cinÉart
PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION “MAKING A DIFFERENCE”
Neimënster 5–30 October 2017
Catalogue [PDF]
The exhibition is opened daily from 9.00 till 19.00
On the days of screenings in Neimenster until 20.30
The countries of Eastern Europe are often perceived through the prism of their communist past or the difficulties of the transition period. However, they are much less homogeneous and "conservative" than we sometimes may think: a multitude of original and creative projects deviate from the mainstream.
Whether it be in terms of identity, values, artistic expression, lifestyle or work, many people stand out and celebrate their difference. In their irreducible diversity they question society, confront it, but enrich it as well - making a difference and bringing about change.
This exhibition, bringing together eight projects from Eastern Europe selected by curators Jagna Olejnikowska Grabowska and Violetta £uba, focuses exactly on these non-conformists, protesters, utopians and optimists who stand out and proclaim their difference in terms of identity, values or lifestyle, but who also strive for and promote change in their environment.
Among the featured projects: people who aim to change the world, to follow their dreams or who choose to live closer to nature (Jowita Mormul), members of colourful subcultures depicted by Tomáš Souèek, film enthusiasts who bring cinema to remote villages in Macedonia (MakeDox), people standing out from mainstream society and affirming their distinctness (Birgit Püve, Yurko Dyachyshyn), but also artists trying to engage local communities and selected groups in different ways (Zbigniew Bajek). Last but not least the project focusing on Metelkova Mesto in Ljubljana shows us the vitality of combining in one place artistic, social and cultural activities - what could be called a small scale 'working' utopia.
The exhibition contains more than a hundred photographs by Slovenian, Polish, Ukrainian, Estonian, Macedonian and Czech artists. It questions the direction taken by the mainstream in Western societies by looking at it from the point of view of various current forms of contestation, reform and utopia.
Curators: Jagna Olejnikowska Grabowska and Violetta £uba
Coordination: Radek Lipka
Organised by CinEast in collaboration and with the support of 
The vernissage of the 'Making a Difference' exhibition will take place in Neimënster on Thursday 5 October at 17.30.