Irwin's East Art Map Project Evolves into Academic Network Challenging Eastern European Art Historiography

In 2000, the Irwin collective from Slovenia initiated the East Art Map project, aiming to document notable Eastern European artists and their works from 1945 to 2000, thereby questioning both Eastern and Western narratives of art history. Selected pieces were published in New Moment Magazine in 2002, with an online platform, www.eastartmap.org, launched in 2004, though it struggled to attract a significant audience. Due to inconsistent criteria for selection, the initiative "Mind the Map! – History Is Not Given" was created, supported by the German Federal Cultural Foundation and led by curator Marina Gržinic alongside professors Günther Heeg and Veronika Darian. A symposium held in Leipzig in October 2005 featured 14 scholars and artists, highlighting disparities in art markets. The project was documented in a 2006 publication.