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Update: Contents of the forthcoming publication 'Amikejo' to be realised in January 2012 by Mousse Publishing
Mon, Oct 24 2011 |
| 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...
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
