Practices of Recognition
The Laboratory of Contemporary Art “Mala Gallery of the Mystetskyi Arsenal” announces its new project, Practices of Recognition — an educational and exhibition program through which, together with young artists, we explore and reflect on the exhibition projects of the 90s and their context.
While working on our previous projects since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine Ablaze and One with the other. Spatial Dialogues, we closely collaborated and stayed in touch with young Ukrainian artists, most of whom expressed a wish to learn more about the Ukrainian art context of the 90s. We felt the need to create a safe space for them to research, reflect, and communicate.
Practices of Recognition will consist of three thematic cycles, each dedicated to rethinking an exhibition from the 90s that marked a turning point for a local context, community, or institution. As part of this project, we chose to focus specifically on the history of exhibitions, as they offer a deeper insight into the historical environment and the events of that period, not only within the art community but also within society as a whole, and stand as a testament to the intellectual thought of the time.
Within each cycle, we invite artists to join us in exploring archival materials, attending lectures, and discussing the context of the time together with curator Oleksandr Solovyov and guest speakers.
In this way, we aim to strengthen the continuity of Ukrainian art history by combining the perspectives of different generations of artists, creating a space for dialogue, and highlighting the fact that art has never existed in isolation — in a vacuum — but has always directly reacted to current historical circumstances, growing out of previous ideas, sources, and contexts.
The program will culminate in a series of exhibitions at the Mala Gallery, each reflecting the invited artists’ engagement with a selected exhibition from the 90s. Future exhibitions at the Mala Gallery will combine both contemporary works and archival materials.
Practices of Recognition. The ‘Defloration’ exhibition March 28 – April 28, 2024
Practices of Recognition. Situational Games August 15 – September 22, 2024
Practices of Recognition. Another Viewing Attempt November 21 – December 22, 2024