Displacements and torrents – Where the Dnipro and the Elbe Meet

Displacements and Torrents – Where the Dnipro and the Elbe Meet travelling to Ústí nad Labem in the Czech Republic, explores the tangled histories and present-day realities of movement – of people, cultures, objects and ideas – across regions historically shaped by socialism and its aftermath. From the shores of the Dnipro in Ukraine to the Elbe in the Czech Republic, the exhibition traces trajectories of displacement, resilience and artistic response amidst political upheaval, war and systemic transformation.

Set against the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine and other global crises, the exhibition brings together a wide range of contemporary and historical works that reflect on forced migration, cultural survival, memory and interconnection. Originally conceived, produced and presented in autumn 2024 at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris, it takes as its metaphorical centre the imagined meeting point of two rivers: the Dnipro and the Elbe – linking personal and collective histories of displacement and refuge. This confluence is rooted in the family history of Sasha Baydal, whose family was displaced by Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and resettled in Ústí nad Labem.

The project has a broad geographical and temporal scope, linking not only France, the Czech Republic and Ukraine, but also Central Asia, the Caucasus, East and South-East Asia, North and East Africa and the Caribbean. It covers several generations of artists, both emerging and established, and includes works by former and current residents of the Cité internationale des arts. Particular attention is paid to the town of Ústí nad Labem and its multiple histories, as perceived through artistic practice.

Curated by: Sasha Baydal et Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez

With the artists: Louisa Babari, Abel Barroso, Yana Bachynska, Maja Bajević & Emanuel Licha, André Cadere, Li Ki Sun Bejčková, DAVRA Collective (Valeriya Kim, Dona Kulmatova, Zumrad Mirzalieva, and Saodat Ismailova), Robert Gabris, Igor Grubić, Danylo Halkin, Josef Sudek, Nikolay Karabinovych, Zdena Kolečková, Alban Muja, Sandra Muteteri Heremans, Halyna Neledva, Kvet Nguyen (Hoa Nguyễn Thị), Minh Thắng Phạm, Vincent Rumahloine, Araks Sahakyan & Rebecca Topakian, Souli Seferov, Huai-Kuei Song, Masha Sviatahor, Maryn Varbanov