Dedication - Traces and Tactics, Kristianstads Konsthall

Dedication - Traces and Tactics. Contemporary Art from Ukraine Kristianstads konsthall, Kristianstad, Sweden
October 16, 2021 - January 30, 2022.

The exhibition Dedication – Traces and Tactics at Kristianstads konsthall examines the challenges of today as seen through our inseverable connection to the past. Through art, we can work with history to illuminate the present and imagine the future.

The exhibition has its origin in Kristianstad’s unique historical relationship with Ukraine, Sweden’s ally during the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. After the Skirmish at Bender, Swedish king Charles XII invited the hetman of the Zaporozhian Army Filip Orlik (1672–1742) and his family to Kristianstad, where they lived in exile during the period 1716–1719. Orlik had earlier drafted Ukraine’s first constitution, in 1710, one of the earliest constitutions in Europe based on the principle of distribution of power.

Some of Ukraine’s most widely-discussed contemporary artists have been invited to the exhibition, which features arguments against generalizing political stories and official histories, as well as invocations of personal interpretations, experiences and memories. From different perspectives and with varied techniques, the artists inquire about the agenda of democracy and its expression.

Can a new dedication and narrative be formulated and manifested, and if so, by whom? How can we uphold our commitment to our individual rights in the public realm?

Knowledge is never neutral; a legacy is never absolute. With works created especially for the exhibition, the artists explore what tactics we can use to handle what we have inherited. A common denominator is a participant-based and action-oriented approach that highlights the many layers of opinion and revolutionary movements that have affected civil society. Dedication – Traces and Tactics illustrates the endurance and resistance of art, advocating for the dissolution of unjust power structures.

The exhibition is organized by Kristianstads konsthall in cooperation with the guest curator Alex Fisher and Milvus Artistic Research Center (MARC). The program organized by MARC is supported by House of

Europe as well as a Kulturrådet regional development grant aimed at long-term research into Ukrainian cultural exchange.

Featured artists: Yaroslav Futymskyi, Nikita Kadan, Dana Kavelina, Lada Nakonechna, 12345678910 Studio Performances by: Petro Ryaska, Blyzkist

Alexander Fischer, 2021
See more at the Kristianstads Konsthall website