Ukrainian artists exhibit at Brussels Art & History Museum this summer
19 July 2022
This summer, from 19 July to 19 September, a total of 42 Ukrainian artists or artist groups are exhibiting their work at the Art & History Museum in the Cinquantenaire Park in Brussels, during the exhibition "Unfolding Landscapes". It is a tribute to Ukrainian visual art and explores the landscape, topography, psycho-geography and culture of the country.
The exhibition was put together before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Most of the participating artists are old enough to have experienced the transition from Soviet citizen to Ukrainian, and today are experiencing how Russia again tries to seize control of their country. In their art, they show how they relate to their culture and the ever-changing landscape, but much of what is shown is now under threat.
"Against the backdrop of Ukraine's long-awaited EU candidacy, the presentation of the project in Brussels feels particularly important"
The artworks' future, too, was uncertain when the exhibition ended in May at the Silkeborg Bad Art Centre in Denmark, as the works could not return to Ukraine. The European External Action Service, the Museum of Art & History and the Horizon 50/200 non-profit organisation joined forces to bring "Unfolding Landscapes" to Brussels.
"With this exhibition we want to show the diversity of the Ukrainian landscape, both in a literal and socio-cultural sense. Because of the brutal war, our landscape is no longer just our surroundings or a view out of the window, it has become a piece of our hearts. Against the backdrop of Ukraine's long-awaited EU candidacy, the presentation of the project in Brussels feels particularly important", says Ukrainian curator and art historian Natalia Matsenko.
(BRV)
Photo shows the Jubelpark - Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, with the Ukrainian flag hanging from the center of the Triumphal Arch © BELGA PHOTO JULIETTE BRUYNSEELS