https://thesis.eur.nl/col/7044/ List of Publications en https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76443/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Dana Netaliyeva</div> This master's thesis explores how the embodied practice of Kazakh folk dance fosters self-actualization by reconnecting individuals with their nomadic heritage in contemporary urban settings. At the core of the study lies a deep dive into the dance as a multilayered cultural practice, the value of which extends far beyond aesthetic appreciation. Each movement is seen as a vessel of intergenerational systems of thought and belief, capable not only of preserving tradition, but also of embodying and continuing it as a lived experience. The research is structured around three interrelated dimensions. First, focusing on the affective and cognitive levels of engagement, it positions dance as a form of self-expression that cultivates bodily awareness and emotional resilience. Second, it explores cultural rediscovery by demonstrating how Kazakh folk dance, rooted in a nomadic worldview and lifestyle, serves as a visual manifestation of spiritual ancestral heritage, one that is comprehended by practitioners through physical practice. Third, in seeking to understand the interpretive dimensions of the practice, the study looks at the importance of the choreographer's role in mediating tradition through storytelling and movement. Framed through the lens of living heritage, this thesis sees dance as a dynamic site for intersection of individual and collective, then and now, body and culture. It aligns with the Cultural Policy Concept of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2023-2029, which highlights the relevance of various traditional forms of artistic expression, including folk dance, in strengthening national identity and cultivating creative capacity within society, thereby contributing to collective consciousness and well-being. Yet, despite its recognition as an important element of cultural heritage, the transformative social potential of Kazakh folk dance remains underexplored, particularly in relation to its practice as an amateur leisure activity. This study, therefore, seeks to bridge the gap by employing a human-centered approach. As a further point, qualitative fieldwork involves participant observation and semi-structured interviews with three groups of Kazakh dance practitioners: amateurs, professional choreographers, and academic researchers. Based on this material, the study identifies eight key pathways through which self-actualization through dance is, indeed, realized: (1) Identity and self-expression, (2) Immersive engagement and transformation of perception, (3) Spirituality, (4) Cultural awakening, (5) Kazakh dance as an embodied expression of ancestral knowledge, (6) Music and attire, (7) Choreographer as storyteller: dance as destiny and mission, (8) Dance as the heritage of the future. For participants of various ethnic backgrounds, dance becomes a space where personal experience, the desire to better understand oneself and one's roots, and a longing to belong, particularly within the hybrid identity shaped by Kazakhstan's multiethnic history, form a strong motivation to engage with the dance. In this process, the combination of symbolic depth and physical intensity becomes a tool for exploring questions that have not yet been verbalized. Several participants described a strong internal pull toward culture in all its forms, while professional practitioners and scholars emphasized their deeper mission to facilitate the process of initiating others into it. In this vein, it becomes evident that the nation is undergoing a process of cultural reimagination, as it moves away from inherited frameworks of imperial and Soviet thinking. Within this process, dance is instrumental, and spirituality, although interpreted differently by each individual, emerges as a central theme. In this context, the research revealed a broader understanding of spirituality, which was initially associated with harmony with nature. This harmony is not simply a return to nature as a separate realm, but rather an experience of integration with the world as it is lived day to day. In this sense, self-actualization occurs not only through connection with heritage, but through the creation of a dialogue with its many facets, which allows individuals to draw from it what resonates most with them. This underscores the importance of the human factor and subjective judgements. The study also revealed a deep sense of responsibility and a strong desire to preserve this artistic tradition for future generations, as well as to exercise agency in shaping its development while maintaining its core values and concepts. Although this question goes beyond the scope of the present research, it offers significant potential for future inquiry. As a result, the findings offer new insights for scholars, demonstrate the contemporary relevance of the topic, and lay the groundwork for more detailed future research on this embodied cultural practice. