ANAMA KOTLAREVSKY

2024	Atlas général (archive spatiale des échanges littéraires à Tanger, à Alexandrie et à Istanbul pour un cosmopolitisme des savoirs.)	Nationality: France Category: litterature
Description of the project The General Atlas for a cosmopolitanism of knowledge project was born of the desire to open up to the diversity of cultures, ideas and forms of creation. How is the world imagined elsewhere? Literature and art are mediums that shape our understanding of the world. This ability has always fascinated me. That’s why I wanted to invent a virtual space that would archive works located in different places and put them in touch with each other. The desire for such a space stems both from a personal curiosity about the diversity of human imagination and from the regret I feel that I haven’t been confronted more often with non-Western points of view and foreign thoughts during my studies or my life. This interest also echoes a more intimate motive. My family history is one of migration. Very early on, I became aware of the plurality of lifestyles and ways of thinking, and of the importance of establishing a dialogue between them. Looking at cosmopolitanism also meant looking for an answer to the particularly intimate question of belonging. What makes us feel part of a culture? To here rather than there? To a nation? To a city or a landscape? What structures these differences between peoples ? Isn’t there something that unites these differences? Cosmopolitanism seems to me to be an idea that can foster respectful understanding between individuals, both on a global political scale and on an intimate one. The Mediterranean is an area of movement that is particularly rich in history. It therefore seemed an eminently fertile place to explore my questions. It would have been impossible to retrace its entire history, so I focused on works created during the 20th century. Focusing on the twentieth century allowed me to take a fresh look at cosmopolitanism, dissociating it from its hegemonic interpretation by colonial elites, and to probe more deeply into the events that have brought our contemporary world to where it is today. Three cities stood out as the first to explore cosmopolitanism through art and literature: Istanbul, Alexandria and Tangiers. On the one hand, for the richness of their histories and creations. Secondly, they are three port cities and therefore places of intense passage, exchange, tension and encounters. For practical reasons linked to the research, I also ended up spending a lot of time in Cairo, so much so that I decided to include it in this first phase of the Atlas. During my travels through these four cities, these four cultures, I met intellectuals, passers-by, Istanbulites, Alexandrians, Cairoites, Tanjawis and foreigners from all over. I constantly absorbed new ideas. I tried to scrutinise every facet of this word cosmo-polis, as if it could link me to other spaces and other times, buried in an impalpable geology. Results of the project: https://general-atlas.org Ultimately, the project took the form of an online space that should enable anyone to navigate through the history of human thought. It’s a space that can be consulted from anywhere: https://general-atlas.org. During my travels and investigations, I have also realized that an atlas as cosmopolitan as I would like it to be should include other art forms. Hours of work weaving a carpet or the liveliness of a calligraphic curve of the Arabic alphabet are just as, if not more, representative of the aesthetic language of Turkish, Egyptian or Moroccan cultures. Calligraphy, weaving, jewellery, music, architecture, mosaics, oral tales… It is therefore one of the future aims of this project to broaden its horizons. It also hopes to achieve this through the voluntary contributions of visitors to the website. Biography Anama Kotlarevsky was born in India in 1998 into a family marked by multi-culturalism. From an early age, she liked to depict the world in all its different guises. It was initially through photography that she decided to express her view of the world. Gradually, literature took over and became her passion. She took a two-year course at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris and a preparatory course at Henri IV to further her artistic and theoretical interests. She finally entered the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where she graduated in philosophy with a dissertation on the work of the Romantic philosopher and poet Novalis, whose thought had a lasting impact on her perception of things. This philosophy was also at the origin of certain aspects of her Atlas général project for the 2024 grant from the Marc de Montalembert Foundation. After completing her master’s degree, she moved to Venice, where she worked for the Guggenheim Foundation. Her training in philosophy also enabled her to spend time in Naples thanks to a grant from the Institute of Philosophy (IISF). She lives between France and Italy, where, in addition to her theoretical research, she writes fiction and poetry. Biografia Anama Kotlarevsky è nata in India nel 1998 in una famiglia caratterizzata dalla multiculturalità. Fin da piccola le piaceva ritrarre il mondo in tutte le sue diverse forme. Inizialmente ha deciso di esprimere la sua visione del mondo attraverso la fotografia. Gradualmente, la letteratura ha preso il sopravvento ed è diventata la sua passione. Frequenta un corso biennale all’École Nationale des Beaux-Arts di Parigi e un corso preparatorio all’Henri IV per approfondire i suoi interessi artistici e teorici. Entra infine all’École Normale Supérieure di Parigi, dove si laurea in filosofia con una tesi sull’opera del filosofo e poeta romantico Novalis, il cui pensiero ha avuto un impatto duraturo sulla sua percezione delle cose. Questa filosofia è stata anche all’origine di alcuni aspetti del suo progetto Atlas général per la borsa di studio 2024 della Fondazione Marc de Montalembert. Dopo aver completato il master, si è trasferita a Venezia, dove ha lavorato per la Fondazione Guggenheim. La sua formazione filosofica le ha permesso di trascorrere un periodo a Napoli grazie a una borsa di studio dell’Istituto di Filosofia (IISF). Vive tra la Francia e l’Italia, dove, oltre alla ricerca teorica, scrive narrativa e poesia.

