🎨 Exhibition + Art Talk: Dive into the Depths of Art & Crisis

🎨 Art Talk: Dive into the Depths of Art & Crisis

We invite you to join us at this event at the Very Private Gallery.
Join us for an engaging conversation with young artist Maryia and experience her premiere exhibition! The event starts at 19:00 and continues until 22:00. We provide a laid-back atmosphere, setting us apart from conventional contemporary art exhibitions. At Very Private Gallery, we operate an artist residency program dedicated to assisting budding artists in kick-starting their careers.

1. Vernissage with Maryia Platonava
Maryia is a self-taught artist following Very Private Gallery's residency program.
Born in Vitebsk, Belarus, she spent her childhood in Yalta, Crimea, and fled to Spain before the annexation. Maryia's life story is as textured as her artworks. Her work is a series of works dedicated to displacement and being a refugee. A status she struggles to keep in Madrid. Graduated from the Philological Faculty of BSU Minsk, she is a literature lover. Yet, her preferred mode of expression remains the visual arts, especially photography.

Her latest exhibition encapsulates the challenges of displacement, capturing the essence of being a refugee—a narrative she intimately understands.

(in case you want to know more about the residency program)

2. Art Talk
Art's relationship with crises is multifaceted and paradoxical.

Historically, art has played dual roles—both as a reflection of society's struggles and as a commodity in economic downturns. Art became a portable and valuable asset during tumultuous times, such as wars. Now, in our modern age, we witness wealthy collectors investing even more in art during economic recessions.

Propaganda too has used art's potency. Soviet Realism's optimistic state narratives and WWII's U.S. posters pushing war bonds tell a story. Artists mostly, if not always, have been following the narratives of the society they live in.

With the rise of social media, artists now share their space with influencers, shifting the content creation paradigm. They are not the only individual image makers, and if there are genuine disruptors, they should question the game they play.

Today, we face the distressing reality of millions of refugees from Gaza, trapped at borders while escaping conflict, exacerbating the global refugee situation. Artists worldwide are signing online petitions, like 'Artists call for an immediate ceasefire!' on Change.org, filled with hope but seeing limited impact.

We must ask: What should an artist's role be during crises? Is working alone the answer for artists, or is coming together a more effective response in these challenging times? Let's explore these topics and seek constructive answers.