Political prisoners’ art: artists behind bars
Belarusian Art: from maljavanka to NFT | BELARUS| 04.08.2022
Political prisoners’ art: artists behind bars
Belarusian Art: from maljavanka to NFT | BELARUS| 04.08.2022
We conclude our project "Belarusian Art: from maljavanka to NFT" with a rather difficult text about artists who have been subjected to repressions by the authorities. All their stories are very different: one from an artist who was convicted under an article on the rehabilitation of nazism for their painting, to a cartoonist who is convicted under an article on incitement to an act of terrorism. Our material was also made thanks to the information support of the Belarusian PEN and the monitoring of repressions against cultural figures presented by the Belarusian PEN Center.
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Numerous authors of the past who were innocent, but, nevertheless, condemned by the repressive machine of their time, become a separate topic. The fate of those convicted in Stalin's time is a vivid example of how a person's creative self-expression cannot go together with a system of bringing everyone under universal equality, turning the world into a one-sided reality. In our previous article about political prisoners, we touched on the past and talked about the fate of a number of authors – Yafim Minin, Ivan Gavris, Roman Semashkevich, Henadzi Zmudinsky, Pavel Gutkovsky, Mark Zhitnitsky, Nikolai Vasilevsky, Christopher Darkevich and Vasyl Sidorovich. These are only the most famous authors who fell under repression during Stalin's times. In fact, we don’t know all those whose creative and life paths were interrupted by the repressive machine of the Soviet era.
Nikolai Vasilevsky — The cover of the book “Belarusian calendar for 1929” and the cartoon “Tavars of the Belarusian school” / Photo from the BDAMLіM archive
In addition to the dark past, there is also the present, in which our contemporaries are already serving sentences. At the time of this article’s publication, more than 110 Belarusian cultural figures are under criminal prosecution. Eight of them are involved in contemporary art, and are in pre-trial detention centers, colonies and prisons. Next, we will tell you who these eight artists are and why they ended up behind bars.
Ales Pushkin
Nonconformist painter, theater artist and art curator Ales Pushkin is widely known for his performances and actions. The most famous — "Pus for the President", this one was dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the participation of Alexander Lukashenko.
Ales Pushkin — "Pus for the president" — performance / 1999
On March 25, 2021, an exhibition of Belarusian protest art “Skin Day” opened in Kyiv and Pushkin’s famous performance was recreated there. The day after the discovery, the artist and director of the Center for Urban Life Pavel Mozheiko was prosecuted under an article on the rehabilitation of Nazism because of a portrait of Yevgeny Zhikhar from an exhibition in Horadnia. Upon discovering this, Ales Pushkin flew from Kyiv to Miensk the same evening. On March 29, the artist was fired from the position of a restorer at “Belrestavratsiya”, and the next day he was detained in Zhylichy, where he took part in the reconstruction of the Bulgakov palace and park ensemble. Ales Pushkin was convicted under Part 3 of Art. 130, Art. 370 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus for 5 years in a strict regime colony.
Ales is currently located at the following address: ИК № 22. 225295, Брестская область, г. Ивацевичи, ст. Доманово, а/я 20
Viktor Kulinka
Digital artist Viktor Kulinka was also recognised as a political prisoner. He was detained on March 30th and is accused of participating in an extremist formation for registering in the "Peramoga" plan, which the authorities found on the phone, and of assisting extremist activities (Art. 361-4 and Art. 361-1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).
Also, on the day of detention, a "repentant" video with Viktor appeared on pro-government telegram channels. In it, he says that he photographed a convoy of military equipment of Russian troops, which was heading towards Homieĺ, and sent the photo to the bot of the channel, previously recognised as an extremist formation.
Victor is currently located at the following address: СИЗО-3. 246003, г. Гомель, ул. Книжная, 1А
Kasia Budko
Kasia is a young artist and a student of the Faculty of Aesthetic Education of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maksim Tank, who’s really passionate with contemporary art, design and ecology. There was a lot of art in her life, and not only from the university. Friends say that she had a real artistic talent, amazing imagination, and was sensitive to light and space. After studying at BSPU, she wanted to continue her studies abroad in order to transfer foreign experience to Belarus and make it better.
