From May 25 to June 2, 2011 in Maison Grand Place 19, Brussels
Open daily 12:00 to 19:00*
Marking the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, the exhibition explores the history of creation, development and fall of the city of Pripyat, built by and for the workers and employees of the Chernobyl power plant. The photos of Robert Polidori, Andrey Kremenchuk and Serhiy Nekhayev, Soviet posters as well as eco-posters of Kharkiv “4th Block” and Lina Kostenko’s poetry trace different dimensions of the disaster in the context of unrestricted fascination and belief in progress as well as in “enthusiastic industrialisation”.
On April 26th, 1986, the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl exploded. Parts of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia were not the only ones to suffer radioactive contamination – the radioactive cloud also spread over the rest of Europe. However, the disaster had more to it than only the ecological dimension – the cultural development of the entire region also definitely came to a stop. The “Street of Enthusiasts” exhibition as well as the accompanying events are meant to remind us about the disaster, but also raise questions about the future of nuclear power – especially in light of recent events in Fukushima.
The “Street of Enthusiasts” Exhibition
The city of Pripyat was built for the workers and employees of Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The history of young modern Soviet model city, with 48,000 inhabitants, situated 4.5 km away from the power plant, came to an end with the evacuation of all inhabitants after only 16 years of its existence. Since then, the city has been deserted. One of Pripyat streets bears the name of “Street of Enthusiasts”, a reference to the fascination with nuclear power in those days and to the historical enthusiasm of the Soviet industrialisation period.
The exhibition consists of three parts. The first one shows the deserted city of Pripyat through the lens of two outstanding photographers: Robert Polidori, who puts a documentary focus on deterioration and decay, and Andrey Kremenchuk, who looks for meetings with people. Between these two perspectives emerges a third point of view, expressed in the verses of a Ukrainian poet, Lina Kostenko. The second part presents the city of Pripyat before its fall: the trust in the power of progress and a Soviet country of unlimited opportunities. This part features historical posters dating back to the beginning of nuclear power era, a documentary on the construction of the Chernobyl power plant and the city of Pripyat, as well as materials about the city and the context of its creation. The exhibition ends with a series of eco-posters: Oleh Veklenko from Kharkiv and his collaborators trying to answer the question about the consequences of Chernobyl through the International Eco-Posters Triennial “4th Block”, organised since 1991.
The exhibition is in English, French and Dutch.
More about the accompanying events
Project organisers
Morat Institute for Arts and Cultural Studies, Freiburg
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
Green European Foundation
Department of Culture of the City of Freiburg
Westwendischer Kunstverein, Gartow
The Greens / European Free Alliance in the European Parliament
* On May 26 and 31, the exhibition will close at 17:00 due to accompanying events taking place.