This paper explores the intersections of political agency, decolonial knowledge, and participatory art in contemporary East European contexts. Drawing on Marina Solntseva’s research on protest perceptions in authoritarian regimes (Russia and Belarus) and Denis Esakov’s curatorial practice within de_colonialanguage, it examines how language and protest function as intertwined forms of resistance and meaning-making. Both scholars investigate the epistemic hierarchies embedded in institutions and public spaces, proposing alternative methodologies of collective action and reflection. Through projects such as the Open Air Museum of Decoloniality on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz, they engage with historical traumas and colonial legacies inscribed in urban environments. The paper argues that artistic and academic collaborations grounded in radical solidarity—rather than representational critique—enable decolonial praxis that is plural, embodied, and relational, challenging traditional divides between research, activism, and art in East European and Central Asian studies.
