Curator’s tour

Curator’s tour

The curators Katharina von Hagenow, Uladzimir Hramovich and Paulina Olszewska provide insights into the process of developing the collaborative project sometimes I hold onto the air at the Galerie im Körnerpark.

In 2020, massive civil protests erupted in Belarus, a country between Russia and Poland that was barely on the radar for the West at the time. Directed against the rigged elections and repressive policies of the corrupt head of state, the protests became a cry for freedom and an expression of the desire to live in a democratic nation. Artists and cultural workers were deeply involved in the protests; many were arrested and imprisoned. When released, they fled to Vilnius, Warsaw, Tbilisi, and Berlin to escape further punishment.
The exhibition in which young Belarusian artists in exile reflect on the protests that radically transformed their lives and the years that followed. Their art works deal with the repression in their home country and the fear of constant surveillance that is incessant even in exile. They explore the plight of not belonging and the endless loops of state bureaucracy that they face while abroad.