The exhibition Sweet Dreams Foundation at the Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts brings together works by artists from Ukraine, Romania, Lithuania, and Switzerland developed either as site specific installations and interventions at NAC in Nida, or presented as existing works and projects. Curated by Lesia Kulchynska, a former participant of NAC’s residency programme in 2019 as part of an exchange programme with the Ukrainian Culture Institute, the exhibition is formed as a direct response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reflecting on the state of artistic production in the current situation.
Let’s suppose that we are stuck in a transitory state. Whatever we experience now, it is temporary. The rules of the state of emergency are temporary. The decisions made under a state of emergency are temporary. Those of us who left their homes and settled elsewhere, are there on a temporary basis. The tremendous support that we are receiving and giving each other is temporary. How do we settle in this interim space? How do we furnish a home that is a provisional one? What do we dream about while having no foreseeable future? — Lesia Kulchynska
Located in between the imagination of the future and acknowledging as well as critically examining the possibilities of today, the exhibition claims to form a foundation based on the potential of a future currently formed collectively in dreams. Those dreams are not sweet, and that future will be composed of the experiences of today. Therefore the exhibition focuses on practices that feel like contributing to a more mindful, potentially equal, just and colourful future as the recently experienced past.
Meet 13 artists participating at the Sweet Dreams Foundation exhibition
Yana Bachynska, based in Lviv, is an artist and queer film director. Bachynska graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy of Taras Shevchenko National University and from the Faculty of Multimedia of the Academy of Arts in Szczecin. Bachynska looks for reactions to aggressive conservatism and traditionalist paranoia and explores public space by intervening and completing elements in opposition to those that already exist.
Dasha Chechushkova is enrolled at the National Academy of Arts in Kyiv after graduating from Grekov Odessa Art School. Chechushkova’s practice includes photography, video, drawing, painting, poetry, embroidery, and happenings and is interested in understanding the connection between nature and humankind, and the level at which individuals are in tune with the environment and their sense of self.
Fattucchiere is the ongoing project of artist Marta Margnetti and curator Giada Olivotto. Inspired by themes of magical realism and feminist practices, they collaborate with female artists and enact daily forms of resistance. Their collective work, the question of community and feminisms, the investigation of the everyday through dialogue and a fascination with phenomena understood as supernatural or invisible are just some of the traits that unite their individual research.
Agnė Juodvalkytė is an artist currently based between Berlin and Vilnius. Her practice is predominantly focused on abstract painting and textiles. She holds a BA in Painting at the Vilnius Academy of Arts and studied Visual Arts in Spain at the Universidad de Castilla La Mancha . Recent solo exhibitions include Galerie Bernau and Blake & Vargas , both in Berlin; Pamario galerija, Juodkrantė;Enter Art Space, Aarhus; andAV17 Gallery, Vilnius.
Borys Kashapov is a Kyiv based artist and graduate of the Rodchenko School of Photography and Multimedia. Kashapov was previously a member of the REP Group, the Penoplast dream-band, and The Gay Carousel collective and is a prolific initiator of self-organised projects and alter-institutional artistic practices. Working in video and performance, Kashapov explores the power relations in art and its political aspects. His works have been shown at Mala Gallery of Mystetskyi Arsenal, Kyiv; Muzeul de Artă Recentă, Rezidența 9, Catinca Tabacaru, (all Bucharest) among others.
Mila Kostianá, based in Kyiv, received her formal education in the field of cultural studies and design. As a multimedia designer and visual researcher, Kostianá is interested in feminism and gender studies, queer and decolonial theory, political philosophy. Her practice predominantly revolves around the cultural heritage of her home city of Kyiv.
Natalia Kushnir (Natusya), based in Odessa, is an artist who makes picturesque, sculptural objects and installations. The leading theme of Kushnir’s work is the human and its direct participation in social life, means of survival and the observation of individuals.
Zoya Laktionova is an artist and documentary filmmaker and was formerly based in Kyiv before Russia initiated a full-scale war against Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Her work examines themes of war, memory and personal stories. Laktionova’s short films Diorama and Territory of Empty Windows have received several awards and been featured in numerous European film festivals.
Marta Margnetti, based in Lugano, graduated in Visual Arts at the Haute école d’art et de design in Geneva and later in Contemporary Arts Practice at the Hochschule der Künste in Bern. She co-founded and co-directed the Sonnenstube Gallery in Lugano and became a member of the Morel Lugano collective. Margnetti has participated in group exhibitions at Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel; Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau; Kunsthalle, Basel; Museo d’arte della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Swiss Art Awards, Basel among others.
Daniela Pălimariu, based in Bucharest, is a visual artist and co-founder of the art space Sandwich. Her practice includes livable environments and objects, installations, semi-private events and drawings, all of which understate the ambiguity of human relations, the need for personal space, play and daily subversions. Pălimariu’s work has been shown at Catinca Tabacaru, Nicodim Gallery,, Ivan Gallery and Supra Infiniti, in Bucharest; LISTE, Basel; and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest among others.
