LONGITUDES

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Update: Contents of the forthcoming publication 'Amikejo' to be realised in January 2012 by Mousse Publishing

Photo: Courtesy Musée de la Vallée de la Greule
As announced on our previous post, we are currently editing the forthcoming catalogue 'Amikejo', which concludes the exhibition cycle that has taken place at the Laboratorio 987 in MUSAC, León.

One of the main essays (aside that by Prof. Peter Osborne around the philosophical and the historical development of the 'project space' as a type of art space) is that by Prof. Ryszard Żelichowski, Director for Scientific Research at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, titled "Neutral Moresnet and Amikejo – The Forgotten Children of the Congress of Vienna", which narrates the story of the small state Neutral Moresnet which, in 1908 became the first Esperanto state and changed its name to 'Amikejo' ('a place of great friendship' in Esperanto).

Below an excerpt of what's to come...
Upon Napoleon’s defeat in 1814, the victorious coalition faced the need to introduce a new order in Europe. European citizens could gain entirely new borders for the states they inhabited; first and foremost however, the coalition saw hope for the improvement of the terms of their nation’s existence. The Congress of Vienna had to deal with these challenges while reconciling the often contradictory expectations of both big and small states. One such challenge was posed by an area of what had been the Aubel canton during the French Empire, which today is part of the Belgian municipality of Kelmis. This territory – more precisely a small part of it – wedged between what is today Belgium and Germany enjoyed a certain amount of independence for over a century, and had many attributes of a sovereign state: its own anthem, flag, currency, and postage stamps. This mini-state, Neutral Moresnet (1816–1919), has been mostly forgotten by historiography, and almost two hundred years since its creation, I would like to commemorate the extraordinary fortune of this tiny piece of land at the heart of Western Europe.

Title: 'Amikejo'
Edited by: Latitudes
Publisher & Distributor: Mousse Publishing and MUSAC
Format: 22,5x15,5cm, 200 pp, hardcover
Language: English/Spanish
Print run: 1,200
Date of publication: Spring 2012


Follow the project on Latitudes' Twitter #Amikejo
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