“Different Places”

We invite you to the opening of the first part of the Polish-Ukrainian exhibition project “Different Places”, which will take place on Tuesday, 24 June, at 5:30 p.m.
The project is the result of a collaboration between the National Art Museum of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine) and Galeria Labirynt (Lublin, Poland).

The title of the project refers to Steve Reich’s 1988 piece “Different Trains”. Between 1939 and 1942, Reich, as a child, often travelled by train between New York City and Los Angeles. Many years later, the American composer of Jewish origin realised that if he had been living in Europe at the time, he would have been taking entirely different trains. In the current war, trains do not carry such a dark meaning—quite the opposite. However, where you live still determines your life.

The project brings together contemporary artists from Poland and Ukraine whose works reflect on experiences in the context of war—experiences that differ, yet all stem from the changes following 24 February 2022.

The first part of the project focuses on Polish art. It features works by six artists from different generations, working in various media. These pieces were created prior to 2022, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Today, we can view them from a different perspective and reflect on how the meaning of an artwork can shift in response to historical and social changes. The project also involves Ukrainian artists who have served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine as well as volunteers supporting the military. They appear in the first exhibition via photographs and video, submitted at the request of Waldemar Tatarczuk. These materials became the basis for the video installation “One Minute”.

The second part of the project “Different Places” is scheduled for November 2025. It will showcase new works by Polish artists alongside a broader presentation of Ukrainian art.

The project is carried out with the support of the Polish Institute in Kyiv and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, and has been co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.

Media partner: Suspilne Kultura

A curatorial tour with Waldemar Tatarczuk will take place on 27 June at 4:00 p.m. at the National Art Museum of Ukraine.

Participants:
Poland: Mirosław Bałka, Barbara Gryka, Katarzyna Kozyra, Karol Radziszewski, Wilhelm Sasnal, Monika Sosnowska
Ukraine: Yevhen Arlov, Davyd Chichkan, Yevhen Korshunov, Pavlo Kovach, Denys Pankratov, Max Robotov

The exhibition is accompanied by the project “The Sky is Open”, which was presented at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw in 2024. Its initiator was Waldemar Tatarczuk who asked Ukrainian artists to send photos of the sky over Ukraine after the full-scale invasion. Based on these images, Polish artists created their own works.

Curators: Waldemar Tatarczuk (Poland), Oksana Barshynova (National Art Museum of Ukraine)

The exhibition will be open from 27 June to 10 August 2025, every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., at the National Art Museum of Ukraine, Hrushevskoho St, 6, Kyiv, (rear entrance).