POINTS OF RESISTANCE V
YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE HUMAN

POINTS of RESISTANCE V / YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE HUMAN

Eröffnung: 3. Dezember 2022, 13:00 – 18:00
Laufzeit: 4. Dezember 2022 – 7. Januar 2023
Offnungszeite: Montag – Freitag / 2 – 6 pm, Samstag & Sontag / 12 – 6 pm
Finissage: 8. Januar 2023, 12:00 – 18:00

The exhibition “You Know That You Are Human @ POINTS of RESISTANCE V” in Berlin’s Zionskirche is a joint statement by 55 artists and 4 curators from Ukraine and Berlin for peace and an alliance of all people who condemn Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine as an attack on culture.

The origin of the joint exhibition is the show of Ukrainian photography “You Know That You Are Human” curated by Kateryna Filyuk – the winner of the international exhibition support program “Visualise” of the Ukrainian Institute, supported by the Goethe-Institut and the Goethe-Institut in Exile. This joint exhibition at Christmas-time is a co-production of IZOLYATSIA / Ukraine as well as MOMENTUM and POINTS of RESISTANCE / Berlin.

Taking place during the Christmas season, this exhibition is a wake-up call aiming to remind us all of our civic duty for resistance in the face of ongoing injustice; to remind us that each individual, by means of their daily choices and actions, can have an impact in the hope that this war in Europe ends rather than escalates, that the freedom and independence of Ukraine is secured, that the destruction is repaired, and that Putin and his fellow aggressors would be convicted in an international court.

Amidst the tragic return of war to Europe, the joint exhibition in Berlin’s Zionskirche assembles the collective voices of international artists to address our common humanity. “You Know That You Are Human” is both the title of this exhibition and a guiding principle that we must never forget that inhumanity can only end in tragedy.

Taking place in the protective space of a church, “You Know That You Are Human @ POINTS of RESISTANCE V” invokes the remarkable history of the Zionskirche as a crucial point of resistance both against the Nazis and during the GDR – from the courageous anti-fascist work of the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, to serving as a refuge for resistance movements against the GDR, such as the “Environmental Library”. Acting as a safe haven – irrespective of one’s creed, denomination, or belief system – the Zionskirche exemplifies how religion and art have a common root in human spirituality.

For this reason, and because especially in times like these, art and culture are crucial in mobilizing the forces that are needed to put a stop to ignorance and indifference, the Zionskirche is the home of the “POINTS of RESISTANCE” exhibition series. Initiated by KLEINERVONWIESE and MOMENTUM in cooperation with the association of friends of the Zionskirche, during the strictest Corona lockdown in 2021, “POINTS of RESISTANCE” serves as a platform giving voice to humanist viewpoints necessary at a time when authoritarianism, nationalism, racism, and war are steadily resurgent around the world. The previous editions of this exhibition series, all taking place at the Zionskirche, were entitled “POINTS of RESISTANCE”, “S-O-S”, “Paradoxes of Freedom”, “Großer Lastenbär / Why I Bear”, and “Skills for Peace”.

“You Know That You Are Human” began as an exhibition of 23 Ukrainian photographers, curated by Kateryna Filyuk, depicting human likeness in a diversity of forms and addressing the role which gender, occupation, geography and heritage play in defining the human position in the world. The conceptual framework of this project was set forward before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and sought to present a panorama of Ukrainian photography from mid-twentieth century until nowadays, with the focus on the human form and being. The title of the show is borrowed from a famous poem by one of the brightest Ukrainian poets of the sixties, Vasyl Symonenko, “Ти знаєш, щоти– людина/ You Know that You are a Human”. Part of the official school curriculum in Ukraine, the poem praises life and the uniqueness of each person, urging everyone to cherish each single moment. Today – during Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine – these simple but powerful verses call for humanity, solidarity and cohesion with particular urgency. They remind us once again that despite the elusive monstrosity of war, every life counts. The works of the Ukrainian photographers also provide a crucial insight into the changes that have taken place in Ukrainian society since the 1960s, from the years when the dream of socialism gradually proved to be a failure until the last few months of the self-sacrificing struggle of the Ukrainians for their country.

The joint exhibition “You Know That You Are Human @ POINTS of RESISTANCE V” expands upon this initial concept by assembling a diversity of artistic voices to establish a direct dialogue between these Ukrainian photographers and works in a variety of media by international artists who live and work in Berlin, as well as works by young Ukrainian artists from the “UCC / Ukrainian Cultural Community” in Berlin. These artists were able to flee the war in Ukraine and have found refuge in the “UCC” – an Artist Residency program created through the exemplary social commitment from Berlin based entrepreneurs and art managers, to give young Ukrainian artists and creatives a safe base and new perspectives during this time of war.

In line with the mission of every exhibition in the “POINTS of RESISTANCE” series, “You Know That You Are Human @ POINTS of RESISTANCE V” brings together a multitude of human perspectives and artistic universes to reflect on the mistakes of the past and present in order to preserve the values which enable us to forge unity from diversity, and to live together in peace in the future. These are the values which make us human – values that people today regard as basic human rights, for which past generations have repeatedly made great sacrifices.

The exhibition will take place from 3 December 2022 to 7 January 2023 in the Zionskirche, Berlin. “You Know That You Are Human @ POINTS of RESISTANCE V” is a refusal of powerlessness; a call to resistance. We can all do something, even if only by not looking the other way, by helping those who have lost everything, by standing up every day against forgetting and against indifference.