Cristian Răduță, based in Bucharest, is an artist and co-founder of the artist-run gallery, Sandwich. He makes sculptures, objects and installations that start from hypothetical, and often absurd, situations and characters which are humorously employed. He is interested in the relationships and tensions that form among the various industrial and bricolage materials he uses. He has exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb; Salonul de Proiecte, Bucharest; Museum of Sculpture, Krolikarnia Palace, Warsaw; and The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest.
Kseniia Shcherbakova is an interdisciplinary artist based in Odessa. She is the initiator of various projects including the experimental music project -xraketa, Raiskii Raiii (Paradise Heaven), and, together with her partner, established the recycling clothes brand “circulation of infernation”. Shcherbakov is a member of the Odessa creative community at the abandoned ship repair factory SRZ-2.
Anna Sorokovaya is an artist and curator based in Kyiv. She holds an MA in Art History from the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, Kyiv. Her master’s research dealt with the social aspects of museum practice. As an artist she works with objects, installation and photography. Her work has been shown at Saatchi Gallery, London; MUHi: Young Ukrainian Artists competition, Kyiv;the Visual Culture Research Center, Mystetskyi Arsenal and Ermilov Center, in Kyiv.
Lesia Kulchynska is a Kyiv-based curator and visual studies researcher. She worked as a curator at the Visual Culture Research Center, Set Independent Art Space, on projects Ukrainian Body, Some Say You Can Find Happiness There, The School of the Lonesome at The School of Kyiv, Kyiv Biennial, The Raft CrimeA, Somewhere Out There Somewhere Beside, Art= Capital?, Public Self-Reflection Program at Kyiv Art Fair, The Reason Of Disappearance. Founder of the Mobile School of Visual Education, Service and talkshow Sincerely about art. Author of Meaning Production in Cinema: Genre Mechanisms. Currently Kulchynska is an Art History postdoctoral fellow at Biblioteka Harteziana Max Planck Institute.
Further information: https://www.nidacolony.lt/en/exhibitions/sweet-dreams-foundation
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Dasha Chechushkova, The Book of Fire, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. -
Fattucchiere, Archivietta, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. -
Nataliia Kushnir, The Place of the Unknown, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. -
Nataliia-Kushnir, The Place of the Unknown, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. -
Nataliia Kushnir, The Place of the Unknown, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. -
NIDA DOCTORAL SCHOOL NEWS ABOUT NAC RESIDENCY PROGRAMME PROJECTS EXHIBITIONS SWEET DREAMS FOUNDATION ARTISTS SENSIBLE GROUNDS: TUNING INTO THE RHYTHMS OF THE CHRONIC THE SPECTRAL FOREST BITCOIN MINING AND FIELD RECORDINGS OF ETHNIC MINORITIES GUGGING’S GARDEN LIFE INTENSE 2019 SUN & SEA (MARINA) AT THE VENICE BIENNALE 2019 THE SCIENCE OF A GOOD LIE 2018 (PER)FORMING SCAPES 2018 TELEPORT TO NIDA. RITES & TERRABYTES 2018 DARK DRAWN 2018 WHEN THE SEA LOOKS BACK (A SERPENT’S TALE) 2017 CLIMBING INVISIBLE STRUCTURES 2016-2017 MUSEUM AT THE VENICE BIENNALE 2015 HYBRID(…)SCAPES 2016 PARASITE & MIMICRY 2014 IMAGINARY SHORES 2014 GIANTS. SOUVENIRS 2014 STORIES OF HOLIDAY RESORT: TRANSPARENCY 2013 APPROPRIATED TERRITORIES 2013 KIOSK RITUAL ROOM 2013 AESTHETICS OF BOREDOM IN NIDA 2012 GENIUS LOCI 2012 NEVER SAY EVER 2012-07, 2013-03 ŠACHMATŲ MIESTO KVARTALAI 2012 TAKING TIME 2012 LIBRARY PUBLICATIONS RENT OF FACILITIES IMAGES NEWSLETTER FRIENDS & SUPPORTERS CONTACTS & ARRIVALS Search… Sweet Dreams Foundation Published on Wednesday, 29 June 2022 08:21 Sweet Dreams Foundation image Design and image by Mila Kostiana. Sweet Dreams Foundation Exhibition Opening 15 July, 6 pm 16 July – 16 October 2022 Open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am–5pm Nida Art Colony of the Vilnius Academy of Arts E. A. Jonušo Str. 3 Nida LT-93127 Participating artists: Yana Bachynska, Dasha Chechushkova, Fattucchiere (Marta Margnetti and Giada Olivotto), Agnė Juodvalkytė, Borys Kashapov, Mila Kostiana, Natasha Kushnir, Zoya Laktionova, Marta Margnetti, Daniela Palimariu, Christian Raduta, Kseniia Shcherbakova, and Anna Sorokovaya. Curator: Lesia Kulchynska In this space, amidst the woods, it is easy to get lost in dreams. Should we take this chance? Being safe in a shaking world is a privilege, and likely a temporary one. How to use it properly? Being lost safely offers us the opportunity to explore uncertainty and adjust to it smoothly, making preparations for the real perplexities awaiting outside this welcoming forest. Very close to this serene place there is a war happening. War is a source of instability, unpredictability, and precariousness. During war, the future is only to guess or to pray for, not to rely on. “Planning puts me in a paralyzed state,” said my friend from Mariupol, a Ukrainian coastal city that ceased to exist having been burned down together with its inhabitants. Planning, which is an option for “normal life” with a clear perspective, is irrelevant during uncertain times. What other strategies do we have to relate to the future, and to handle the present? Let’s suppose that we are stuck in a