Kasia hasn’t stopped drawing even now. The artist designs postcards and sends them to people in response to letters. A separate Instagram account was created, so one can see her artwork and read the descriptions that were attached to the postcards.
Works by Kasia Budko from the SIZO, source: Kasia's work page @kajusizo
On November 12, 2020, KGB officers came to her house with a search and charged her under Part 1 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus – organization and preparation, and/or active participation of actions that hugely violate public order. For this, she and eleven other defendants in the so-called "Student Case" were sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
Kasia is currently located at the following address: г. Гомель, ИК №4, ул. Антошкина, 3, 246035. You can support her by sending a letter.
Jana Orobeiko
You may have even seen Jana Orobeiko's comics online, they were translated and distributed in different languages. Jana began to create cute stories in response to letters from her loved one after she ended up in a pre-trial detention center. Before that, she was a student of the Faculty of Aesthetic Education of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University with a degree in Fine Arts, Drawing and Folk Art Crafts. She studied with Kasya Budko.
On November 12, 2020, Jana Orobeiko became a defendant in the "Student Case", and in July 2021 she was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison under Part 1 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus — organization and preparation, and/or active participation of actions that hugely violate public order.
Jana is currently located at the following address: г. Гомель, ИК №4, ул. Антошкина, 3, 246035. You can support her by sending a letter.
Maria Kalenik
Maria Kalenik is also a representative of the arts and a figure in the "Student Case". She, just like Jana Orobeiko and Kasya Budko, was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. Before the KGB came to her house, Masha was a student at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts with a degree in exposition design. According to her relatives, she chose her path consciously. In a commentary for the Student Council, Masha's older sister said that two factors influenced the choice in favor of our Academy of Arts: "Firstly, dad and I graduated from the Belarusian State Aviation Institute in industrial design, and, secondly, even before the Belarusian State Aviation Institute, Masha studied at the gymnasium — College of Arts named after Akhremchik, majoring in painting. When she graduated from there, she already drew well".
Student work by Maria Kalenik.
Masha is very passionate. If something starts to interest her, she dives deep into it. She also liked her major. Masha was proud of the work that she did and spent almost all her free time studying, participating in competitions. In the future, she saw herself in the field of exhibition design, or at least something related to 3D graphics and design.
Masha is currently located at the following address: г. Гомель, ИК №4, ул. Антошкина, 3, 246035. You can support her by sending a letter.
Dmitry Podrez
Dmitry Podrez is a street artist known as Dima Dream and an IT-specialist. He integrated his works into the street space, changing its meaning to a new one.
He was detained and severely beaten in mid-July 2021. According to his cellmate, Podrez was handcuffed and beaten on his hips and face, and during the search in Dmitry’s house, security forces cut photographs and a painting by Zahar Kudin with the words "It will be more beautiful this way". Upon arrival at GUBOPiK (ed: division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs), the artist was "welcomed" with: "Welcome to the Gestapo."
Street art by Dima Dream (Dmitry Podrez): “Be unbreakable” in Belarusian
Dmitry Podrez was charged under three articles of the Criminal Code: Part 3 of Art. 130 (Inciting racial, national, religious or other social hatred or discord), Art. 364 (Violence or the threat of violence against an employee of the internal affairs bodies) and Art. 365 (Interference in the activities of an employee of the internal affairs bodies). For this, he was sentenced to 7 years in a penal colony with a reinforced regime. Also, the artist will be charged with "material compensation for moral damage" – eleven thousand Belarusian rubles (ed: more than $4,000 on the day of article’s publication) for three unknown victims of his actions.
Dmitry is currently located at the following address: Тюрьма № 4. 212011, г. Могилев, ул. Крупской, 99А
Иван ВеIvan Verbitsky
Ivan Verbitsky previously worked as an artist-designer, then retrained as an animator, director, and a video editor. It’s known that before his imprisonment he painted pictures and wrote stories.
Verbitsky was charged under three articles of the Criminal Code at once: incitement to an act of terrorism (Part 1 of Article 289 of the Criminal Code), illegal acquisition and storage of ammunition and explosives (Article 295 of the Criminal Code), and destruction of official documents (Part 1 of Article 377 of the Criminal Code). In March, he was sentenced to 8 years and 1 month in a penal colony.
