The Art of Remembrance exhibition concluded its month-long presentation at the Sybir Memorial Museum in Białystok, Poland, on 30 June 2026, marking the end of a significant chapter in the project’s European tour. As the first international exhibition ever hosted by the museum, it offered visitors the opportunity to explore the history and legacy of the Second World War through contemporary artistic perspectives, creating meaningful exchanges between art, history, and remembrance.
Following earlier stops at House of Nijmegen History in the Netherlands and Turin’s Polo del Novecento in Italy, the exhibition invited audiences in Poland to discover four contemporary artistic perspectives on memory, loss, displacement, and the legacy of WWII. Through the works of Juhana Moisander (Finland), Rebekka Bauer (Germany), Raphaël Dallaporta (France), and Gail Ritchie (Northern Ireland), visitors were encouraged not only to reflect on Europe’s shared past, but also to experience history in a more personal and emotional way, discovering how contemporary art can deepen our understanding of remembrance and its relevance today.
The exhibition’s connection to the Sybir Memorial Museum proved especially meaningful. Dedicated to preserving the stories of Polish citizens forcibly deported to Siberia and other remote regions during the Soviet and Nazi occupations, the museum provided a powerful setting for artworks exploring remembrance and human resilience. During the exhibition launch in Białystok on 2 June, visitors also had the opportunity to join curator-led tours that explored both the historical context behind the exhibition and the artists’ creative processes.
One of the featured works, Matka (Mother), by Finnish artist Juhana Moisander, was created during an artist residency in Białystok and directly references the experiences of Siberian exiles. Combining sound, moving image, and installation, the work depicts the silhouette of a mother and child inside a train wagon, creating an immersive reflection on displacement, memory, and loss. During the opening event, Moisander personally introduced the artwork and shared the inspiration behind its creation, while fellow artist Raphaël Dallaporta joined the audience via video call to speak about his own work and participation in the project.
The exhibition also welcomed one of its participating artists, Gail Ritchie, who visited both the exhibition and the Sybir Memorial Museum. Her visit offered an opportunity to experience how the exhibition was received in Poland and to engage with the museum’s unique historical context.
Art of Remembrance is co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe programme and it brings together six partners: Tempora, LRE Foundation, La Coupole, Fondazione Nuto Revelli, Sybir Memorial Museum, the City of Bastogne.