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76461/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Alejandro Soto Chaves</div> This thesis interrogates the paradoxical invisibility and creative agency of Central America within the history of Surrealism and global modernisms scholarship. Taking as its threshold the Surrealist Map of the World (1929), where the isthmus vanishes beneath the continental masses of Mexico and South America, the research foregrounds how Central America has been persistently marginalised-cartographically, discursively, and institutionally-by both Eurocentric Surrealist imaginaries and dominant Latin American accounts. Thus, the study advances a history of Surrealism in Central America not as a derivative appendix, but as a liminal, generative site of negotiation between erasure, provincialism and cosmopolitanism. Chapter 1 explores the region's split identities and the origin of the persistent question of whether a distinct Central American art exists or if its artists are forever consigned to extraterritorial circuits. Through figures such as Asturias or Mérida, the chapter traces the oscillation between local specificity and diasporic engagement (Hall), revealing how exile, dependency, and marginality have shaped the Central American avant-garde's forms of community and postcolonial innovation (Quijano, Wallerstein, Mbembe, Césaire). Chapter 2 examines the transnational character of the Central American avant-garde generation, focusing on how figures like Cardoza y Aragón and Asturias navigated the French and Mexican Surrealist circuits, appropriating and transforming their tenets to inscribe local imaginaries and cosmologies (Friedman, Giunta, Glissant). The analysis foregrounds the region's unique position as a corridor and cul-de-sac-simultaneously permeable and isolated, where the marvellous is both a product of historical contingency and aesthetic intention. Chapter 3 turns to the internal dynamics of what I defined as isthmic compression, addressing the region artists' own formulation of what Surrealism can be, their anxieties about identity and dependence, and the challenges of regional representation. Throughout, the thesis resists reductive taxonomies, emphasising instead the fragmentary, polycentric, ephemeral, and contested nature of Surrealism in the isthmus. It highlights the gendered exclusions of the early avant-garde diaspora and calls for further research on adjacent figures to the movement, such as Salarrué, González Feo, Benjamín Cañas, Ricardo Aguilar, and Carlos Cañas. Ultimately, the study advocates for a critically self-aware, internally generated art and cultural history-one that embraces contradiction, complexity, and the plurality of regional voices. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76477/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Shuyun Zi</div> This paper examines the concept of "creative city" through the experiences of art students in Paris, acting as both cultural consumers and active contributors to the urban creative ecosystem. It explores how urban environments foster creativity through cultural infrastructure, "creative buzz", utilitarian and symbolic values of place. The research investigates students' perceptions of creative locations in Paris, the specific attributes inspiring their creativity, and the challenges they face in professional development within the city's creative scenes. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining surveys and semi-structured interviews with art students, to understand their interpretations and navigation of Paris's creative geographies. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76478/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Andrew Lummus</div> Donald Judd (American, 1928-1994) was an artist associated with the Minimalist movement who established the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas in 1986, after 15 years of development. Originally named the Art Museum of the Pecos, the Chinati Foundation is a contemporary art museum dedicated to perpetually exhibiting the art of Judd and his colleagues in the West Texan desert. If Judd's artwork is seen as a bridge between late modernism and postmodernism, how do we understand his museum design in Marfa, Texas? Judd used science-fictional material and temporal techniques to engage with a Scottish-American individualist legacy of utopian design. This, in practice, proposed a postmodernism that did not divorce from humanism. Judd's approach allowed for a de-hierarchized art institution and alternative conceptions of the modern-postmodern divide. However, this antiauthoritarian praxis could easily be recaptured by capital through commercializing the radically contingent subject, which prefigures the postmodern art museum and contemporary 'art experience.' This reflects broader changes in the phenomenology of art in contemporary society and thus museum design. To explain these changes, I engage with critical cultural Marxist theory through Fredric Jameson, Mark Fisher, and Slavoj ?i?ek, as well as the philosophy of technology of Martin Heidegger. I work from the art-critical milieu of the October group, particularly Rosalind Krauss and Hal Foster. I advance a new term for the understanding of Judd's work, drawn from Jean Baudrillard, Jacques Derrida, and Heidegger: simulacral Enframing. My thesis takes the form of an entirely qualitative, critical analysis of the Chinati and Judd Foundations in Marfa, Texas. My first chapter aims to define the terms that I use so liberally throughout, namely 'postmodernism.' This, of course, implies a modernism that it transgresses, the definition of which has wider implications on how we understand Judd's techniques. I examine these largely through comparison to Robert Smithson to understand utopian and dystopian attitudes in their works, differing responses to their time. In this way, it also acts as an extended literature review. The second chapter examines the Marfan foundations as Judd and Lauretta Vinciarelli built them, how they functioned, and the social implications in reference to latter-20th century America. This ties to urbanism and social theory, a legacy within which I situate the Marfan museum design, given a politicization of the philosophical propositions within his work. This ties to Judd's own political leanings and activism; I mean to show how they are inextricable. The third chapter revisits the foundations in the present day, after their transformation into a tourist destination for the ultrawealthy artworld. I examine how Judd's techniques, established in the first chapter and enacted in the second, made the commercialization of his work somewhat inevitable by the third. However, within this capital recapture, I also highlight the utility of Judd's structuralizing museology and its relationship to the Dia Art Foundation. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76488/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Jennifer Boch</div> Restitution has increasingly become an important discussion within the public sphere. It can be a diplomatic tool that helps reshape international relationships, a catalyst to community healing and cultural regeneration, or a simple matter of abiding by the law. Within the field of cultural heritage studies there is the idea that a moral shift has taken place, with much of this stemming from the work done by international organizations. This research focuses on the significant role of international organizations in restitution processes and attempts to understand to what extent does the involvement of an international organizations impact restitution? This is done through a qualitative comparative case study analysis, using content analysis and process tracing to answer the two key sub-questions: 1) how are international organizations involved; 2) and how does their involvement impact restitution cases. Two international organizations have been selected to represent two different levels of involvement, direct and indirect, with two examples provided for each case. UNESCO is an international organization that is directly involved with restitution through its role in establishing relevant international law, as well as creating a committee specifically devoted to such matters, the ICPRCP. This case is examined through the restitution of Cambodia's Koh Ker Statues and in the dispute between Turkey and Germany regarding the Bo?azköy Sphinx. ICOM is an international organization which is more indirectly involved as it promotes standards for parties involved in restitution and provides important tools, such as the Red Lists. This case is examined through two broader examples, the restitution movements for Nepal and Afghanistan. Through this analysis, we understand that both direct and indirect involvement can be very useful in restitution process, especially when the main parties involved are states. However, international organizations could probably do more impactful work. These organizations and their top-down approach may be outdated as there are many new key actors involved. Some of the impact of their involvement may be limited by this limitation in scope, as well as a hesitance to take a firm side on certain contexts of restitution, such as objects with a colonial or imperial related provenance. In the end, we must reaffirm that restitution is a highly complex and multifaceted topic with every example unique. This research wishes to serve as a foundation for future analysis into the questions, as the few examples used are not enough to make concrete claims. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76503/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>SAKSHI Jain</div> This thesis explores the socio-economic and cultural evolution of the Sikligar community of Rajasthan, India-an artisan group historically renowned for their mastery in arms-making, metal polishing, and Koftgiri (gold and silver inlay work). Once central to the martial and aesthetic heritage of Rajput courts, the Sikligars now occupy a precarious position within India's informal craft economy, shaped by colonial disruption, caste marginalization, and contemporary market forces. Although their swords are displayed in museums and sold as ritual or tourist objects, the artisans behind them remain largely invisible in heritage discourses and institutional narratives. The central research question guiding this thesis is: How have the traditional metal-making and polishing practices of the Sikligar community evolved culturally and economically, and in what ways are these practices sustained, adapted, or represented today across local, institutional, and global contexts? To answer this, the study adopts an interdisciplinary approach grounded in postcolonial theory, subaltern studies, cultural economics, and intangible heritage frameworks. Methodologically, it draws on qualitative research through 13 semi-structured interviews with Sikligar artisans, museum curators, and international metalsmiths across three cities-Jaipur, Udaipur, and Pushkar. These interviews are complemented by field observations, visual documentation, and secondary media analysis, analyzed through thematic coding and triangulation. Findings reveal that the Sikligars are not passive bearers of a vanishing tradition but adaptive agents negotiating craft survival within uneven terrains of recognition and value. In Jaipur, institutional ties offer partial visibility but limited livelihood security. In Udaipur, intergenerational businesses maintain tradition through familial networks and Koftgiri expertise. Pushkar presents a tourist-driven economy where swords are reframed as ritual souvenirs, illustrating the shift from functionality to symbolic consumption. While economic sustainability remains a core challenge complicated by structural informality, caste stigma, and exploitative intermediaries. Yet, emerging digital platforms, museum collaborations, and international partnerships offer pathways of resilience and cultural continuity. The thesis highlights significant gaps in heritage governance, including the absence of attribution, inadequate state support, and exclusion from formal policy schemes. It argues for more inclusive, decolonial, and community-centered approaches to cultural policy and museum curation. Recognizing artisans not just as skill bearers but as knowledge-holders is essential to sustaining India's intangible heritage. Ultimately, this research contributes to global conversations on cultural sustainability, marginality in creative industries, and the politics of recognition in postcolonial heritage discourse. It calls for urgent structural reforms to ensure that crafts like those of the Sikligars are not only remembered but supported, not only admired but lived. