16 Mar 2016

Fear of the Unknown / Refugee crisis at Kunsthalle Bratislava

The European refugee crisis we are facing at the moment is the most serious crisis since World War II. Millions of people have been forced to leave their homes due to armed conflicts or extreme poverty. This situation has brought a lot of uncertainty into our society and it continues raising many questions. The experience of contact with other cultures is new and unknown to the Eastern European countries. We are only at the beginning of our mutual dialogue as there has not been enough time for establishing a proper relationship so far. The 'Fear of the Unknown' exhibition (curated by Lenka Kukurová) tries to overcome the issue of missing communication. The exhibited artworks by foreign (i.e. Dan Perjovschi, Oliver Ressler, Kateřina Šedá, Anna Witt, Artur Żmijewski, Tobias Zielony) and domestic (i.e. Pavlína Fichta Čierna, Oto Hudec, Daniela Krajčová, Tomáš Rafa) artists focus on refugees and on the way we approach them. The phenomenon of fearing the unknown, which appears in the title of the exhibition, determines to a large extent the form of public discussion in Slovakia and Eastern Europe. The topic of other cultures or religions remains quite distant to our everyday lives. Even though the artists are not experts on the refugee issue they express their personal feelings and opinions and confront them with those of the audience. The aim of this art exhibition a dialogue between people. Art enables us to avoid simplification limited to 'the good' and 'the bad' and to focus on imagination and visions. The exhibition can be the place where all can speak without anybody winning a debate. The Fear of the Unknown exhibition reminds us that the issue of the refugee crisis is not something which develops unconnected with us, rather we are part of it. We are also, however, part of its possible solution.

In cooperation with non-profit organisations and foreign partners Dom umenia/Kunsthalle Bratislava organises an accompanying program prepared for the wider public and for refugees in cooperation with refugees and about refugees. The program provides a rare possibility of meetings and communication and tries to contribute to the transformation of 'the unknown' into 'the known'.

More information: bit.ly/FearOfTheUnknown

General partner: Tatra banka, a.s.
Main exhibition partner: Goethe Institut
Exhibition partners: Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Austrian Cultural Forum, Czech Centre, Embassy of Brasil in Bratislava