In the works presented at the exhibition, one can observe a dialogue between the contemporary young photographer, Val Ziółko, and the works of 18th-century artists such as François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard. The photos are an attempt to show the beauty of transqueer people based on the art of old masters of painting. The exhibition proves that beauty has more forms and facets than the often rigid framework of heteronormative standards.

Exhibition opening: 10/03/2023 (Friday), at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Azyl Library (former Galeria Labirynt | Plaza), ul. Lipowa 13, Lublin (entrance from ul. Ofiar Katynia)
Accessibility: The exhibition is held on the ground floor in a space free from architectural barriers.
On display: until 07/4/2023 (Tue–Sat 1:00–6:00 p.m.; Sun 12:00–7:00 p.m.)
Admission: free

“I chose transqueer people for the project who are not activists and are not public figures. They are ordinary people who study, work, and try to live privately and happily. The protagonists of the photographs include Maja and her companion Gabrielo, a married couple who underwent gender correction during their relationship,” says the artist.

During the opening, cellist Weronika Prus will perform. The musical works presented will take the form of a “classic surprise”.

Val Ziółko x Jakub Ziółkowski (born 2001) – graduate of the Cyprian Kamil Norwid Secondary School of Visual Arts in Lublin, specialising in interior design. He is currently studying media production at the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. In his practice, he works mainly with photography. LGBTQ+ rights activist, focusing on the needs of transgender people. “Pioneer of the Young Generation” as part of Vogue’s Global Youth Project. He was distinguished in the 12th international photographic competition “Works of the Masters Inspire Contemporary Photography”.

The “Queerujemy Lublin” project is funded by The European Cultural Foundation within “The Europe Challenge 2022–2023” programme.

“The Sky Is Open. Voices From Ukraine” is an archive of works created after February 24, 2022, by artists from Ukraine. On that day, Russia attacked Ukraine again – a full- scale war began, with the aim of completely destroying Ukraine’s statehood, erasing the country’s name from the world map.

We encourage you to visit the website of the project “The Sky Is Open. Voices From Ukraine’: the website

Opening: 20/02/2022 (Monday), 3:00–7:00 p.m.; 6:00 p.m. – official part
Where: Galeria Labirynt, ul. Popiełuszki 5
Accessibility: In the bookshop you can borrow a wheelchair and earmuffs for free during your stay in the gallery. The gallery has 6 portable induction loops. Opening interpreted into English; an interpreter: Krystian Kamiński, and into Ukrainian; an interpreter: Volodymyr Dyshlevuk.
Exhibition on display: until 05/03/2023 (Tue–Sun, 12:00 –7:00 p.m.)
Admission: PLN 10 (the price of admission includes a reproduction of the work in the form of a postcard). Proceeds will be used entirely for artist fees.

Some artists have left Ukraine, especially women, mothers with children, but many have stayed and do not plan to leave because they know it is still their place. They face problems and fear – their lives are under constant threat, rockets and bomb drones can reach anywhere, including places that have no military significance. Despite this, they want to stay in the country while it is in danger – many of them help refugees and internally displaced people, rebuild destroyed homes, organise activities for refugee children. But they also create artworks that bear witness to a time of war.
Our aim is to support artists residing in Ukraine and their activities during this difficult time, and to present art that is being made in Ukraine now. We are committed to presenting work that is being created in a situation that most of us have never experienced.
During the opening, we will present a website that has become a collection of artistic testimonies of war time created by artists residing in Ukraine. The website has an open character. We will develop the project and invite more people to present their works.

By collaborating with the organisations and institutions that have joined the project, we can reach out to more artists.
Cooperating institutions and organisations: ZAMEK Culture Centre, Gdansk City Gallery, Centre for Contemporary Art Laznia, BWA Zielona Góra, Arsenal Gallery in Białystok, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Arsenal Municipal Gallery in Poznan, Centre for Culture in Lublin, BWA Wrocław and Performance Art Foundation.

Artists: David Chichkan, Nikita Kadan, Yaroslav Futymskyi, Zhanna Kadyrova, Taras Kamennoy, Kinder Album, Denis Pankratov, Andriy Rachinskiy, Daniil Revkovskiy, Mykola Ridnyi
Project curator: Waldemar Tatarczuk
Coordination: Monika Rejman, Mateusz Wszelaki
Realisation: Karol Rębisz, Diana Kołczewska, Karol Jakóbczyk, Tomasz Kulbowski

The exhibition is an attempt to confront “a girl” and its semantic reference. “I feel that the period of girlhood is a lack of the sense of subjectivity, of identity, of representation, and at the same time, more importantly, of growing, expecting and creating a new shape of one’s character,” says the author.

Exhibition opening: 10/02/2023 (Friday) at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Galeria Labirynt 2, ul. Grodzka 3, Lublin
Accessibility: The exhibition is held in a space not accessible for people with motor impairments. The exhibition is sensory-friendly for people sensitive to strong stimuli. Opening interpreted into the Polish Sign Language (PJM); interpreter: Jolanta Gromada; and into Ukrainian; interpreter: Volodymyr Dyshlevuk.
Exhibition on display: until 19/03/2023 (Tuesday–Sunday, 3:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.)
Admission: free

Curator: Waldemar Tatarczuk

“Pupilla” is the act of saying goodbye to a period of immaturity. The starting point for creating this project was the ambiguity of two Latin words: pupilla, meaning pupil*, girl, doll, schoolgirl, and pupa – which is a chrysalis, a stage before complete transformation, prior to the insect reaching its adult form and becoming an imago.

It is an approach to the closure of immaturity, and an attempt to transform and mould oneself. It is also a clash with the cultural or even pop-cultural image of a girl, and its consequences.

*The pupil is a black hole located in the centre of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina. It protects the interior of the eyeball from excessive lighting. Its diameter is 3 to 8 millimetres and varies according to changes in lighting, and the contractions of the sphincter and dilator muscles of the pupil. The pupil’s width is related to the extent of positive or negative emotional arousal experienced by a person. A good mood dilates the pupil, while a bad mood contracts it. Source: Wikipedia

Agata Rucińska (born 1991) – a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw at the Faculty of Media Art and the Jagiellonian University – Theatre Studies programme. She works mainly with photography, video and sculpture. The author of video projections for plays in TR Warszawa, Dramatic Theatre in Warsaw, Polish Theatre in Poznań, Stary Theatre in Kraków, S. Żeromski Theatre in Kielce and many theatre festivals. Participant of exhibitions in Poland and abroad, among others at Monopol Gallery, Studio Gallery, Fort Institute of Photography (Warsaw), Centre for the Meeting of Cultures, Galeria Labirynt (Lublin), BWA Jelenia Góra, Petach Tikva Museum of Art (Israel). A participant in an artistic residency in Chernivtsi and an exhibition at Bunker Gallery (Chernivtsi, Ukraine) and the Blurborders Art Exchange festival (Bangkok / Sakon Nakhon, Thailand), the results of which were shown at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. She has collaborated with EMST in Athens.