Since 26 June 2025, visitors have had the opportunity to visit a unique exhibition about solidarity, unity and relationships: between Ukraine and Poland, between times of peace and times of war, between being close and being far away. Artists from Poland are taking part in the “Different Places” project alongside artists from Ukraine. The works will be on display at the National Art Museum of Ukraine in Kyiv until 10 August 2025. The Adam Mickiewicz Institute is co-organising the exhibition.

The “Different Places” project – a two-part story about art in the context of war

“Different Places” is a two-part story about art created in different places and times, with varying references to war. The title of the project refers to Steve Reich’s composition Different Trains, a three-part piece that won a Grammy Award in 1990. Between 1939 and 1942, Reich travelled by train between New York and Los Angeles. Almost half a century later, the artist realised that if he had been in Europe at the same time as a Jew, his journeys would have taken place on completely different trains. In the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine, the exhibition emphasises the message that the place in which we find ourselves can determine our fate.

The exhibition at the National Art Museum of Ukraine in Kyiv will have two parts. The first, between June and August 2025, will be a prelude to the second, larger presentation, planned for November 2025 to March 2026. The Polish curator of the exhibition is Waldemar Tatarczuk, general manager of the Labirynt Gallery in Lublin. On the Ukrainian side, the exhibition is co-created by Oksana Barshynova, deputy general manager of the museum. The “Different Places” project is the first presentation of Polish contemporary art in Ukraine since the outbreak of full-scale war in 2022 – it is also a gesture of solidarity with Ukrainian artists. The exhibition aims to normalise artistic life in a country ravaged by war, to overcome the fear of other countries, and to actively integrate Ukraine into the European cultural sphere, despite the extraordinary situation.

Two perspectives — artistic voices from Poland and Ukraine

The exhibition “Different Places” is a story about relationships: between Ukraine and Poland, between war and peace, between presence and distance. It is also an exhibition about solidarity and unity. The first part focuses on art from Poland – a country whose society has supported Ukrainians from the very first days of the war. The exhibition will feature works by six artists of different generations working in various media. The works were created before 2022, before the Russian invasion, which gives them a new dimension of interpretation in the light of contemporary events. The exhibition therefore raises questions: what changes in an image when the viewer looks at it through the prism of war? What are works created “before” saying now? Does a work of art remain unchanged when the world and the order surrounding it change? The exhibition will be accompanied by discussions with Polish and Ukrainian artists and cultural researchers.

The project will also feature Ukrainian artists with military experience. Their presence in this first edition is of a symbolic nature. In 2022, at the request of the Polish curator, they created photographic images of the sky, documenting what was above the war. The artists are also present in video portraits – one-minute recordings of silence. Since June 2022, every day at 9:00 a.m., Ukraine pauses for a minute of silence to honour the fallen.

The exhibition “Різні місця” in Kyiv

• Dates: 26 June – 10 August 2025;
• Venue: National Art Museum of Ukraine, Kyiv;
• Accessibility: The exhibition is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.;
• Artists from Poland: Mirosław Bałka, Barbara Gryka, Katarzyna Kozyra, Karol Radziszewski, Wilhelm Sasnal, Monika Sosnowska;
• Artists from Ukraine: Davyd Chichkan, Yevhen Korshunov, Pavlo Kovach, Denys Pankratov, Max Robotov;
• Curatorial team: Oksana Barshynova, Waldemar Tatarczuk;
• Organised by: National Art Museum of Ukraine, Labirynt Gallery, Polish Institute in Kyiv, Adam Mickiewicz Institute;
• More information: namu.ua.