OPEN CALL – Exhibition about the Białowieża Forest at UAP Rotunda Gallery

PerspAKTIV project together with the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts Poznan and Municipal Gallery Arsenał invite students to take part in the exhibition about the Białowieża Forest, curated by a resident from Belarus – Volha Arkhipova.

The first meeting for all those interested is on November 8, 2023 at 5 p.m. at Poznań Art Corner (28 Marcinkowskiego Ave., 4th floor). Suggestions of works are welcome.

In case of any questions, please, contact: julia.zalozna@uap.edu.pl, olena.petrenko@uap.edu.pl

Białowieża Forest

The exhibition aims to present the “Białowieża Forest” as a special place that, while retaining its characteristics, belongs to several countries. This is an ecoregion with the conventional name “Sarmatian mixed forest”, through which the border between Poland and Belarus currently runs. A boundary that, however, does not divide the ecosystem itself.

The Białowieża Forest is the only part of our continent where a primeval, relict forest that once covered most of Europe has been preserved. Unique plants and animals existed and still exist in this place.

The exhibition can also be a story about the history of cultures, which is unique, just like the ecosystem of the Białowieża Forest. Over the centuries, the borders have changed, but the customs specific to this region still exist.

There were many common events, concepts, phenomena and symbols, heroes in the culture of Poland and Belarus… I want to show that our cultural heritage and its current potential has the power to cross borders without violating them.

The exhibition project assumes two main directions in the presented works: historical and conceptual.

In the historical part, we would like to remind about the cultural texts common to Poland and Belarus. For example, Mikołaj Hussowczyk’s poem “The Song of the Bison”, which was written in Latin to present this region to the Pope. This poem was then published in 1523 in Krakow with a dedication to the Polish queen Bona Sforza. It was in the Białowieża Forest that the agreements on the liquidation of the USSR and the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States were signed in 1991.

In the conceptual part, we offer artistic people a discussion on current topics, such as the concept of “dialogue of cultures”, “borders” and “own identity”.