Among the participants in today’s conference were the Mayor of Białystok, Tadeusz Truskolaski, and the Director of the Sybir Memorial Museum, Wojciech Śleszyński. The exhibition curator, Isabelle Benoit, as well as artists Juhana Moisander, Raphael Dallaporta, and Gail Ritchie, also joined the event online.

The Art of Remembrance project brought together four artists and four sites of memory — Belgium’s Bastogne War Museum, France’s La Coupole Centre, Italy’s Nuto Revelli Foundation, and the Sybir Memorial Museum — resulting in artworks that present different perspectives on the history of the Second World War.

“The Sybir Memorial Museum inspires international artists. It is a place that continues to grow, has received widespread acclaim, and creates opportunities to speak more broadly about those who suffered during the Second World War. It is the only place in Poland where the Art of Remembrance exhibition can be seen,” said the Mayor of Białystok, Tadeusz Truskolaski.

“The Sybir Memorial Museum is not afraid to take on new challenges. It was established as a tribute to the Sybiraks (Polish deportees and exiles sent to Siberia and other parts of the Soviet Union), but we must also find new ways of communicating history to future generations. What matters most are the emotions hidden behind the exhibits and the way artists from different parts of Europe present perspectives on the experiences of the Second World War. Juhana Moisander, who stayed at the Sybir Memorial Museum, spent several weeks exploring the stories behind our exhibits. He chose the figure of a mother as the central motif of his work — a theme that is particularly meaningful to Sybiraks,” added Wojciech Śleszyński, Director of the Sybir Memorial Museum.

The exhibition premiered in March 2026 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, before travelling to Turin, Italy. The Sybir Memorial Museum is the third venue to host the exhibition, but the first and only one in Poland. In July, the exhibition will leave Białystok and travel to Bastogne in southern Belgium. The final opening will take place at La Coupole in northern France.

The artists spent several weeks at selected locations, gaining access to archives, artefacts, documents, photographs, and recordings. The residencies were designed to inspire the artists to create works that reinterpret the spirit of history through contemporary artistic forms.

The exhibition will feature photographs, drawings, sculptures, glass artworks, and an audiovisual installation created by Juhana Moisander during his residency at the Sybir Memorial Museum. The artist invited Białystok actress Katarzyna Wiktorko and her son to collaborate on the project. As a result, the exhibition combines a European interpretation of Second World War history with local themes.

“This is contemporary art. Combining different perspectives with a non-literal artistic interpretation was a major challenge, but thanks to the cooperation of an international team, we now have the opportunity to see artworks that present history in a modern and engaging way. The multiplicity of voices is the most compelling aspect of this exhibition,” said Piotr Popławski, the project coordinator.

“It has been an honour to accompany the artists on their creative journey, which lasted nearly a year. They were selected from among 200 applicants. During their residencies, they searched, observed, and asked questions. Their contemporary perspective breathed new life into entire chapters of history. The diversity of aesthetic forms presented in the exhibition reminds us how deeply war permeates every aspect of human life. After Nijmegen and Turin, I am proud to present the exhibition in Poland,” said Isabelle Benoit, curator of the exhibition.

The Art of Remembrance exhibition will be available free of charge at the Sybir Memorial Museum from 2 to 30 June 2026.

The Art of Remembrance project is co-funded by the European Union. More information about the project can be found at www.art-of-remembrance.eu.