Weekly Roundup (5 April 2018)

Blok’s Opening Weekend Picks

April 5

• Riga, Latvia. Riga Photography Biennial. An international contemporary art event, focusing on the analysis of visual culture and artistic representation. The theme of this year’s Biennial is self-awareness – who we are and who we chose to become in times when social, political and cultural dynamics afford us continuous and new transformation opportunities.  The full program can be found here.
• Riga, Latvia: Ingrīda Pičukāne – Forêt Noire at Micēlijs. The exhibition “Forêt Noire” showcases the original drawings of comics and illustrations devoted to the theme of forest and elements of forest Ingrīda Pičukāne has created during the last ten years. Since 2007 her comics have been regularly published in the comics culture magazine “kuš!” and comics anthologies “š!”, her mini comic “Three Sisters” was published in the mini kuš! series in 2016. On view until May 4.
• Moscow, Russia: “Termitniki-2” an exhibition by Dmitry Bulnygin at CCIFabrika. At the opening exhibition the image of the termite, which is a symbol of the civilizational process for the artist, is presented in a series of new sculptures and video mapping. On view until April 29.
• Moscow, Russia:  Alina Glazun and Petra Kirushi “If you close your eyes, it may disappear” at The Foundation of Vladimir Smirnov and Konstantin Sorokin. An exhibition exploring overlaps between abstraction and figuration found objects and photographs. The research presents forms and textures presented in the visual context of everyday life. On view until April 8.

April 6

• Budapest, Hungary: Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art presents “Permanent Revolution. Ukrainian Art Today.” A large-scale exhibition of Ukrainian contemporary art opens April 6 in Ludwig museum in Budapest. This project aims to present Ukrainian art scene from the 80th until now to the European viewer for the first time. “Permanent Revolution” is an exhibition featuring the works of from several generations – the promising emerging artists and the ones, who led the important changes and cultural shifts in the country.
• Berlin, Germany:  ЧТО? Launch Weekend. ЧТО? is bringing Eastern European art and design to Neukölln on April 6-7. SHTO’s set up includes a gallery – exhibiting a diverse group of artists and photographers from the region. Open from 10.00 onwards both days, with events taking place Friday + Saturday 18.00-23.30.
• Łódź, Poland: “Attack at the Winter Palace” – the opening of the exhibition at Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź. “The project “Attack at the Winter Palace” is devoted to photography, which, as no other, has become a symbol of the October Revolution. However, this photograph does not present a historical event, but its staged reconstruction. Featuring: Chto Delat, Nikolai Evreinov, Waldemar Fydrych (Orange Alternative-Orange Alternative), Cristina Lucas, Kazimir Malevich, Milo Rau, Peter Watkins, curated by Inke Arns (HMKV) and Sylvia Sasse (Universität Zürich). On view until June 3.
• Riga, Latvia:  “Today I’m a Mermaid. Tomorrow I’ll Be a Unicorn” at Museum LV. The exhibition Today I’m a Mermaid. Tomorrow I’ll Be a Unicorn draws attention to the influence of fantasy, fiction and the absurd on various social groups within 21st century reality, where particular significance is given to social identities such as national, ethnic or cultural belonging. The ambiguous message can be interpreted either as a critical socio-political commentary on contemporary society, its shifting values and peculiar heroes, or as an invitation to let one’s imagination roam free, without defining or limiting oneself within set frameworks of identity and thinking. On view until May 6.
• Wroclaw, Poland: In Search of the Meaning of Life – Nomadic State at BWA Wrocław. Karolina Mełnicka and Stach Szumski, founders of the fictitious country / group Nomadic State, will talk about the meaning of life. The trip is taking place in Warsaw at the Siberian Altai Republic 7,000 kilometers away. Go to the Korean island of Jeju, and ends in Japan. Curated by Michał Grzegorzek, on view until May 19.

April 7

• Berlin, Germany. The First Roma Biennale. The first self-organized biennale by and with Roma artists from all over Europe! On the occasion of Romaday, International Roma Day, specific exclusion experiences are combined with individual artistic perspectives and feminist strategies to provoke visibility and self-determination. The Gorki presents an interdisciplinary festival with art, music, discourse and performance. Curated by Delaine Le Bas and Hamze Bytyçi, in memory of Damian Le Bas. Various dates and times, until April 10.
• Warsaw, Poland. Opening of “Friend of a Friend” a project sees eight important and thriving Warsaw contemporary art galleries sharing their exhibition spaces with international guests. A dialogue with galleries from the Czech Republic, France, Germany, United States, Switzerland and Great Britain lies at the foundation of group shows featuring Polish and international artists. Various galleries and dates and time, running until April 28.

April 10

• Riga, Latvia: Martin Kohout – Alonso! It’s Elastic at 427 Gallery. 427 is excited to invite you to the show as a part of Riga Photography Biennial. On view until May 10.

April 11

• Prague, Czech Republic: Mat Collishaw “Standing Water” at Galerie Rudolfinum. To be a member of the Young British Artists, or YBAs, in the first half of the 1990s meant to belong in an art gang that has been largely instrumental in planting British art at the forefront of the global art scene. Mat Collishaw was one of the ‘gang leaders’. His first work – Bullet Hole – which has made his name, was first exhibited at Freeze in 1988, which his close friend Damien Hirst helped organize. The presented works were brutal, monumental; according to the critics, in the best case they referenced and echoed the motif of the doubting Thomas, and in the worst case they aroused sexplicit imaginations. On view until July 8.

Open Calls

• Open call for rejected projects . Open call for visual artists, curators, galleries for rejected papers, applications, and projects. We accept for papers, scholarships and open calls, which were then rejected. Send us your proposed project now! Share your failures and transform bad fortune into critical energy. It could release a practice of hierarchical thinking. All covered products will be shown in Poland. Deadline to apply: April 22nd 2018

News from Around the Blok

• Warsaw Launches New Gallery-Share Initiative – Poland’s capital city is launching a gallery swap initiative akin to Condo, in which dealers offer up their spaces to like-minded programs in different cities. Seven galleries participating in Warsaw’s new Friend of a Friend exchange will host dealers from Prague, Berlin, The Hague, New York, London, and beyond from April 7–28. (ARTnews)