A few Days after Valentine’s

A few days after Valentine’s

Artists: Agnė Jokšė, Isadora Neves Marques, Maryna Sakowska, Liliana Zeic
Curators: Tomek Pawłowski-Jarmołajew and Katarzyna Różniak-Szabelska

Within the walls of a medieval castle, a few days after Valentine’s, we weave queer stories together. The artists invited to participate in the exhibition do not celebrate the concept of normative romantic love. Instead, they tell dark stories about the stronghold of the heteromatrix and the violence lurking even in loving relationships. Both critically and with empathy, they observe their own families of origin and confront the ghosts of family traumas.

Strengthened by these experiences, they discover alternative models of relationality. One that does not fit into today’s legal and social orders. In the three chambers of the Arsenal, relationships are formed that exceed the heteronormative model of couplehood and reproduction. Some of these communities welcome plants as well, especially those undesirable in human cultivation.

On the ruins of a binary order that has become a thing of the past, the excluded are foretelling queer futures. They take inspiration from their own stories as well as theoretical texts, developments in reproductive technologies, B-grade literature or science-fiction novels. And they invite the audience to participate in this ritual.

Curatorial text >>> [PDF]

A Few Days after Valentine’s 

Accompanying events

xoxo is a series of events dedicated to queer texts. As part of it, we will meet for poetry slams and walks, and read theoretical texts introducing the basic issues of queer theory together. xoxo, join us at Arsenal.

16.02.2024 (Friday), at 18:00

Opening
In the program: banquet prepared by Dominika Święcicka, Querelle performance and karaoke <3

18.02.2024 (Sunday), 12:00 pm
Guided tour with artists and curators

5.03.2024 (Tuesday), 6:00 pm
xoxo: Letters of enthusiasts
Queer poetry slam with the X-Philes collective

9.03.2024 (Saturday), 12:00 pm
Guided tour in Belarusian

16.03.2024 (Saturday), 12:00 pm
Guided tour in Ukrainian 

23.03.2024 (Saturday), 11:00 am –  6:00 pm
xoxo: Day of queer thought
Joint reading with Aleksandra Kluczyk, Marta Chmielewska and Małgorzata Skowrońska

27.04.2024 (Saturday), 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
A day with curators available in exhibition space

27.04.2024 (Saturday), 4:00 pm
Screening of the film Unconditional Love by artist Agnė Jokšė

28.04.2024 (Sunday), 12:00 pm
xoxo: Queer ecosystems
Workshop with artist Liliana Zeic