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76530/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Gabrielle Acosta</div> Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are a growing model of urban governance in cities. BIDs collect levies from businesses located in a delineated spatial area and use those funds to provide public realm improvements within that district. This is primarily motivated by the economic potential that better surroundings can bring to businesses-safer, cleaner, and more vibrant places inevitably increase footfall. Since the model was adopted two decades ago in the UK, BIDs have not only become more pervasive, but they are also becoming increasingly concerned with going beyond business and integrating community engagement. As BIDs start to adopt strategies from placemaking, they face the tension and criticism of being private, non-governmental entities that perform services that could otherwise be provided by the government. Participatory strategies like co-production might be the best path for mitigating conflicts of interest. This study then poses the question: how do BIDs utilize co-production in the process of creative placemaking? This question was answered using the Culture Mile BID in London as a case study for qualitative research. The presence of cultural institutions such as the Barbican and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama within its footprint is being leveraged by the BID, utilizing arts and culture as a catalyst for public realm improvements while also branding itself as an artistic destination. Eight interviews were conducted with members from three of the BID's identified key stakeholders-cultural organizations, local authorities, and residents; together with a review of Culture Mile BID's reports. It was found that while BIDs perform co-production by including stakeholders in its board and steering groups, integrating their voice into decision making is not a simple process. While it supports and enables creative placemaking projects, projects initiated by the BID can still be improved so stakeholders feel a deeper connection to these arts and cultural interventions. More broadly, this research illustrates that BIDs must responsibly conduct their internal governance systems, with guardrails from government and its stakeholders, to ensure a balance of interests between these actors. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76531/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Charlotte Greenaway</div> This thesis reconsiders the role of women-artists in the historical avant-garde of early 20th-century Paris through the lens of entrepreneurship, focusing on the case studies of Marie Laurencin (1883-1956) and Marie Vassilieff (1884-1957). The discipline of art history has continuously undervalued the legacies and contributions of women artists. This thesis argues that this is caused by the failure of traditional art historical frameworks to recognise their diverse and innovative practices. Through integrating an entrepreneurship perspective into the study of art history, it aims to undo some of these biases. The research question studied is: to what extent can the strategies of avant-garde women artists between 1920 and 1925 in Paris be understood through the lens of entrepreneurship research, considering in particular the way an entrepreneur engages with the entrepreneurial ecosystem and strategies for innovation and risk? Consequently, the methodology is applying entrepreneurial theory to primary historical documents and secondary survey works. First, this thesis analyses the historical context from the consideration of the concept of the 'entrepreneurial ecosystem'. Then, a database is constructed with 529 entries of modern women-artists living and working in Paris from 1920 to 1925. The purpose of this database is to consider women-artists anew, free from canonical art historical bias. From this, it is possible to examine their stylistic choices, diversity of artistic practices and their entrepreneurial strategies more objectively. However, this database can only offer an approximation, due to the incompleteness of historical data. Finally, this study explores in detail how Vassilieff and Laurencin navigated the art world as entrepreneurs. Their practices reveal distinct strategies of innovation and risk-taking that show how the individual agency of the entrepreneur intersects with the entrepreneurial ecosystem at large. Ultimately, this research contributes to four academic domains: women's art historiography, art market history, the study of the artist-entrepreneur, and female entrepreneurship. It concludes that the context disadvantaged women-artists, but that it compelled them to seek innovative entrepreneurial strategies for success, all the while having to manage the risks and uncertainties caused by their environment in often complex ways. