Cultural exchange programs between the US and Central and Eastern Europe since 1990Since its founding, in 1990, the Trust for Mutual Understanding (TMU) is the main supporterof the Young Visual Art Awards (YVAA) program. From the start, TMU has stewarded YVAA’svision, advancement, and achievements. This support has made a significant contribution tothe artistic development and exposure of artists from Eastern, Central and Southern Europe.

The YVAA program is constituted by eleven individual awards organized by local galleriesand institutions. Since its foundation, thanks to the TMU, the YVAA program has neverstopped growing by integrating more and more awards inside its structure.

The Young Visual Artists Award program was established in 1990 with the creation of theJindřich Chalupecký Award in Czechoslovakia with the mission of promoting and recognizingartistic accomplishment and promise by providing young artists with a US residency andcultural exchange experience. Under the aegis of President Vaclav Havel, the founders:Wendy Luers, President of the Foundation for a Civil Society, and a group of dissident artistsnamed this initial award after the Czech art historian Jindrich Chalupecky, underscoring therole of culture in democratization and civil society.

Over the years, the YVAA program has partnered with leading art organizations in eachcountry, reflecting the development and vibrancy of contemporary art in the region.Thisfounding mission and programmatic framework — to promote contemporary art, fostercultural exchange, and build the capacity of local art NGO’s — led by the Foundation for a Civil Society in New York City has guided the creation of the other eleven awards:

– Jindřich Chalupecký Society, Prague, Czech Republic : Jindřich Chalupecký Award (1990)

– Foundation – Centre for Contemporary Arts, Bratislava, Slovakia : Oskár Čepán Award

(1996)

– Stacion – Center for Contemporary Art, Prishtina, Kosovo : Artist of Tomorrow Award (2002)

– Institute for Contemporary Art, SCCA, Zagreb, Croatia : Radoslav Putar Award (2002)

– Contemporary Art Center & FRU, Skopje, Macedonia : DENES Award (2002)

– Remont Gallery, Belgrade – Mangelos Foundation, Novi Sad, Serbia : Mangelos Award

(2002)

– Zavod P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E., P47 Center and Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia : OHO Award (2005)

– KRAK: Center for Contemporary Culture, Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina : ZVONO Award

(2006)

– ZETA Contemporary Art Center, Tirana, Albania : Ardhje Award (2007)

– Institute of Contemporary Art, Sofia, Bulgaria : BAZA Award (2008)

– ISU – Institute of Contemporary Art, Cetinje, Montenegro : Milčik Award (2017)

YVAA operates in partnership with local nongovernmental art organizations to conduct anopen call and transparent annual and biannual competitions and curated exhibitions, throughwhich an independent and international jury selects a young visual artist as the winner andrecipient of a US residency.The Foundation for a Civil Society has managed not only the program’s development in theregion and cultural exchange with the US, making it the longest running wide-spreadprogram of its kind, but also a number of exhibitions, symposia, and other projects over theyears, intended to strengthen the network and foster greater exchange among the YVAApartners, artists, and cultural stakeholders in the region, Europe, and the US. To date, it has

organized seven such joint events in Prague, Belgrade, Prishtina, Bratislava, Tirana and the

US in Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and NY.Initially, the residencies for the YVAA award winners were hosted by the Headlands Center forContemporary Art in Sausalito, California. In New York, FCS started hosting the artists first inpartnership with International House and Columbia University, then later at the InternationalStudio and Curatorial Program (ISCP). Over the years, the YVAA program also partnered withart institutions such as Art in General and ApexArt.In 2015, Residency Unlimited (RU) assumed leadership of the YVAA program hosting theartists for two-month residencies in New York. Residency Unlimited supports the creationand presentation of contemporary art through its unique residency program and year-roundpublic programs. Artists benefit from customized residencies, weekly studio visits bycurators and other arts professionals. Thanks to RU activities, events and sense ofcommunity, the residents are introduced to New York City and its wide art worldYVAA laureates have represented their country at the Venice Biennial and have had worksincluded at the Berlin, Lyon and Istanbul biennials, and international exhibitions asDocumenta and Manifesta, as well as in other exhibitions over the world. These artists’continued success at the international stage has significantly and positively impacted theartistic scenes in their 11 respective countries, where they are active as exhibiting artists,curators, teachers, and cultural leaders. The YVAA program counts more than 20organizations, over 50 arts professionals, close to 500 finalists, and countless applicants thathave been involved and participated in it over the past 32 years.