EXHIBITION “ART AGAINST DICTATORSHIP” IN OSLO, NORWAY

Thursday, 12 November 2009

A travelling exhibition “Art against Dictatorship” took place from October, 29 to November, 5 in the city hall of the capital of Norway Oslo. The exhibition includes 32 works by 11 Belarusian artists who live in Belarus or the USA:

Ales Marachkin, Ales Pushkin, Ales Shaternik, Yagor Batalyenak, Genadz Drazdou, Mikola Kupava, Julia Shaternik, Yury Platonau, Janka Ramanovich, Alena Tylkina and Siarhei Arden.

The grand opening of the exhibition on October, 29 was attended by about 200 people including Norwegian politicians, representatives of the Liberal and Socialist left parties of Norway, Belarusian artists and dissidents Ales Shaternik, Ales Pushkin, Alena Tylkina and Pavel Marozau, Norwegian TV and radio reporters, Belarusian musicians (ethno-jazz band from Minsk, Belarus “Akana NHS”)

The exhibition coordinator and the leader of The Congress of the new generation of Belarusian Diaspora in Europe and the United States Pavel Marozau: “The Exhibition “Art against Dictatorship” started in the summer of 2008 and represents alternative Belarus, a country of free-thinking, creative people. It addresses the problems of the freedom of creativity and self-expression, human rights in Belarus. You cannot change Belarus and bring it closer to Europe through politics, but you can do it through culture. We have powerful cultural movement of artists, musicians who see our country free and European“.

The exhibition has been travelling from coast to coast; it was displayed in the Estonian Parliament, museums and foundations of New York City and Washington D.C.Oslo city hall is a symbolic and significant place in Norway; the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony takes place here. President of the USA Barack Obama will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December, 10. And on November, 23 the exhibition of Belarusian artists-nonconformists will be opened in the congress of the USA in Washington D.C.

The exhibition in Oslo was organized by the Congress of the new generation of Belarusian Diaspora in Europe and the United States with the support of the Liberal Youth of Norway (NUV), the Belarusian Museum in New York, an Estonian organization “New way for Belarus”, the Belarusian Youth Movement in America and the Third Way of Belarus.