Photograph provided by the PinchukArtCentre. Photographed by Valentyna Rostovikova

Björn Geldhof (UA)

Artistic Director of the PinchukArtCentre

Geldhof has curated numerous projects internationally, including: Ukrainian National Pavilion at the 56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (2015), Future Generation Art Prize exhibitions in Venice (2011, 2013, 2017, 2019) and This is Ukraine: Defending Freedom, an official collateral event of the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (2022). He has curated many solo-exhibitions and thematic exhibitions, such as China China, Fear and Hope, Loss: in Memory of Babyn Yar, Suns and Neons above Kazakhstan, Democracy Anew, Fragile State, and The Forbidden Image and has worked with among others: Damián Ortega, Olafur Eliasson, Anish Kapoor, Ai Weiwei, Jenny Holzer, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Tony Oursler, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Shilpa Gupta, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Marina Abramovic, Santiago Sierra, and Carlos Motta.

Photo by Karin Salathé

Boris Magrini (CH)

Head of programme and Curator at HEK (House of Electronic Arts)

Boris Magrini is head of programme and curator at HEK (House of Electronic Arts). He studied art history at the University of Geneva and completed his PhD at the University of Zurich. Curated shows include Earthbound (2022), Radical Gaming (2021), Entangled Realities (2019), and Future Love (2018). His book Confronting the Machine (Berlin/Boston 2017) examines the traditional narratives relating artistic production to technology. Some of his publications include: “Automation and Intentionality” in Automated Photography (ECAL/Lausanne, Mörel Books: 2021), and “Hackteria: An Example of Neomodern Activism” (Leonardo Electronic Almanac Vol. 20, Issue 1, 2014).

Photo by Ivor Stodolsky

Marita Muukkonen (FI)

Marita Muukkonen (FI) is co-founder and co-director of Artists at Risk (AR) / Ecologists at Risk (ER) / Perpetuum Mobile (PM), for which she recently co-curated the symposium “Institutions and Resistance – Alliances for Art at Risk” at ZKM | Karlsruhe.

Marita has been curator at FRAME – Contemporary Art Finland, editor of FRAMEWORK: The Finnish Art Review, chairperson of the Helsinki International Artists-in-Residence Programme (HIAP) and held key functions at the Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art (NIFCA). She has curated exhibitions and events e.g in MoMA in New York, ZKM, Moderna Museet, Kiasma, Manifesta, Venice Biennial, Kyiv Biennial and Athens Biennial. Curatorial projects and publications include The Raw, The Cooked and The Packaged; The Arts Assembly; The Square; The Artists at Risk (AR) Pavilions. She is also a contributor to art publications.

Jury Statement 2022

The jury reflected on what it means to be an artist at risk and considered this situation as one of the main criteria for the selection of works. There are clearly very different situations and contexts. The State of the ART(ist) call was motivated by the desire to stand in solidarity with Ukrainian artists, but it was extended to all silenced and threatened artists worldwide.

Currently, being at risk in Ukraine means life-threatening danger due to the war, but it is not a situation of persecution, violation of artistic freedom, or political repression, as is the case in other countries for dissident artists / artists at risk. This is why we adopted different criteria for different situations and countries. A second important criterion concerns the work of the artists; we prioritized works that strengthen democratic values, human rights including environmental rights, and are close to activist methods. Collaborative approaches similar to tactical media and strategies of resistance were also favored. As few such works were submitted, we have included works that are more traditional, such as video essays and installations, but include a critical discourse.

The jury recognized the urgent need to stand in solidarity with Ukraine and its artists in the time of brutal Russian invasion. Also, the majority of the submissions were from artists from Ukraine. The jury wished to have had more submissions from persecuted and silenced artists from around the globe, who are often more difficult to reach. Among the selected artists, there are a few collectives and artists from Burma, Hong Kong and Syria, who fit the criteria described above and demonstrate a variety of resistance strategies. These just give a tiny glimpse of ongoing persecution and violations of artistic freedom, as well as forced displacement of artists worldwide.

We want to express the deepest respect for all artists who risk their lives to stand up for artistic freedom, basic human rights, totalitarian governments, and continue to create art in the middle of the war, and other unimaginable hardships. The jury recognized the urgent need to support Ukraine and its artists.

Boris Magrini (CH), Björn Geldhof (UA), Marita Muukkonen (FI)

Advisors