On 21 July at 15:00, as part of the public program of the exhibition and a closing event, a panel discussion will take place to address the issue of empathy in a multicultural environment.
I am pleased to introduce the invited speakers:
Christian Van Der Kooy is a Dutch visual artist and curator, who lives and works in The Hague. His work consists of commissions and long-term projects that investigate the concept of the public domain. The keynote of his process is to consider our notions of identity and belonging. In his projects, he explores the imagination and the imaginable by posing questions about our collective relationship with the land. Since his first visit to revolutionary Kyiv in 2004, he has been looking for stories in which a new generation of Ukrainians shaped their war-torn society.
Van der Kooy’s work is represented in permanent and private collections, and he has curated and exhibited in Melkweg Expo Amsterdam, Nederlands Fotomuseum and Het Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam, Fotomuseum Den Haag, CID Grand-Hornu, Künstlerhaus Dortmund and RA Gallery Kyiv, among others.
Annosh Urbanke is an independent curator and researcher. She is interested in neo-avant-garde, post-socialism and self-organisation in ex-Yugoslavia. At the moment, she is working on projects along specific archives in ZERO foundation Dusseldorf and Zagreb (which will be conceived in an exhibition end of August), the Works and Words archive at De Appel. Those projects connect avant-garde to this region and the present time. She holds a BA in museology (Reinwardt Academy) and an MA in modern and contemporary art history (Utrecht University). Annosh writes about art and speculative fiction. Her writings have been featured by Valiz, Mister Motley, Bronze Age, Metropolis M, Tubelight, Outline and MaMA’s Universe.
Maarten Dekker studied Language & Cultures, has a degree in International Relations and studies psychology. He has been working in a shelter for 5 years and since last year has worked at an organization that helps Ukrainians find psychosocial support.
Daria Delawar-Kasmai is a team member of the Empatia Program, which provides essential mental health support to displaced Ukrainian individuals in the Netherlands. As a displaced person from Ukraine herself, Daria brings a unique and empathetic perspective to her work, understanding firsthand the profound challenges faced by those who have fled the war. She holds degrees from Kyiv Mohyla Academy and the University of Amsterdam, combining a solid academic foundation with her personal experiences to effectively aid and advocate for her community.
I am looking forward to seeing you!
WG Kunst
Marius van Bouwdijk Bastiaansestraat 28
1054 SP Amsterdam
Hoe vaak komen zinnen als “niet huilen” of “blijf glimlachen” op een ongepast moment op, alsof we ons daar beter door zouden voelen. Echter, ze staan haaks op onze gevoelens. Als startpunt van het artistiek onderzoek van Anna Kakhiani verwijst ze naar spraakpatronen en herkenbare zinnen in situaties die empathie vereisen, gebaseerd op terugkerende situaties die zich voordoen bij vluchtelingen en migranten.
Kakhiani verwijst opzettelijk naar emotionele en fysieke sensaties als reacties op dergelijke zinnen en vertaalt ze naar zintuiglijke en visuele vormen in installaties en objecten met behulp van alledaagse items, materialen en afbeeldingen. Door de reflectie op taal als instrument van wederzijds begrip en gevoeligheid uit te breiden, en zo ook de grenzen aan openheid, verwijst ze naar enkele historische momenten en pseudowetenschappelijke feiten, waardoor het contextuele bereik wordt vergroot.
De tentoonstelling “Omarm Me Met Woorden, Of Misschien Ook Niet” is een reactie op het heden, dat doordrenkt is van triggers, en een poging om een beroep te doen op basis intuïtieve gevoelens en te herinneren hoe het is om daarop te vertrouwen. Het is een poging om de grenzen van empathie in een multiculturele omgeving te verkennen door de universaliteit van taal. De tentoonstelling zal installaties, objecten en een ruimte voor interactie met het publiek bevatten. Als afsluitend evenement zal er een openbare discussie plaatsvinden. Updates over het publieksprogramma zullen worden gepost op de website van de galerie en de website van de kunstenaar.
Het project wordt ondersteund door de Nederlandse Stichting voor Literatuur, het Steunfonds voor Oekraïense Makers, VATAHA Foundation.
Anna Kakhiani (1991, Oekraïne) is een interdisciplinaire kunstenaar, haar huidige praktijk is gebaseerd op de verbanden tussen mentale toestanden en fysieke ervaring, onzekerheden in empathie en het verwerken van gedwongen transformaties. Sinds 2022 woont en werkt ze in Amsterdam nadat ze gedwongen werd te verhuizen naar Nederland vanwege de Russische agressie tegen Oekraïne.
Website https://www.annakakhiani.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/annakakhiani
OPENING: Vrijdag 12 juli 17.00-19.00
Openingsspeech: 17.30
Tentoonstellingsperiode 13 tot 21 juli 2024
Geopend dagelijks tussen 13.00-17.00 (maandag gesloten)
Hug Me With Words, Or Maybe Not
ANNA KAKHIANI
July 12th – July 21 th 2024
How often do phrases such as “don’t cry” or “keep smiling” go out of place or are opposite, making us feel better? As a starting point of Anna Kahiani’s artistic research, she refers to speech patterns and recognizable phrases in situations that require empathy based on recurring situations that happen to refugees and migrants.
Kakhiani intentionally refers to emotional and physical sensations as reactions to such phrases and translates them into sensory and visual forms in installations and objects using familiar items, materials and images from everyday life. Expanding the range of reflections on language as an instrument of mutual understanding and sensitivity, limits of openness, she refers to some historical moments and pseudo-scientific facts, expanding the scope of the context.
The exhibition Hug Me with Words, or Maybe Not is a reaction to the present, which is oversaturated with triggers, and an attempt to appeal to basic intuitive feelings and remember what it is like to rely on them. It is an attempt to explore the limits of empathy in a multicultural environment through the universality of language. The exhibition will feature installations, objects and a space for the public to interact. A public discussion will be held as a closing event. Updates to the public program will be posted on the website of WG Kunst and the artist’s website.
The project is supported by the Dutch Foundation for Literature, the Support Fund for Ukrainian Makers, VATAHA Foundation.
Anna Kakhiani (1991, Ukraine) is an interdisciplinary artist, her current practice is based on interconnections between mental states and physical experience, uncertainties in empathy, and processing forced transformations. Since 2022, she has been living and working in Amsterdam after being forced to move to the Netherlands due to Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Website https://www.annakakhiani.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/annakakhiani
OPENING: Friday July 12th 17.00-19.00
Opening speech: 17.30
Exhibition period July 13th to July 21 th 2024
Open daily between 13.00-17.00 (closed on Mondays)
WG Kunst
Marius van Bouwdijk Bastiaansestraat 28
1054 SP Amsterdam
www.wgkunst.nl | wgkunst@wgkunst.nl | 020 6161515