Ivan is currently located at the following address: Тюрьма № 4. 212011, г. Могилев, ул. Крупской, 99А
Alexander Nurdinov
29-year-old artist Alexander Nurdinov was convicted in February 2021. The Leninsky District Court sentenced the artist to four years in prison, and Minsktrans (ed: governmental public transport) sued him for blocking public transport — 28,000 Belarusian rubles (more than $11,000 on the day of article’s publication).
Alexander Nurdinov graduated from art school with honors, and then also graduated from an art school. Before the detention, he was engaged in the design of souvenirs and illustrations. He was accused under Part 1 of Art. 342 (“Group actions hugely violating public order”) and Part 2 of Art. 293 ("Mass riots") of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. According to the prosecution, during the protests on August 9-10, he blocked roads, erected barricades and "threw plants from flower beds at police officers." At the trial, the artist explained that on August 9 he went out for paints and saw the violent actions of the security forces, which provoked him to further participation. Nurdinov claimed that the road was blocked on four sides and there were no cars on it for 10-15 minutes.
Alexander is currently located at the following address: г. Гродно, Тюрьма № 1, ул. Кирова, 1, 230023
January to June of this year: 699 rights’ violations of cultural figures
According Belarusian PEN’s monitoring on violations of cultural and human rights against cultural figures, from January to June 2022, 699 violations were recorded. Among them: 529 violations against 332 cultural figures, 111 — against 96 organizations and communities, 41 — against objects of cultural and historical heritage and the Belarusian language (at the national level), and 18 materials that meet the BelPEN’s monitoring criteria and are recognized by the Ministry of Information of the Republic Belarus as extremist, are also included in the general record of information.
The most frequent types of human rights violations against cultural figures and cultural rights according to the monitoring of the Belarusian PEN.
As for the fine arts itself, the contemporary cultural landscape within the country is partly shaped by pro-government activists. On the basis of their letters to the departments of culture of the Miensk and Harodnia city executive committees, the works of recognized and young authors are censored and removed from exhibitions.
So, for example, after the statement about the alleged distribution of pornography within the framework of the exhibition "Anxious suitcase suitcase", which was held in the gallery of the Union of Designers, a cultural examination of the art object "We were parted before death" by the artist Anna Silivonchik was carried out. As a result of the precedent, the discussion began not only in relation to a specific work and exhibition, but also in relation to the public association of the Union of Designers as a whole.
Anna Silivonchik — "We were parted before death" / Photo from the exhibition "Anxious suitcase suitcase", which was held in the gallery of the Union of Designers / Source: Facebook Анны Силивончик
Further, the closure of exhibitions and spaces only began to gain momentum. In March, the personal exhibitions of Grigory Ivanov’s "Screen Time" and Sergei Grinevich’s "Demography" closed ahead of schedule. In April, the exhibition of easel sculpture "SCULPTURE" in the gallery "400 squares" (Harodnia) lasted only 4 hours. Immediately after the opening of the exhibition, the ideologists set a condition for the further exposure of the exhibition – the withdrawal of several works. Project curator Ivan Artimovich and gallery owners did not agree with the withdrawal of a number of works, and the exhibition was closed altogether. A little later, it became known that after the exhibition, the 400-square gallery was being closed.
The annual art exhibition "Art-Minsk" opened in the capital's Palace of Arts in May. Initially, the organizers announced the participation of 550 works from 240 contemporary Belarusian authors. However, just before the opening, several dozen artists were not admitted to Art-Minsk. The reason for the removal of works from one of the largest exhibitions was the "black lists" of artists with a "wrong", "unreliable" position from higher authorities. The content and quality of the works that were exhibited did not play any role when they were removed from the exhibition.
In the foreground — the work of Polina Pirogova and Vasily Timashov / A fragment of the exposition from the closed exhibition "SCULPTURE" in the gallery "400 squares" in Grodno / Source: facebook.com/IRYNAVARKULEVICH.
At the end of June, the exhibition "This is a Diagnosis" opened in the Minsk space "Fabrika". But it lasted only a few hours, the exposure was immediately removed. The reasons for this are still unknown.
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