Antiwarcoalition.art founded by curators and artists from Belarus and Ukraine announces an open call for anti-militarist, anti-dictatorial and anti-colonial artworks. It is an international network that collects, shares and distributes statements created by artists from all over the world. Driven by the war that Russia unleashed in Ukraine, the initiative presents an opportunity for cultural workers to express solidarity and protest against military aggression and political repression. The aim of the project is not only to present the artworks on an online platform but also to distribute them offline, by means of different events, exhibitions and public discussions. All institutions willing to become a part of the network are invited to join the coalition.
Antiwarcoalition.art mission is to organize networks of solidarity in the fight against Russian aggression, support Ukrainians, and also show that the war that is taking place in Ukraine today is part of the global colonial, imperialist processes. The carefully programmed website enables viewing and sharing art statements online. It includes international voices from countries and territories that have themselves been war zones in order to discuss issues of inequality and the consequences of resource economies. So far, more than 70 artists and cultural workers from Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Germany, Holland, India, Poland, Turkey, South Africa, UK, Ukraine, South Africa and many other countries have joined the initiative.
Coalition works not only as an online archive of anti-war statements that provides opportunities for research but also as a network for artists and cultural workers around the world. Through a range of public exhibitions, actions, and discussions, the International Coalition of Cultural Workers Against the War aims to draw attention to the problems of countries affected by war and repression. Institutions all over the world are invited to become members of the coalition and join the initiative in common efforts to create a space for dialogue, participation and resistance.
Platform was initiated by Ambasada Kultury (initiative of Belarusian culture workers and activists) and a group of Belarusian artists and curators: Anna Chistoserdova, Oxana Gourinovitch, Valentina Kiselyova, Aleksander Komarov, Lena Prents, Antonina Stebur and Maxim Tyminko, who left the country between 1994 and 2021 due to dissent with the political regime. Later, Ukrainian curators: Natasha Chychasova and Tatiana Kochubinska joined the team. As the founders of the coalition express in their statement:
Today we observe in аwe and despair how the dictatorial regime is using the territory of the Republic of Belarus as a staging area for the Russian army, their military equipment, and their combat operations. We feel confusion, frustration, and numbness as a result of the monstrous aggression being waged against the Ukrainian people, against our friends and relatives, and the involvement of Belarus in this terrible war. We are initiating this platform with the hope of creating a force of artists around the world, joined together against war and dictatorship.
Find more information on how to apply at www.antiwarcoallition.art
Antiwarcoalition.art is a part of The European Pavilion.
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Graphic: Karolina Pietrzyk based on work by Francis Alÿs, “Color Matching (Mosul-Iraq)”, 2016
