity.

The aim of this project is to reflect on the question: How does replacement and shift of context influence an artwork or an artist? 'What happens if an artist moves to an environment where his/her references of culture, history, language – those of style, metaphorical choices and the way expression is being influenced – are not known to the new surroundings?' The concepts that separate artwork from other forms of representative media, such as expression, style and rhetoric, are closely interwoven with knowledge of the personal, cultural, historical and linguistic context in which the artwork has been created. However how can these influences be communicated in a world where the contexts of these expressions are unfamiliar?

The question posed by Atousa Bandeh was inspired by her personal experience. She migrated to the Netherlands in 1989. This replacement and her acquaintance with the art world in the Netherlands have confronted her with a series of impasses namely in communication. And exactly the miscommunication that goes beyond language difficulties have motivated her to research the pressing subject on the relevancy between art and context.

Migration of nonwestern individuals to western countries and the political and social changes in the European society have resulted in the urgency to reflect upon topics such as cultural diversity. It has led to changes in policies regarding art and culture, sometimes not without dilemma’s and conflicts. The political tensions affect at the same time the artists and their artwork. Many efforts have been made to create platforms wherein the artworks of western artist with the non-western background nevertheless can become accessible and recognizable for the western audience. The artists and writers of Sideways oppose the general ideas about cultural diversity. They are convinced that individuality in itself is a diversity. They also argue that despite the formation of individual diversity by culture, not every form of individuality is solely dependent on ethnic descent or nationality. To understand this diversity in individuality rather than nationality is crucial for comprehension or communication of any kind of art, especially in the recent polarized political and social climate. In their highly personal contribution to the publication, the artists discuss the contexts in and of their artworks, through their own understanding of replacement.

The publication Sideways offers six different and personal views on the topic of cultural diversity. It is about raising questions, rather then giving definite answers. The aim is to create awareness in the subjectivity of art as the actual key of communication.

Project Sideways is one of the 6 projects that were selected in 2007 as part of the Intendants for cultural diversity, a program initiated and funded by the Dutch Fund BKVB.

Sideways is published by Atousa Bandeh Ghiasabadi

isbn: 978-90-76936-24-6

Prize: € 29.95

Distribution: Idea Books http://www.ideabooks.nl