This companion volume to an interdisciplinary performance and exhibition project reconsiders perspectives on the (post-)socialist experience, focusing on the last generation raised during the cold war and the transformative 1990s in Europe. The Forgotten Pioneer Movement (TFPM) is a fictional initiative that delves into cultural memory and the social perspectives of this unique cohort. The Guidebook explores strategies and discourses from visual and performative arts, history, and cultural theory, aiming to illuminate the “future behind us,” a concept articulated by art historian Edit András as a pan-European experience transcending geopolitical boundaries. Spanning 120 pages, it features theoretical and artistic contributions that forge connections between the past and present. The volume includes a preface by the editors, essays by art historians Ieva Astahovska and Ana Bogdanovic, and nineteen short texts on artistic contributions by various authors. It is richly illustrated and contains the detailed TFPM program, designed by Pieterjan Gandry / Modem. The work engages with themes of memory and identity, inviting readers to reflect on the complexities of a shared European history.
