GALICJA, MON AMOUR. SCARING, FANTASY AND FANTASMAT was the fourth installment of a series of five presentations under the joint title GALICJA. MITU TOPOGRAPHS.

Artists: Rimma Arslanov, Anna Artaker, Benni Efrat, Hadassa Goldvicht, Lilla Khoor, Nikifor Krynicki, Little Warsaw (András Gálik and Bálint Havas), Christian Mayer, Uri Nir, Boris Oicherman, Gábor Roskó, Julião Sarmento, Josef Sprinzak, Rona Fon Stern, Bálint Szombathy, Jan Tichy, Arkadiusz Tomalka, Gil Yefman

Curator Danna Heller on the exhibition:

It is no secret that when the word "Galicia" is whispered into our ear, it evokes mixed feelings. On the one hand, Galicia represents a sense of openness, multiculturalism and lack of nationalism during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, arouses a sense of longing for a naively imagined space that no longer exists. On the other hand, in the former Galicia, the traces of the traumatic period of World War II, its catastrophic consequences for Jews and other communities that were eliminated from this region are particularly clear. Due to the fact that I am half-Polish (half-Muslim), Jewish curator from Israel (who grew up in Texas), I put this exhibition on several levels represented by the works of several international artists. They refer to Galicia and its "parent", the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in relations ranging between fantasy, madness and the spheres of phantasmal senses.
The great ambiguity of the concept of Galicia is reinforced by the participating artists
in the exhibition and their complementary attitudes towards this context: there are creators currently living in this region (Hungary, Poland, Austria), people from these regions (the Czech Republic or people living in Israel) or artists who do not feel any national connections, but their work introduces a fresh perspective on the common problems of identity and myth.
Queens, Kings, peasants, Hasidic communities, Ruthenians, Roma, folklore - all this is part of the landscape called Galicia, in its uniqueness creating a space of imaginary, mutual relations. This exhibition intends to raise these concepts, presenting the Habsburg monarchy and its "foreign" child, Galicia - from Jewish, Hungarian, Austrian or completely different point of view.

Danna Heller (1975) - an independent curator. She was born in Israel, but until 1993 she grew up in Texas. He currently lives in Tel Aviv and Jaffa. She is the wife of Eytana and the mother of Segev. She graduated in art history, French literature and curatorial studies at the University of Tel Aviv. She is the author of interdisciplinary exhibitions in the field of contemporary art, culture and history, and organizes video and performance events in Israel and abroad. Speaking of her relationship with Galicia in the context of the exhibition prepared for the BWA SOKÓŁ Gallery, Danna Heller states: My roots reach Galicia: Lola Kantor, my mother's mother, was born in Bochnia, a city not far from Nowy Sacz, from where she escaped during the Second World War with false identity card. Thanks to him, she survived the war. My approach to the exhibition also stems from my own biography, strongly connected with this place. My intention as curators was influenced by the context of the project, as well as the conversations I had with curators, artists and writers from the former Galicia.

GALICJA cycle. MIT TOPOGRAPHS implemented as part of the project titled "Contemporary art of the nations of the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy". The project is co-financed by the European Union under the Małopolska Regional Operational Program for the years 2007-2013.