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76645/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Yue Xiao</div> Cultural Heritage Transmission and Cultural Identity Negotiation: The Role of Chinese Bookstores in Paris ABSTRACT With the increasing mobility of global populations, the study of cultural identity has garnered growing academic attention. As an important part of culture, cultural heritage plays a crucial role in shaping individual and collective identities. While existing scholarship has extensively explored both the identity construction of migrants and the transmission of cultural heritage abroad, it often remains limited in effectively integrating these two dimensions. Moreover, compared to traditional "sites of memory" such as museums and archives, bookstores have received relatively little attention as spaces for cultural heritage transmission. To fill this gap, this study examines two Chinese bookstores in Paris as case studies to explore how they function as emerging spaces for the transmission of Chinese cultural heritage and how they influence the cultural identity of overseas Chinese communities. The research is based on semi-structured interviews, supplemented by participant observation and textual analysis, to investigate how these bookstores facilitate the transmission of cultural heritage within urban space and act as "third spaces" for negotiating cultural identity among the Chinese diaspora. The findings reveal that the bookstores transmit Chinese Cultural Heritage through two dimensions: First, the material aspect, such as books, traditional products, and the spatial environment, embodies cultural heritage knowledge and elements; Second, the cultural activities organized by the bookstores can also reflect the cultural heritage transmission function by providing a public social space where participants can exchange ideas and negotiate specific cultural heritage topics, and these activities themselves constitute a process of reinterpreting and reconstructing cultural heritage, showing a trend of the everyday practice of cultural heritage. As for its influence on cultural identity, the social space provided by the bookshops can facilitate the sense of belonging and emotional connection among participants, thereby fostering their cultural identity. Yet, the bookstores can not completely resolve individuals' identity confusion and dilemma due to the complex and multidimensional nature of identity. Instead, they serve as a "buffer zone" for expression and reflection, positively influencing participants' emotional experience and sense of belonging. This study argues that, despite facing certain long-term challenges, as non-traditional heritage spaces, bookstores hold significant potential for the dynamic transmission of cultural heritage and for supporting hybrid identity negotiation. Through public activities, they also contribute positively to the sense of belonging and cultural identity formation within diasporic communities. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76662/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Sofía Ardila Sierra</div> This thesis examines how the cultural dimension is discursively framed in the immigrant integration policy instruments of Madrid between 2020 and 2025. Through a Critical Discourse Analysis approach, the research explores how institutional discourses construct, manage, or omit cultural diversity within integration frameworks. The study applies Jäger and Maier's discourseanalytical toolbox to analyze municipal policy documents, participatory reports, and implementation instruments, identifying the ways in which culture is operationalized. The findings reveal a dominant pragmatic discourse that recognizes diversity in functional terms while avoiding deeper structural debates on cultural hierarchies, racism, and migrant agency. While the City Council signals openness to limited participatory mechanisms, integration policies largely reflect a managed pragmatism oriented toward maintaining social cohesion rather than advancing substantive cultural pluralism. This research contributes to contemporary debates on integration governance and demonstrates how municipal discourse simultaneously recognizes diversity while preserving institutional control over cultural definitions. The thesis concludes by identifying areas for future research, including multi-level comparisons, greater inclusion of immigrant voices, and further empirical exploration of integration as a contested governance field. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76701/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Anzhelika Urusova</div> This thesis explores the use of immersive VR technologies in memory museums, focusing on their role in shaping commemorative practices and curatorial approaches in dealing with difficult heritage. Immersive technologies are often regarded as an effective way to enhance viewers' empathetic engagement, with the aim of fostering socially oriented political awareness and advancing justice. This research critically revises this position. The research draws on interdisciplinary theory within the fields of memory studies and museum studies, applying Alison Landsberg's concept of prosthetic memory, Andreas Huyssen's reflections on memory in late capitalism, Pierre Nora's notion of lieux de mémoire, and critiques by Judith Butler and Silke Arnold-de Simine to investigate the ethical and curatorial implications of using VR in trauma-related contexts. The methodology is based on a triangulation of methods: critical discourse analysis of the public controversy surrounding the new memorial project in Babyn Yar; thematic analysis of expert interviews with museum professionals; and content analysis of the VR project at the GULAG History Museum, interpreted through the lens of contemporary memory theories. The analysis demonstrates that rather than serving primarily as a tool for fostering empathy or transmitting affective memory, VR technologies are most effective as educational instruments within complex pedagogical programs. Furthermore, they offer new ways of interacting with - and even constructing - spaces of memory. The findings contribute to current debates on the use of immersive media in memory museums. