Artist’s statement about the participation in ‘Shared Home.Shared Fight’ exhibition
I believe that the lack of knowledge of any context does not justify insensitivity on a human level, just as unawareness of the law does not exempt one from responsibility.
The group exhibition 'Shared Home. Shared Fight' was scheduled to be held at the same time as the exhibition of the Russian curator by Arti et Amicitiae (which is the institution run by artists) without our knowledge or any prior warning.
The concept of the exhibition, which is parallel to our project, ignores Russian terror in Ukraine now and in the past, completely blurring the context of the Holodomor and ignoring the current crimes against humanity committed by Russia. Unfortunately, the Arti et Amicitiae team's ignorance or unwillingness to consider this context and their motivation to ‘showcase the diverse Amsterdam art community’ have put us in a very difficult situation from an ethical and moral perspective. After lengthy discussions, we decided to leave it at that, postponing our opening by a week, thus separating the communication and audience of the two events as much as possible.
For centuries, Russia has been destroying Ukrainian cultural figures and artists in an attempt to erase our identity and existence as such. At a time when Ukrainian artists and intellectuals are being killed on the front lines (Ukrainian soldiers are civilians defending their homes, families and loved ones ), we cannot afford the privilege of remaining silent and so easily leaving all exposure to Russians abroad.
Anna Kakhiani
