BELARUSIAN ART IN EXILE:
WHO CARES?
WHO CARES?
public talk
BeLARUSIAN SONGS
Language: English
Duration: 60 min
SUN, 24 NOV, 16:00-17:00
Speakers:
Uladzimir Hramovich, Belarusian artist
Ludmila Pogodina, Belarusian artist
Moderator: Jakob Racek, Goethe-Institut
Uladzimir Hramovich, Belarusian artist
Ludmila Pogodina, Belarusian artist
Moderator: Jakob Racek, Goethe-Institut
The 2020 protests against Alexander Lukashenko and his regime marked a rare instance of Western European attention turned towards Belarus. This interest waned with the Belarusian authorities’ brutal suppression of the protests, almost fully disappearing as a result of Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Protest participants have been persecuted, imprisoned, or forced into exile, and artists are a key target of these repressive actions. Many have found themselves abroad, including in Germany. They often struggle to survive – but continue to create. Is their art-making a form of resistance, a way to envision a future for Belarus? Or is it a way for the artists to stay afloat and survive in exile? For whom are Belarusian artists’ working today – or, to formulate the question more sharply – who cares about their art?
Speakers:
Uladzimir Hramovich, Belarusian artist
Ludmila Pogodina, Belarusian artist
Moderator:
Jakob Racek, Goethe-Institut
Uladzimir Hramovich, Belarusian artist
Ludmila Pogodina, Belarusian artist
Moderator:
Jakob Racek, Goethe-Institut
Contributors
ULADZIMIR HRAMOVICH
artist
artist
Uladzimir Hramovich is a Belarusian artist. He graduated from the Gymnasium-College of Arts named after I.O. Akhremchik (2009) and the graphics arts department of the Belarusian State Academy of Arts (2015), both in Minsk. Uladzimir has been a member of the Problem Collective since 2016. He works with installations, graphics and video. In his practice, Uladzimir focuses on political movements and architecture in relation to their inherent history. His work is based on documentary material and complemented by subjective narratives. Following the 2020 protests in Belarus, Uladzimir was prosecuted by the authorities, imprisoned and subsequently forced to flee Belarus. He currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
Ludmila Pogodina is a multidisciplinary artist from Minsk, Belarus. A graduate in journalism and photojournalism, she spent over 20 years working in independent media, conducting interviews with international cultural figures and exploring the intersections of culture, society, and politics. In 2011, Pogodina began her career as a DJ and event organizer, and in 2015, she co-founded the art collective #KeepMinskWeird. The collective focused on fostering horizontal connections and building a queer-friendly community rooted in feminism, inclusion, diversity, and human rights. In 2022, faced with a high risk of persecution, Pogodina relocated to Berlin, where she began working on an auto-fiction book exploring themes of dictatorship, patriarchy, and rock ‘n’ roll. She is also part of the teams behind Interfilm – International Short Film Festival Berlin and Neisse Film Festival.
LUDMILA POGODINA
artist
artist
JAKOB RACEK
Goethe-Institut
Goethe-Institut
Jakob Racek heads the Information Department at the Goethe-Institut's head office in Munich. Previously, he was head of the Goethe-Institut in Minsk from 20218-2022, which had to cease its activities due to the repression of the Belarusian regime. He has worked as a curator and cultural manager for German and international galleries and institutions, including the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden and the Robert Bosch Stiftung.