Imagine a Breath of Fresh Air

Text brochure for the exhibition in PDF download here:

• Imagine A Breath Of Fresh Air - brochure

The group exhibition at Galeria Studio in Warsaw elaborated on the theme of visions of the future on several levels. It involved projects by a number of Czech, Polish and international artists. The exhibition encompassed two main levels, which at the same time reflected the spatial layout of Galeria Studio, divided into two floors, one above the other. One part dealt with the concept of returning to tradition and (our) nature, while the other part focused on techno-optimistic or dystopian ideas of the future, which might be associated with science-fiction.  
One part of the exhibition critically examined the aforementioned solar punk visions and ideas about the future, linking green living with state-of-the-art technology, science and “progress,” as well as various strategies for survival in a dystopian, even post-human world. The other part explored various strategies of degrowth, deceleration or sustainable living in harmony with nature. 

The exhibition’s narrative traveled through time, but also beyond real time, to explore past and future utopias. The theme of escapism permeated the exhibition, set in separated geographical locations, dream realms, fictional scenarios and old utopian ideas. But its purpose is not to escape into the unreal. On the contrary, we hoped that by combining a number of various artworks and projects, hints of possibility will begin to emerge, from which a way out of today’s situation, which is oppressive on many levels, can slowly be carved. When it seems there is nowhere to run, we can try running into the future – and from there, start to reshape the present. 

Aside from contemporary artworks, the exhibition also featured several historical works from the Galeria Studio Collection, Miejska Galeria BWA in Bydgoszcz, the Aleš South Bohemian Gallery, and private collections. 

The exhibition is the fourth chapter of the Jindřich Chalupecký Society program line titled Islands: Possibilities of Togetherness and was organized within the international project Islands of Kinship: A Collective  Manual for Sustainable and Inclusive  Art Institutions, co-funded by the European Union, Czech Ministry of Culture and Czech Recovery Plan. 

Photo: Anna Zagrodzka

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