Rehearsals of Refusal: Potential History and Its Anti-Imperial Onto - Epistemology in Artistic Research

Abstract

This essay explores Ariella Aïsha Azoulay’s concept of potential history as articulated in her book Potential History: Unlearning Imperialism, focusing specifically on its relationship to artistic research practices. By analysing Azoulay’s curatorial project Errata and Theresa Weber’s exhibition Alle Menschen werden Brüder, this essay demonstrates how artistic research projects can critically engage with and embody the refusal of imperial epistemologies advocated for by Azoulay. Azoulay’s exhibition uses archival recontextualisation to critically interrogate historical narratives, authority, and authenticity, while Weber’s work addresses themes of hybridity, identity, and belonging through artistic reinterpretation of historical narratives. Together, these projects highlight the potential of artistic research to actively challenge dominant epistemologies and create space for alternative forms of historical understanding.