As in previous years, guests from Central Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Canada have come to visit the Borderland. We gather here as poets, artists, researchers, journalists, and writers. Through literature, art, and philosophy, we create a space where thought and practice are deeply intertwined. This year’s conversations revolve around the theme “Culture of Rebellion”, shaping the workshops and meetings. Drawing from personal and regional experiences, we begin a search born from the need for a living rebellion — one that opens the possibility of a different kind of time.
The concept of “Truth”, once dismissed by postmodern theory, is now regaining its place with renewed urgency. A seminar led by Krzysztof Czyżewski, Timothy Snyder, Viktoras Bachmetjevas, and Marci Shore uses fragments from Shore’s forthcoming book as an open ground for discussion.
Central Europe has its own history of rebellion — driven by a movement of thought rooted in the lives of concrete individuals of the past century. This energy emerged from encounters, from a kind of philosophy born in mutual exchange and dialogue — not only in the flashes of solitary genius. It was in Central Europe — in the Czech Republic — that Marci Shore first encountered “truth” as a language capable of transforming ideas into action. Her intellectual path is inspired by a language shaped by both belief and resistance — where ideas naturally translate into action.
Dilemma works with a map — focusing on Central Europe and the Black Sea, it encourages us to explore less obvious borders. Łukasz Galusek introduced us to Romanian art of the 20th century, caught between local tradition and a gaze toward the West.
As we go deeper — studying avant-garde and surrealism from new perspectives — we see that artistic narratives don’t fit neatly into center-periphery models. Galusek pointed to a different Dadaism, one that may be rooted not only in Romania but also in Jewish and Hasidic traditions, suggesting another kind of artistic canon shaped by forgotten regional voices.
A special presence in this year’s school is that of Diana Tyschenko and Rosana Tuzhanska, editors of Varosh, a magazine based in Zakarpattia, Ukraine.
As we talk about propaganda and the fate of imprisoned journalists in Georgia, the rebellious nature of their work becomes clear. Varosh, published in multiple languages, has long fostered a sense of community rather than mere readership. From a region far from the front lines, it raises ethical questions: what should be written from a safe distance, and what shouldn’t? Local media like this resist top-down narratives and offer a vital alternative voice.
On the first evening, the literary “Café Europa” café returned to Krasnogruda.
Poetry speaks the language of rebellion — it resists imposed ways of seeing and feeling. Listening to poems from Ukraine, Iran, and Palestine, we felt something had been preserved through them.
Written in the midst of conflict, these poems carry a clarity of truth and meaning that remains powerful and alive.