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76725/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Lexine Coronel Ponce</div> This study seeks to analyze the contemporary reinterpretations of museums towards handling collections of female biblical figures who have often been intertwined in complex histories and intricately layered discourses. Where some of these depictions have been rooted in androcentrism resulting in sexualized depictions and portraying these figures in manifestations that appeal to male audiences. This poses a problem with normalizing objectification amongst women where this was merely seen as a standard artistic convention which has historically been accepted and rarely questioned. This approach disguises the perpetuation of gender biases which is no longer acceptable within the context of contemporary social issues where society has become increasingly aware, demanding for higher accountability in the messages that are put forward. The portrayals of Susanna and her assailants have been a popular depiction for centuries, painting scenes of her sexual assault in bright vivid colors. The contextualization of Susanna in contemporary museums today is the definitive factor of whether her image will continue to contribute to justifying voyeurism in plain sight or where museums can use this image to send a powerful message instead - challenging and vindicating the narratives of violating a woman's body. Similarly, Mary Magdalene's iconography in art has been heavily shaped and tainted by an allegation, diminishing her sanctity and womanhood - through recent calls to action regarding recontextualizing her identity, institutions have revisited and revised their curatorial narratives depicting her. Varying depictions of female biblical figures stand out which historically have been less sexualized but are popularly depicted for its gore and violence such as the image of Judith. Her story has been used as a symbol of strength but also instills fear over female agency. Contemporary museums have used her powerful imagery linking this together with story of Artemisia Gentileschi, a survivor of rape who had released her frustrations of injustice and gender inbalance on to her craft. This link has uplifted both women to symbols of power and resilience amidst patriarchal domination, heavily resonating with ongoing societal issues. Lastly, the depiction of Esther as a queen dressed in beautiful garments is given greater meaning in shedding light to the reason behind her frequent portrayals during the liberation of the Netherlands from Spain in the 17th century. Transforming her image from a static decorative artwork, to a powerful symbol of freedom. Through analyzing these reinterpretations of contemporary museums, we hold institutions to a higher degree, as a space that both cultivates and reflects cultural practices using collective memory in shaping the future, allowing for a more inclusive and conscious society. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76764/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Ninutsa Zakalashvili</div> The thesis, 'Sites of Persuasion, Spaces of Resistance: State Museums and Alternative Memory Practices in the Post-Soviet Memorial Exhibitions', delves into the complex interplay of archives, power, and historical narrative construction within post-Soviet countries. It investigates how archival practices can serve as instruments of epistemological domination while simultaneously holding significant potential for decolonisation. The central research question is: How do archival and arts-based practices in post-Soviet countries challenge narratives of power and contribute to decolonial and inclusive representations of history within the contexts of museums of occupations and resistance? It specifically explores how arts-based research can identify and articulate the gaps and silences prevalent in archives and their public presentation. Employing a dual methodological approach, this research examines both state-led memorial museums and various grassroots initiatives across Georgia, Ukraine, and Latvia. The analysis draws upon accessible exhibition materials, secondary literature, media reviews, and personal observations and reflections to identify patterns in narrative construction and alternative storytelling methods. State-led museums, while crucial for national identity formation and commemoration of suffering (e.g., the Tbilisi Museum of Soviet Occupation, the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia), often present hegemonic narratives that can reinforce nationalist perspectives and inadvertently silence diverse experiences, such as Latvian complicity in the Holocaust or the nuanced identities of various population groups. However, external factors, like ongoing street protests in Georgia, can re-activate the core anti-imperialist narratives embedded within these institutions, demonstrating how even stagnant sites can become symptoms of current political crises. The thesis explores the integration of queer histories within post-Soviet memorial contexts, a theme often marked by systemic discrimination and silence. Jaanus Samma's art installation, Not Suitable for Work: A Chairman's Tale, exhibited in the Museum of Occupations and Freedom in Tallinn, exemplifies how research-based art can make invisible queer experiences visible within national narratives of oppression, linking homophobic legislation to broader political repressions. This demonstrates how arts-based approaches can pioneer and inspire legal and political transformations, fostering new networks of understanding against prevailing propaganda. In conclusion, this thesis argues that museums and cultural institutions dedicated to the post-Soviet past should transcend mere education or commemoration. They must evolve into dynamic places of feeling and dialogue, where the strategic application of arts-based research and alternative storytelling can actively dismantle colonial legacies, address complex contemporary political realities, and promote a more democratic and inclusive understanding of history for future generations. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76816/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Sara Rathore Rathore</div> This thesis looks at how architecture appears in Mughal miniature paintings from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, focusing on the ways space and structure were imagined within the art of the imperial court. It studies a group of paintings that show palaces, gardens, mosques, and ceremonial settings, and places them alongside actual Mughal buildings in Agra, Delhi, and Fatehpur Sikri. The goal is to understand whether the paintings reflect real buildings, idealized spaces, or a mix of both. Through direct visual observation and field visits, the work identifies common features such as domes, iwans, garden layouts, and balconies, which serve as familiar forms within the painted scenes. These details are not simply decorative, but help to shape how space is understood. Instead of using Western rules of perspective, Mughal painters relied on vertical layering, repeated forms, and careful framing to show depth and order. These choices reveal a visual language that expresses ideas of power, ceremony, and hierarchy. A method of comparison brings together paintings, buildings, and literary references to highlight shared ideas about space and meaning. Texts and poetry from the period help place these images in a wider cultural setting. Rather than treating painting and architecture as separate arts, the study shows how closely they are linked. The miniature is seen not just as a record of architecture but as a way of thinking about space in its own right. The buildings in these paintings may be small and stylized, but they carry real weight in how they shape ideas of rule, devotion, and beauty. This study offers a new way to look at Mughal painting, one that sees it as an important part of architectural imagination in early modern South Asia. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76844/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Itoro-Abasi Essien</div> This thesis seeks to examine the existing initiatives put in place by cultural organizations in facilitating the effective transition and sustenance of progressive career pathways for emerging visual artists within the creative industry. Specifically, it explores how cultural organizations interact with these emerging artists and the crucial role they play in enabling access to the art market. The study also considers the challenges that emerging visual artists face in maintaining a successful and progressive career trajectory. The central research question guiding this study is "What role do cultural organizations play in supporting emerging visual artists within Nigeria's art market?" To address this question, the thesis analyzes how cultural organizations are perceived, their roles as gatekeepers, the challenges often encountered by emerging visual artists, and the support and guidance available for navigating the evolving West African art market. While academic research provides ample evidence of the importance of relationships between cultural organizations and visual artists in creative industries globally, there is limited explanation of how these relationships function within the Nigerian context, particularly for emerging visual artists. Therefore, this study adopts an exploratory approach to investigate the outcomes of such interactions. To achieve this, thirteen interviews were conducted with gallery owners, curators, managers, directors, and art professionals. The findings reveal that most galleries in Lagos, key cultural organizations in the Nigerian art scene primarily focus on showcasing and representing established and veteran artists. Their limited engagement with emerging artists is largely driven by the need to safeguard their own sustainability, especially in light of the country's challenging economic climate. However, over the past decade, some galleries have slowly shifted focus by integrating programs aimed at increasing inclusivity for emerging visual artists. Despite these efforts, the challenges remain substantial. The increasing number of young artists entering the industry poses financial burdens, with limited return on investment compared to the profitability of established artists. Participants also noted that collectors tend to prioritize key components of quality in artworks, which many emerging artists fall short of. Furthermore, the advent of social media has contributed to a culture where many young artists pursue quick sales at the expense of developing essential professional and management skills. Although some galleries have confirmed the existence of initiatives aimed at supporting emerging visual artists; these efforts are insufficient to meet the demands of the rapidly growing artist population. Ultimately, while the thesis presents evidence of interactions between galleries and emerging artists; these relationships are not always advantageous to the latter. Nevertheless, this study offers valuable academic insights that can inform future, more detailed research into the West African art market and its evolving institutional dynamics.