Open Group to Represent Poland at 60th Venice Biennale with War-Refugee Installation
The collective known as Open Group, comprising Yuriy Biley, Anton Varga, and Pavlo Kovach, will showcase Poland at the 60th Venice Biennale, running from 20 April to 24 November. Their installation, titled 'Repeat After Me II,' is located in the Giardini and features two karaoke videos that reflect on the experiences of refugees affected by war. The initial segment, 'Repeat after me' (2022), was recorded in Lviv, Ukraine, while the follow-up, 'Repeat After Me' (2024), was filmed in temporary refugee shelters across Europe. Having first appeared in Venice in 2015, Open Group highlights the Biennale's importance in promoting dialogue during times of geopolitical strife, drawing parallels to the 1930s 'Executed Renaissance.' Influences include Yuriy Sokolov, Pavlo Kovach (senior), and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, with recommended readings from Serhii Plokhy and Timothy Snyder.
Key facts
- Open Group (Yuriy Biley, Anton Varga, Pavlo Kovach) represents Poland at the 60th Venice Biennale.
- The Polish Pavilion is in the Giardini.
- The exhibition 'Repeat After Me II' includes two videos with karaoke elements.
- First video 'Repeat after me' (2022) filmed in Lviv, Ukraine, at a camp for internally displaced persons.
- Second video 'Repeat After Me' (2024) filmed in refugee camps, hotels, and hostels across Europe.
- Open Group first visited Venice in 2015 for the Ukrainian Pavilion exhibition 'Hope!'
- In 2015, they performed 'Synonym for “wait”,' starving for three weeks.
- Independent Ukraine had its own pavilion in Venice only from 2001.
- The 'Executed Renaissance' refers to the elimination of Ukrainian artists by the NKVD from 1936–38.
- Recommended books: 'The Gates of Europe' by Serhii Plokhy and 'Bloodlands' by Timothy Snyder.
Entities
Artists
- Yuriy Biley
- Anton Varga
- Pavlo Kovach
- Pavlo Bedzir
- Pavlo Kovach (senior)
- Yuriy Sokolov
- Oskar Hansen
- Yael Bartana
- Harun Farocki
- Felix Gonzalez-Torres
- Volodymyr Vakulenko
- Victoria Amelina
- Maksym Kryvtsov
- Anna Jermolaewa
Institutions
- Open Group
- Polish Pavilion
- Ukrainian Pavilion
- Giardini
- Venice Biennale
- ArtReview
- NKVD
- Academia Ruchu
- Collective Actions
- Art & Language
- Fluxus
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Poland
- Ukraine
- Lviv
- Giardini
- Bucha
- Irpin
- Gostomel
- Europe
- Moscow
- Russia