The current political situation across the globe has triggered uncertainty and a latent sense of dread pervading large parts of Europe. This uncertainty is mainly caused by Russia’s large-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been raging for more than three years. On top of that, there are growing tensions in other regions of the world.

Opening: 1 July 2025, 5pm at ERSTE Foundation, Am Belvedere 1, 1100 Vienna

Political certainties of the past 80 years that once seemed irrefutable are increasingly being called into question. International alliances are breaking apart, the concept of democracy is coming under strain, while autocratic systems and ideologies are gaining traction across the globe. Instead of international cooperation, a new isolationism is taking hold.

What is more, visions of an elitist social order of a few tech billionaires and rapid progress in artificial intelligence are fuelling many people’s concerns. The development of AI not only raises fundamental ethical questions but also threatens numerous jobs. At the same time, the development of ever more comprehensive surveillance technologies gives the state far-reaching control over individuals – while making it more difficult to resist authoritarian tendencies.

However, there are numerous civil society initiatives that are committed to upholding and promoting democratic values, climate protection and human rights and are working towards a fairer society for future generations.

So what will the future look like? For many people, the future is more unpredictable than ever before; many parallel, diametrically opposed trends make forecasting difficult – even for the immediate future.

But what about the people who have faced existential insecurity and threats firsthand – that is, people who come from a war-torn country like Ukraine? How do they feel? Is it even possible for them to feel something like confidence?

Presenting works by Ukrainian artists, the exhibition Future Fragments – Visions from the Present aims to show what remains of the future when the past and present are ravaged by war and its consequences. The exhibition brings together artistic positions by Ukrainian artists who live both in the country and in exile.

Based on their personal experiences of an exceptional existential situation and the permanent ambivalences of a fragmented present, the artists explore possible future scenarios – between hope and disillusion, technology and trauma, ecology and reconstruction. Their works transform our window gallery into a publicly accessible window on the thoughts of a generation that has lost all the certainties of a previously peaceful coexistence. Dystopias are juxtaposed with utopian designs, personal experiences inform social issues. Future Fragments gives these voices space – and opens up new perspectives on what the future can mean.

Participating artists: Yehor Antsyhin, Daria Chernyshova, EtchingRoom1, Yana Kononova, Yevheniia Kriuk, Kateryna Lysovenko, Anna Manankina, Vera Mantiuk, Oksana Pyzh, Ola Yeriemieieva

ERSTE Foundation condemns the war of aggression against Ukraine and the violence against its people.
For the past three years, we have been focussing our attention on the people in Ukraine and those who have fled to us from the war. We are supporting Ukrainian cultural workers, helping representatives of Ukrainian social organisations continue their education in Vienna, promoting journalism training and supporting the building and strengthening of local democratic structures. We are doing everything we can to improve living conditions in their war-torn country.

Office Ukraine. Support for Ukrainian Artists

ERSTE Foundation’s long-term partner tranzit.at was instrumental in the creation of Office Ukraine in cooperation with the BMWKMS / Austrian Federal Ministry for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport (formerly BMKOES), < rotor > in Graz and Künstler*innenhaus Büchsenhausen in Innsbruck.

Office Ukraine was founded in early 2022 only a few days after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and supports Ukrainian artists and cultural workers of all disciplines who fled to Austria, connecting them with cultural institutions and initiatives throughout Austria and helping them find exhibition and performance opportunities, studio spaces, jobs and internships.

The most important goal of Office Ukraine, which operates throughout Austria with three offices in Vienna, Graz and Innsbruck, is to enable displaced cultural workers to continue their artistic work in their respective fields and to promote long-term collaboration between artists from Ukraine and the Austrian art scene.

The exhibition at the window gallery of ERSTE Foundation at Erste Campus will be on view from 1 to 31 July 2025, accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Header image: Yevheniia Kriuk, Misprocessed Self-Portrait, 120 mm film, 2024