The women struggle for democracy in Belarus

In 2021, I curated the exhibition “Belarus: Democracy Has a Woman’s Face”. It brought together in Brasilia, photographs and videos from Belarus artists who documented the massive and peaceful protests led by women and the harsh state repression that followed from the last dictatorship in Europe.

This exhibition invited the visitors to feel the struggle for freedom in Belarus. At its heart, we created a small KGB cell where visitors can sit, reflect, and write a postcard to a political prisoner. The corridor was upholstered of stories of young women imprisoned who would receive the messages, A gesture of empathy. The viewer could turn activist…

Beyond the political dimension, the exhibition was a tribute to resilience and to the courage both of photographers and women who keep testifying and protesting at the risk of their own life.

Photographers: Iryna Arachouskaya, Aliaksandr Saienka, Yulia Savvich and Vadim Zamirovski
Documentarists: Law Veru, and 34 Mag
Installation: Andrey Anro
Organizers: Olga Alezsko-Lessels and Anastasiya Golets
Curator: Luca Bonacini