Korsaks’ Museum of Ukrainian Modern Art announces an open call for artists to join the large-scale interdisciplinary project “The Other Beside Us.”
This project is more than just an art event — it is a profound ethical and aesthetic initiative designed to raise critical questions of our time. It explores the human-animal relationship, pushing it beyond conventional perception.
The animal is not a resource, not a function, not “mine.”
It is the Other. Beside us.
“The Other Beside Us” is an exhibition about presence without possession.
About the Other who need not be conquered, domesticated to helplessness, adorned or trained into convenience.
About the animal as a personality: independent, capable of connection, emotion, and empathy — but not necessarily of submission.
This exhibition is an attempt to look not at the animal, but with it.
Not through a human lens, but side by side.
Not “what it is to us,” but “who it is — in and of itself.”
Exhibition goals:
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To propose a new mode of thinking — not anthropocentric, but ethically coexistent.
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To inspire a shift in perspective: from “owner” to “partner.”
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To create an artistic and emotional space where the Other is not a threat, but an opportunity to become more fully oneself.
We invite artists to join the conversation about coexistence, care, freedom, respect, and empathy.
About the possibility of being together without ownership.
About another form of love — quiet, equal, present.
Key themes:
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The animal as witness — silent, deep, present in our sorrows, love, loneliness, wars, escapes, and returns.
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A reciprocal gaze — what does a cat see when it looks at a human? What does a dog feel when it hears our tears?
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Dignity without words — no need to speak to be worthy of love.
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Equality in coexistence — not an object of care, but a subject of connection.
“The Other Beside Us” is:
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A new public space for reflecting on ethics in relationships between living beings.
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An attempt to reshape visual and social narratives where the animal appears not as an object but as an equal participant in the world.
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A platform for dialogue between artists, philosophers, researchers, activists, and the public.
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A large-scale exhibition combining visual art, sound, text, body, digital practices, and the experience of observation.
Artistic focus of the exhibition:
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Works that reject sentimentalization — not “cuteness,” but ethical depth.
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Depictions of animals not in positions of weakness, but in their own environment, in their own gaze, in their own choice to be near.
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Art where human and animal are not master and subordinate, but two beings in a shared space of trust.
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Video, photography, painting, installations that explore silent unions, unspoken love, the gaze as a form of language.
We welcome artists working in:
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Painting
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Graphics
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Photography
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Textile
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Installation
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Digital art
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Video art
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Sound art
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Performance
To apply:
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Send an email to: [email protected]
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Use the subject line: OPEN CALL “The Other Beside Us”
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Include:
– your CV or a short bio
– samples of your work that best align with the project concept
Organizational info:
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Selected works will be chosen by the Expert Council of KMMUA (Korsaks’ Museum of Modern Ukrainian Art)
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All participating artists will receive a copy of the exhibition catalog
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Artwork transportation will be provided by the museum
The project is supported by the Lutsk City Council.
