This Is Just an Exhibition – 2nd opening [PL+UA+EN+PJM]

„This Is Just an Exhibition” as a part of the Kyiv Biennale 2023 opened on October 27, 2023. The artists serving the Ukrainian army, defending the country against Russian armed aggression, were invited to participate. Initially, there were no artworks; the audience was confronted with an empty space. My intention was to try, even in a small way, to depict some aspect of the war that had become the reality for Ukrainian men and women. No exhibition is able to capture the vastness of suffering, injustice, fear and the threat that the war brings. The only thing that seemed possible to me was unpredictability and uncertainty.

On the opening day, January 12, we will finally see the artworks. Some were created after February 24, but not all of them. Many Ukrainian artists “suspended” their artistic activities after the full-scale Russian aggression; especially, the people who were determined to join the army. They decided to showcase works created before that period. This is an exhibition about war, even though the majority of the pieces do not directly address it. This is an exhibition about people living in the reality of war.

Text: Waldemar Tatarczuk

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Exhibition opening: 12/01/2024 (Friday), 7:00 p.m.

Where: Galeria Labirynt, ul. ks. J. Popiełuszki 5, Lublin

Accessibility: The exhibition is held on the ground floor. The exhibition is not friendly for visually impaired individuals – the space is dimly lighted. Texts describing the works in large print are available at the entrance. The exhibition is unsuitable to people with sensory hypersensitivity – the lights at the exhibition turn on and off, a loud rumbling and crackling noise can be heard. The exhibition is not suitable for people with motor disability – there are openwork metal elements marked with fluorescent tape throughout the exhibition space. Caution is advised. In the bookshop, you can borrow a wheelchair and earmuffs for free during your stay in the gallery. The silent hours at the exhibition apply on Wednesdays from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. The gallery has 6 portable induction loops. The opening will be interpreted into Polish sign language (PJM), interpretation: Marta Stępniak. The opening will be interpreted into Ukrainian, interpretation: Volodymyr Dyshlevuk. The opening will be interpreted into English, interpretation: Aleksandra Surdacka.

Exhibition on display: until 31/03/2024 (Tue- Sun, 12:00–7:00 p.m.). 

Admission: free until 31/01/2024, and starting from 01/02/2024, the entrance fee is PLN 8 for regular tickets and PLN 4 for discounted tickets.

(Free admission to the opening)

The artists*: Bohdan Bunchak, Pavlo Kovach jr, Alexander Len, Denys Pankratov, Sofiya Pomogaibo, Max Robotov and Lesia Khomenko, _mediaklub (Max Robotov, Ivan Svitlychnyi, Dmytro Tentiuk, Daria Maiier), Bohdan Sokur, Lubomyr Tymkiv, Yurko Vovkohon.

*The list will be successively supplemented with more participants in the exhibition.

Curator: Waldemar Tatarczuk