transitory state. Whatever we experience now, it is temporary. The rules of the state of emergency are temporary. The decisions made under a state of emergency are temporary. Those of us who left their homes and settled elsewhere are there on a temporary basis. The tremendous support that we are receiving and giving each other is temporary. How do we settle in this interim space? How do we furnish a home that is a provisional one? What do we dream about while having no foreseeable future? “Don’t get back to normal life,” wrote my artist friend who has remained in Kyiv since the beginning of war on his FB page. Too many amazing things are happening there right now under the state of exception. All of a sudden many people have discovered that being lost in unpredictability is a privilege with neither a desired future nor a defined present restraining them. Even if it lasts a day or less, who cares—tomorrow is not guaranteed anyway. Should we discover these opportunities? When reality is falling apart, dreamers might perceive their own special mission. It is not decided what world we will face after the transition is over. The dreams of the dreamers could be the foundation for it. Let’s talk to them. 1. Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. Courtesy of the artists JPG 1 Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 2. Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 3. Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 5. Dasha Chechushkova Mara the Spectre of a Fox 2022 Dasha Chechushkova, Mara, the Spectre of a Fox, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 4. Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 6. Borys Kashapov The Charm 2022. Photo by Andrej VasilenkoBorys Kashapov, The Charm, 2022. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 7. Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 8. Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Kseniia Scherbakova, The Guardian Angel, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 9. Kseniia Scherbakova Vision 2022. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Kseniia Scherbakova, Vision, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 10. Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 11. Dasha Chechushkova Seeing water in a room foretells change 2022. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Dasha Chechushkova, Seeing water in a room foretells change, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 12. Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 14. Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 15. Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Dasha Chechushkova, Monument to the Unknown Hostage, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 16. Natasha Kushnir Someone 2022. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko Natasha Kushnir, Someone, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. 17. Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. Courtesy of the artistMarta Margnetti, Lead Eggshels, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko.18. Fattucchiere Prêtes-à-pleurer 2022. Photo by Andrej VasilenkoFattucchiere, Prêtes-à-pleurer, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko.19. Fattucchiere Archivietta 2022. Photo by Andrej VasilenkoFattucchiere, Archivietta, 2022. Courtesy of the artists. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko.20. Christian Raduta Dog with Bone Finder 2022. Photo by Andrej VasilenkoChristian Raduta, Dog with Bone (Finder), 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko.21. Anna Sorokovaya Stones Varnish Rhinestones 2022. Photo by Andrej VasilenkoAnna Sorokovaya, Stones, Varnish, Rhinestones, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko.22. Marta Margnetti Coro ft. Dizzy Davis 2020. Photo by Andrej VasilenkoMarta Margnetti, Coro ft. Dizzy Davis, 2020. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko.23. Dasha Chechushkova Monument to the Unknown Hostage 2022. Photo by Andrej VasilenkoDasha Chechushkova, Monument to the Unknown Hostage, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko.24. Yana Bachynska 2022. Photo by Andrej VasilenkoYana Bachynska, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko.25. Installation view. Photo by Andrej VasilenkoInstallation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko -
Dasha Chechushkova, Monument to the Unknown Hostage, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. -
Marta Margnetti, Coro ft. Dizzy Davis, 2020. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. -
Marta Margnetti, Lead Eggshels, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko -
Natasha Kushnir, Someone, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. -
Dasha Chechushkova, Monument to the Unknown Hostage, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. -
Installation view. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko. -
Dasha Chechushkova, Seeing water in a room foretells change, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Andrej Vasilenko.
The Sweet Dreams Foundation is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund and Support for artists and cultural workers from Ukraine – Goethe-Institut.
Exhibition is open:
16 July – 16 October 2022
Tuesday to Sunday, 11am–5pm
Nida Art Colony of the Vilnius Academy of Arts
E. A. Jonušo Str. 3
Nida LT-93127
Curator: Lesia Kulchynska
