Opening: 24.01.2020, 19.00
Exhibition: 25.01–23.03.2020
Place: Polish Institute Düsseldorf, Citadellstraße 7, Düsseldorf, Germany
Common Ground is an attempt to define spaces for collaboration and comprehension, arising from socio-political tensions to be found in contemporary Poland, but also in the rest of Word. Gestures of protest, as well as being a declared manifestation of people’s world views, can also be firmly connected with the creation of communities, involving engagement and activism. Common Ground presents various forms of dissent and opposition, which in turn offer the opportunity for creative collaboration.
Katarzyna Sagatowska is the curator of the exhibition.
Rafał Milach (b. 1978) – visual artist, photographer, author of photo books. His work focuses on topics related to the transformation in the former Eastern Bloc. Lecturer at the ITF Institute of Creative Photography of the Silesian University in Opava, Czech Republic and Katowice Film School at the Silesian University, Poland. His award-winning photo books include The Winners, 7 Rooms, and The First March of Gentlemen. Rafał Milach has received scholarships from the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Magnum Foundation, and European Cultural Foundation. Finalist of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2018 and winner of the World Press Photo competition. Co-founder of the Sputnik Photos collective. His works have been widely exhibited worldwide, and can be found in the collections of the MoMA Warsaw, CCA Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, the ING Polish Art Foundation, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts (Japan), and Brandts Museum in Odense (Denmark). Rafal Joined Magnum Photos in 2018 as a nominee member.
The exhibition organised in partnership with JEDNOSTKA Gallery in Warsaw.
Partners: Holy-Art, Sputnik Photos
The exhibition will be staged as part of the 2020 Düsseldorf Photo+ Festival 13–15.03.2020.
Rafał Milach, from ‘The First March of Gentlemen’ series, 2017