Participating artists:

Oxana Akopov (USA), Asia Aveli (Kyrgyzstan), Patricia Demba (Greece), Consonance Ebb (USA), Irina Filova (USA), Galina Hartinger (Austria), Julia iSABEL (USA), Anna Livna (USA), Elmira Kandy (Kazakhstan), Lena Kardash (Spain), Evgeny Maklakov (Spain), Irina Metz (Armenia), Gali / Galina Milter (USA), Tatsiana Naumcic (Italy), Irina Pakhmutova (Cyprus), Garegin Protopopov (Spain), Lana Reiber (USA), Veera Romanoff (Finland), Maya Shi (Singapore), Inna Voronov (USA), Anna Yakusheva (UK).

Julia Sysalova, Curator

• Art Critic – Member of International Association of Art Critics
• Founder of International Art Communication School
• Vice President of Institute of the Mediterranean Culture, Greece

September 14 – October 14, 2024

Back in the 60s, Joseph Beuys and Andy Warhol changed our understanding of an artist: he is no longer a creator of art for a museum, but a storyteller, who gives voice to thoughts and feelings through mythology.

Today, on the verge of a civilizational breakdown, humanity exists in the situation of renegotiating its values and way of life, trying to overcome two kinds of limits: the state of the human body (post-humanism, AI) and the place humanity inhabits (exploring other countries, space, metaverses), simultaneously creating new social systems of control (digitality as a social aspect; migration as a social reinvention). As a result, ethics become a flexible construct, and the freedom to think, feel, and express ourselves comes at the risk of social ostracism.

The “Unlocked Identities” exhibition invites us to consider and reflect, to participate and respond. It is a sum of personal, social, and historical experiences being explored and reflected through art on a global scale. A group of 21 emerging immigrant artists living in different countries (USA, Spain, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Greece, Italy, Finland, Austria, Armenia, Great Britain, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore) with similar worldviews create a dialogue with each other and with the public though painting, art photography, sculpture and installations.  They explore the contradictory cultural phenomenon of identities and the way they change when influenced by cultural, scientific, and social settings. The artists provide an opportunity for new perspectives without imposing what is right or wrong. This is how art dignifies human experience.

Drawing inspiration from their culture, social background, and passions, the artists make their work a podium for their personal storytelling. Through the complex labyrinths of their (sub)consciousness, they perceive the surrounding reality, revisiting how new cultural and social codes influence their realia and artistic practice. The artists also reflect on how hidden parts of our identities influence our actions.

In a way, their art is a mirror that the artists need in order to determine their attitude towards the world around them. Despite the fact that identity is rather a diverse concept, there is no doubt that its essence lies in individuals’ ability to embrace what makes them who they are. In search of a complex balance between internal and external contradictions, the artists talking about the ones they know best – about themselves.

We already know that we are capable of heroism and rebellion, but the question is whether we are able to consciously cultivate “our little garden” on a daily basis.

We certainly need the humanization of life to start with. This might be the “pin code”, that would unlock the world around us and the path to freedom.