2024

Atlas général (archive spatiale des échanges littéraires à Tanger, à Alexandrie et à Istanbul pour un cosmopolitisme des savoirs.)

Nationality: France
Category: litterature

Description of the project

The General Atlas for a cosmopolitanism of knowledge project was born of the desire to open up to the diversity of cultures, ideas and forms of creation. How is the world imagined elsewhere? Literature and art are mediums that shape our understanding of the world. This ability has always fascinated me. That’s why I wanted to invent a virtual space that would archive works located in different places and put them in touch with each other. The desire for such a space stems both from a personal curiosity about the diversity of human imagination and from the regret I feel that I haven’t been confronted more often with non-Western points of view and foreign thoughts during my studies or my life. This interest also echoes a more intimate motive. My family history is one of migration. Very early on, I became aware of the plurality of lifestyles and ways of thinking, and of the importance of establishing a dialogue between them.

Looking at cosmopolitanism also meant looking for an answer to the particularly intimate question of belonging. What makes us feel part of a culture? To here rather than there? To a nation? To a city or a landscape? What structures these differences between peoples ? Isn’t there something that unites these differences? Cosmopolitanism seems to me to be an idea that can foster respectful understanding between individuals, both on a global political scale and on an intimate one. The Mediterranean is an area of movement that is particularly rich in history. It therefore seemed an eminently fertile place to explore my questions. It would have been impossible to retrace its entire history, so I focused on works created during the 20th century. Focusing on the twentieth century allowed me to take a fresh look at cosmopolitanism, dissociating it from its hegemonic interpretation by colonial elites, and to probe more deeply into the events that have brought our contemporary world to where it is today.

Three cities stood out as the first to explore cosmopolitanism through art and literature: Istanbul, Alexandria and Tangiers. On the one hand, for the richness of their histories and creations. Secondly, they are three port cities and therefore places of intense passage, exchange, tension and encounters. For practical reasons linked to the research, I also ended up spending a lot of time in Cairo, so much so that I decided to include it in this first phase of the Atlas. During my travels through these four cities, these four cultures, I met intellectuals, passers-by, Istanbulites, Alexandrians, Cairoites, Tanjawis and foreigners from all over. I constantly absorbed new ideas. I tried to scrutinise every facet of this word cosmo-polis, as if it could link me to other spaces and other times, buried in an impalpable geology.

Results of the project: https://general-atlas.org

Ultimately, the project took the form of an online space that should enable anyone to navigate through the history of human thought. It’s a space that can be consulted from anywhere: https://general-atlas.org. During my travels and investigations, I have also realized that an atlas as cosmopolitan as I would like it to be should include other art forms. Hours of work weaving a carpet or the liveliness of a calligraphic curve of the Arabic alphabet are just as, if not more, representative of the aesthetic language of Turkish, Egyptian or Moroccan cultures. Calligraphy, weaving, jewellery, music, architecture, mosaics, oral tales… It is therefore one of the future aims of this project to broaden its horizons. It also hopes to achieve this through the voluntary contributions of visitors to the website.

Biography

Anama Kotlarevsky was born in India in 1998 into a family marked by multi-culturalism. From an early age, she liked to depict the world in all its different guises. It was initially through photography that she decided to express her view of the world. Gradually, literature took over and became her passion. She took a two-year course at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris and a preparatory course at Henri IV to further her artistic and theoretical interests. She finally entered the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where she graduated in philosophy with a dissertation on the work of the Romantic philosopher and poet Novalis, whose thought had a lasting impact on her perception of things. This philosophy was also at the origin of certain aspects of her Atlas général project for the 2024 grant from the Marc de Montalembert Foundation. After completing her master’s degree, she moved to Venice, where she worked for the Guggenheim Foundation. Her training in philosophy also enabled her to spend time in Naples thanks to a grant from the Institute of Philosophy (IISF). She lives between France and Italy, where, in addition to her theoretical research, she writes fiction and poetry.

Biografia

Anama Kotlarevsky è nata in India nel 1998 in una famiglia caratterizzata dalla multiculturalità. Fin da piccola le piaceva ritrarre il mondo in tutte le sue diverse forme. Inizialmente ha deciso di esprimere la sua visione del mondo attraverso la fotografia. Gradualmente, la letteratura ha preso il sopravvento ed è diventata la sua passione. Frequenta un corso biennale all’École Nationale des Beaux-Arts di Parigi e un corso preparatorio all’Henri IV per approfondire i suoi interessi artistici e teorici. Entra infine all’École Normale Supérieure di Parigi, dove si laurea in filosofia con una tesi sull’opera del filosofo e poeta romantico Novalis, il cui pensiero ha avuto un impatto duraturo sulla sua percezione delle cose. Questa filosofia è stata anche all’origine di alcuni aspetti del suo progetto Atlas général per la borsa di studio 2024 della Fondazione Marc de Montalembert. Dopo aver completato il master, si è trasferita a Venezia, dove ha lavorato per la Fondazione Guggenheim. La sua formazione filosofica le ha permesso di trascorrere un periodo a Napoli grazie a una borsa di studio dell’Istituto di Filosofia (IISF). Vive tra la Francia e l’Italia, dove, oltre alla ricerca teorica, scrive narrativa e poesia.