Hodja Nasreddin Joke Contest
Hodja Nasreddin Joke Contest
When humor in the only weapon!
TOK will be the producer of the new project by the St Petersburg artists Olga Jitlina "Hodja Nasreddin Joke Contest" aimed at describing the life of labor migrants in Russia in the form of Hodja Nasreddin famous anecdotes.
Famous for his wry wit from Bukhara to Bucharest, from Akshehir to the Pamir Mountains, Khoja Nasreddin, aka Molla Efendi, Afandi, Anastratin, Nesart, Nasir, Nar ad-din, or just plain old Nasreddinov (Nasreddin Hoca, Naṣraddīn JuḥāMullā Naṣru l-dīn,Nosiriddin Xo'ja, Nasreddīn Hodja, Nasrudin Hodža, Nastradin Hoxha, Nastradin), mocked Emir Timur Khan of Bukhara, he laughed at the farm collective chairman caught red-handed embezzling, he laughed at Russian colonialism, and at the patriarchal values of Central Asia and the Caucasus, and now he’s headed for a certain city on the banks of the Neva. As soon as he arrives, we all find we have something to joke about.
Hodja Nasreddin joke contest is held in St. Petersburg from despair, which we refuse to succumb. Laughter makes all people equal.
During the spring and summer 2014 in various locations around the city ( teahouses , cafes, parks ) there will be organized joke contests among migrants living in St. Petersburg. The final competition will be held on July 12 and will be part of a public program of the biennial of European art Manifesta 10. Based on the received materials - drawings and stories - there will be created a final video and a book, which will be presented to a wider audience in the autumn of 2014.
The Project is supported by the Cologne Academy of Arts.