EXHIBITION: MONUMENTS WILL SPEAK WITH OUR VOICES. MARTA ROMANKIV

OPENING: 05/12/2024, 18.00

Tour with the artist and curator: 06/12/2024, 18.00

cooperation: Freddy Abadia, Alina Berdnyk, Tina Braharnyk, Ernesto Cárdenas, Aliaksandr Danilkin, Alena Leo, Iuliia Litsevych, Sashko Ostapchuk, Vanessa Ruggiero
curator: Piotr Lisowski 

Can a monument, as an inherently commemorative form, speak about the future? Can it be deconstructed, its symbolic capital repurposed to foster a community of diverse voices and experiences? In Monuments Will Speak With Our Voices, Marta Romankiv initiates the process of building a prototype tool that amplifies the voices of often unheard, marginalised groups. The artist’s strategy orchestrates a situation where these voices can truly resound.

The project occupies a space between art and activism, taking on a participatory and context-driven character. Its starting point is the monument to Count Aleksander Fredro in Wrocław’s Old Town Square. The resulting prototype – a physical object – is designed to be placed on this sculpture, although it can also serve as a versatile structure for voicing the needs and demands of various social groups.

To bring the object to life, the artist invited a group of migrants from Ukraine, Belarus, and Colombia who had come to Wrocław to study, work, or simply live. During workshop sessions, participants shared their experiences, common challenges, and envisioned a future rooted in a heterogeneous society. This collaboration led to the creation of a unique, multilingual voice shaped in the structure of a literary drama. Its content forms a collective manifesto, calling for the reclamation of rights and an equal, just place within the social fabric.

In the exhibition, Marta Romankiv presents both the documentation of the project’s creation process and its outcome – a prototype embodying a vision of a future where migrant voices echo through every street and square, impossible to ignore. The artist purposefully engages with the statue of Fredro, a figure that underwent its own “migration” from Lviv to the capital of Lower Silesia. This sculpture, relocated in 1956 from Marta’s birthplace, traces the journey of not only the displaced Polish population from Lviv but also many present-day migrants. The prototype’s steel structure, crafted to fit the dimensions of this “migrant monument,” symbolically transforms into a platform for voices that are often absent in public spaces.

A monument, as an art form, is typically erected to honour a specific person or historical event. The narratives surrounding such representations are often influenced by historical relativism and remain vulnerable to shifts in social, political, religious, or cultural perspectives. Issues related to public space and urban planning are also central to the discourse on monuments. While a monument can embody emancipation, it can equally serve as a tool of usurpation, hierarchical storytelling, or political manipulation. Some monuments are dismantled, while others inspire spontaneous reverence. A monument can also become a means of exclusion, where commemorating a particular figure simultaneously neglects the memory of others who contributed significantly to that person’s legacy.

Marta Romankiv’s work reimagines the monument as a forum – a site for gatherings, cultural events, social protests, and a space where diverse groups can voice their perspectives. Can sculptures in central city squares contribute to a more inclusive, shared future? The artist’s prototype explores this question, offering an object intended for public spaces that serves as an open platform to encourage social dialogue. Its primary aim is to highlight the importance of equal opportunities and to combat social exclusion. This initiative seeks to raise awareness and create a democratic tool for “speaking out” and “commemorating.” Romankiv’s project is a form of social experiment – entrusting the platform to the community to test its potential and functionality.

Marta Romankiv (born in Lviv, Ukraine) is an interdisciplinary artist known for her installations, video works, and social interventions. She graduated in artistic ceramics from the Lviv State Institute of Decorative and Applied Arts and continued her studies in Poland, at the Faculty of Art at the Pedagogical University in Krakow, later earning her master’s degree from the Academy of Art in Szczecin. She is currently preparing to defend her doctorate at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk. Romankiv’s work primarily addresses themes of social exclusion within the context of migration and related identity issues. Her projects are often participatory, positioned at the intersection of activism, social science, and art. She lives and works in Poland.

Piotr Lisowski is a curator and art historian, known for his exhibitions, writings, and editorial work, as well as his independent research in contemporary art. He serves as the artistic director of 66P Subjective Institution of Culture. From 2017 to 2022, he was affiliated with Wrocław Contemporary Museum, leading the institution from 2020 to 2021. Prior to that, from 2007 to 2016, he worked as a curator and custodian of the collection at the Centre of Contemporary Art in Toruń and co-founded the independent Miłość Gallery (2014–2017). Currently, he teaches Art Mediation at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.

Further information: https://66p.pl/en/pomniki-beda-mowily-naszymi-glosami-marta-romankiv