This exhibition has been set against the backdrop of multiple global crises, with undeniable reverberations at the local level, where we are witnessing a rise in conservative thinking, nationalism, extremism, racism, and misogyny. All these phenomena have taken root in fertile ground where education has been widely neglected and the internet and social media have won the battle for the attention of most young people. Our project »STRATEGIC (EX)CHANGES« addresses these issues by resorting to humor, used as a way to confront difficult, seemingly insurmountable situations, deployed in a series of artistic strategies that have the potential to be translated into life strategies.

Cristina David, Ana Kun, Olof Olsson, and Maruša Sagadin held a series of workshops in which participants had the opportunity to experiment with new practices, within interactions based on critical thinking and non-hierarchical exchanges. The exhibition brings together works by the invited artists with new productions resulting from the workshops, presented in conjunction with a series of works by Hortensia Mi Kafchin.

The invited artists come from different cultural and geographical contexts. Their practices reflect multiple understandings of the notion of humor, with the common denominator being the challenging of seemingly unshakeable systemic conventions, the support of values such as social inclusion or gender equality, and the affirmation of non-normative subjectivities.

Cristina David, Hortensia Mi Kafchin, Ana Kun, Olof Olsson, Maruša Sagadin

Contributions following the workshops: Alexandra Boaru, Clara Caradimu, Ștefania Crăciun, Oana Dumitru, Corina Duțu, Anca Enache, Vlad Enache, Ana Maria Gaga, Teodor Georgescu, Iulia Hulea, Natașa Liciu, Denise Lobonț, Diana Ludu, Ruxandra Nițescu, Bianca Oprea, Gabriela Pițurlea, Silvia Stanciu, Vitaly Yankovy.

Venue: Salonul de proiecte, Universul Palace, Building B, 1st floor, 23-25 Ion Brezoianu, Bucharest, Romania

Cristina David (RO) is a visual artist whose artistic practice is predominantly focused on video, a medium through which she documents a personal, often ironic and playful, vision of the world, of herself and the passage of time. Her projects frequently integrate text, performance, objects, and installations, and are marked by a distinct conceptual spirit.

Hortensia Mi Kafchin (DE) is a visual artist whose works are marked by a distinctive synthesis of futuristic imagery, spiritual symbolism, and references from art history. In her practice, she explores various media – from painting and drawing to video and digital techniques –, constructing speculative scenarios about the future and the complexity of the human condition.

Ana Kun (RO) is a visual artist living and working in Timișoara. With a conventional training in graphics and creative writing, her practice expands beyond its base of visual arts and literature into independent publication (zine), vegan communal cooking and other collaborative practices with focus on life, care and liberation. She’s part of two collectives, Balamuc and Zephyr, and of several duos, most recently LuciAna, with Lucian Barbu, and a duo with professional cook Noemi Hugel.

Olof Olsson (DK) is an artist who works with info comedy, a type of performance that straddles the line between lecture, comedy, autobiography, and melodrama. After studying philology, philosophy and translation theory, he pursued visual arts at Konstfack in Stockholm and the Royal Academy in Copenhagen, and since 2007 he has devoted himself to performance.

Maruša Sagadin (AT) is an artist who lives and works in Vienna. With a background in architecture, sculpture, and performance, her artistic practice investigates the boundaries between public and private space, using humor and exaggeration to subvert social conventions and reflect on the relationship between architecture, infrastructure, and power.

Header image: Teodora Roșu