East Coast Europe

Book excerpt: ¿East Coast Europe,¿ which took place during Spring 2008, is a project about the perceptions of contemporary European identity and its relation to spatial practices and international politics. The title ¿East Coast Europe¿ is a word play. ¿Europe¿ in the title is the central topic for investigation, its contemporary culture, expansion, and its status as a continuing social project. ¿East Coast¿ refers to two distinct edges of Europe, both real and imaginary¿the geographical East Coast of the United States of America and the political ¿East Coast¿ of the European Union. The project invited leading figures in culture and politics from the two east coasts¿of the United States of America, and of the countries in the European Union and its vicinity to comment on their perception of Europe today. East Coast Europe dives into the urgent details of a dense network of contemporary experience of the European Union¿s extensive exchange of knowledge, people, and goods with the East Coast of the United States and also with its own eastern border. What are its challenges and possibilities for social, political and spatial practices? With contributions by Can Altay, Marina Abramović, Paddy Ashdown, Zdenka Badovinac, Katherine Carl, Eda Čufer, Reinier de Graaf, Mladen Dolar, Lisa Farjam, Srdjan Jovanović Weiss, Carin Kuoni, Zak Kyes, Jacques Le Goff, Aaron Levy, Genevieve Maitland Hudson with Cyril Blanc, Markus Miessen, Viktor Misiano, Miran Mohar, Shamim Momin, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Orchard, Dan Perjovschi, Marjetica Potrč, Neboj¿a ¿erić Shoba, Michael Shamiyeh, Erzen Shkololli, Taryn Simon, Nedko Solakov, Alenka Suhadolnik, Milica Tomić, Kazys Varnelis, Felix Vogel, Borut Vogelnik, Jordan Wolfson, and Sislej Xhafa.