In choosing this year's competition theme, it was impossible to ignore the global geopolitical situation. And it was impossible to forecast what would happen at the time of the exhibition, on the eve of the New Year. Only one thing was clear - however the situation might change, many would need consolation.

The third decade of the 21st century has began dramatically. For two years the daily life around the world was impeded by Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022 the Russian invasion and war in Ukraine has shaken the region to its core. The ongoing war has shattered our dreams and hopes that mankind is striving towards more humanity, and brutal warfare is a thing of the past; we are becoming fundamentally disillusioned. It is a radical break. Uncertainty about the future. Suffering and death. A traumatic experience that we cannot pretend not to see or feel. We all have to confront it - the Ukrainians who experience it directly, and everyone else who empathizes with them. But how should we react to it, what should we think and do with this experience?

This year, the artists connected with the experiences, either private or global, that have been impactful for them and created artworks that offer solace. Often, the process of work itself is healing, it can be a way of resolving difficult issues, the opportunity to work out and reorganize experiences and emotions, and understand one's own attitude or position. Perhaps not only the process of work - the transfer of thoughts and feelings onto material - but also the themes expressed by the artwork can become a consolation. That is the aim of this exhibition - to give people solace. We hope to provide opportunity to create human connections by artwork-mediated communication among people bonded by the same experience.

In the Exhibition will participate 23 artists from 7 countries.

Full list of participants, read HERE!

In the photo:

Ainārs Rimicāns (Latvia) “Cool and Steady” 2022

Photo by: Gvido Kajons