The results of the open call WHAT NEXT for artists from Poland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom showed an unexpected number of Ukrainian participants.

WHAT NEXT is an international exhibition project being produced in honor of the upcoming 100th anniversary of the birth of Polish writer Stanisław Lem, author of Solaris, among other classics of science fiction. The exhibition’s concept refers to his Futurological Congress.

The questions posed in the book 50 years ago are not losing pertinence, as most of them remain unanswered. Instead of answers, we only observe a stream of events flowing through a dynamic and cyclical wheel of time. Artistic explorations will open a spectrum of novel ways of seeing and formulating future contexts. A synthesis of artistic practices and scientific approaches creates a new dynamic language to interact with the audience, one that urges the audiences to engage in a discussion.

The Adam Mickiewicz Institute received 250 applications for this initiative. The curatorial jury for the exhibition: Max Houghton (UK), Kateryna Radchenko (UA), and Katarzyna Sagatowska (PL), has selected 16 entries for concepts for the exhibition. The selected proposals combine cohesive and original concepts with strong visual components.

The following authors have been selected for the WHAT NEXT exhibition:

• Yana Bachynska //Ukraine
• Lilya Chavaga //Ukraine
• Veronika Cherednychenko //Ukraine
• Maciej Czuchryta & Marta Wieczorek //Poland
• Jacek Doroszenko, Ewa Doroszenko //Poland
• Emily Graham //UK
• Anka Gregorczyk //Poland
• Kamila Izykowicz //Poland/UK
• Yura Kolomiets //Ukraine
• Pawel Mendrek // Poland
• Pawel Pacholec // Poland
• Loreal Prystaj //Ukraine/UK
• Magdalena Raczkowska // Poland
• Rake Collective //UK
• Hanna Shumska //Ukraine
• Anna Beata Targosz //Poland

Odesa Photo Days is a partner in Ukraine. According to Kateryna Radchenko, director of Odesa Photo Days and co-curator of WHAT NEXT, the open call received 78 applications from Ukraine, 6 of which will be part of the multi-disciplinary exhibition organised in the UK, Ukraine and Poland in 2021-2022.

WHAT NEXT is organized by The Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Partners: Jam Factory Art Center, Polish Cultural Institute in London, British Council, Odesa Photo Days Festival, Jednostka Gallery.