We invite you on November 17th to our first exhibition at the Potocki Palace as part of the year-round Krakow Photomonth Festival activities.
Artists:
Kholoud Charaf (SYR/A), Izabela Makocka (PL), Michał Maliński (PL), Maria Matiashova (UA), Anastasiia Nekypila (UA), Eleonora Stassi & Irfan Yildiz (IT/CH, Kurdystan/CH), Dima Tolchakov (UA), Olga Stein Kalynovska-Kravchuk (UA), Nastasiia Leliuk (UA), Maria Słabek (PL), Szymon Wołek (PL), SDK Słonecznik & Kolektyw Livyj Bereh (PL/UA)
Extract from curator’s text by Natalia Wiernik:
In the context of a constant influx of evidence of human suffering, it is difficult not to question our own agency. The events that make up our reality do not allow us to forget about them and are present in every single activity we undertake, and the broadly understood human condition is closely connected to the current social and political situation. Helplessness, anxiety, burnout, and the resulting crisis are a commonplace condition affecting entire communities today. At the same time, we continue witnessing circumstances that demand our reaction.
We want to address the experience of everyday life in the context of ongoing conflicts. Because of the crisis – including the crisis of knowledge and understanding – we want to discuss experiences that testify to reality or, more precisely, to the ‘incomprehensible’ reality; the projects presented at this exhibition remain closely related to figurative language associated with the act of articulating experiences that are difficult to convey with words. They analyse the existing reality, often through the perspective of a child, the motif of an apparent game. We have decided to express our opposition to war through images that do not directly record its atrocities. We want to look deeper, touch the tender spaces that emerge from this experience and ask: How are you?
The exhibition addresses various forms of involvement, including those we pursue unconsciously. We want to examine the realm of ‘not-knowing,’ which is not directly linked to intellectual matters, but is closer to experience, emotion and the activities they stimulate us to pursue. It is a liminal area located between perception and thinking. The ‘not-knowing’ approach has a great transformative potential that can be compared to descending underground, into a darkness that sharpens our senses.
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HOW ARE YOU? is a continuation of the „Welcome” exhibition and publication from 2022, in which artists addressed the topic of art and activism in the face of the growing migration crisis in Poland. We want to go back to those reflections and emotions, but find other words for them and change our helplessness into self-agency.
During the HOW ARE YOU? exhibition, together with SDK Słonecznik, we will raise funds for the activities of the Livyj Bereh collective – our goal is to finance the repair of at least one house destroyed as a result of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
You can read more about the activities of the Lewy Brzeg, artistic strategies and building a sense of self-agency here >>> https://livyj-bereh.org
The opening of the exhibition will be accompanied by the „Room of Words” performance by Maria Matiashova, together with „Songs of Resistance and Nostalgia” by Eleonora Gelawêj, accompanied by Ramsey Ay. During this event we will listen to Kurdish artists singing songs in a language that is officially banned in Iran and others.
Curator: Natalia Wiernik
Collaboration: Kholoud Charaf
Graphic design: Gabriela Basta
Arrangement: Bartek Buczek
Opening: 17.11. 2024 7:00 p.m
Location: Bunkier Sztuki Gallery / Potocki Palace, Rynek Główny 20, level -1, entrance to the exhibition through the courtyard
Performance: 7:30 p.m („Room of Words” by Maria Matiashowa, „Songs of Resistance and Nostalgia” by Eleonora Gelawêj accompanied by Ramsey Ay)
Admission free on the opening day.
Exhibition without age restrictions.
The exhibition is open from 18/11/2023 to 7/01/2024, Thursday to Sunday from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Christmas break: 22/12/2023-1/01/2023 and 6/01/2024
Normal ticket: PLN 15
Reduced ticket: PLN 8
Tickets available at the box office of the Compare bookstore on the ground floor of the Potocki Palace.
Organizer: Foundation of Visual Arts
Co-organizers: Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art – a Cultural Institution of the city of Krakow
Partners: Potocki Palace, Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow
The project is co-financed by the City of Krakow.
