International Humanitarian Project “Belarusian Artists in Exile” Opens Exhibition in Vienna
On 9 August 2026, an exhibition of the international humanitarian project “Belarusian Artists in Exile” officially opened at St. Elisabeth Church (St.-Elisabeth-Kirche) in Vienna.
The exhibition was officially opened by the project’s founder and director Diana Shilina, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to Austria Jiří Šitler, and Gerald Gump, parish priest of the Pfarre Zur Frohen Botschaft.
The Vienna exhibition presents works by 18 Belarusian artists who currently live and work outside Belarus. It continues the international journey of a project founded in the Czech Republic and first presented to the public in Prague.
In her opening speech, Diana Shilina drew a parallel between the fate of contemporary Belarusian artists and that of artists born on Belarusian soil more than a century ago — Marc Chagall, Chaim Soutine, Mikhail Kikoin and Ossip Zadkine — whose lives and artistic careers were also shaped by exile.
The central message of the project remains unchanged: Art knows no borders. It outlives wars, political regimes and exile. As long as artists continue to create, the culture of their people remains alive.
The support of the Catholic Church has played a special role in the history of the project. The project received the blessing of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, as well as blessings and messages of support from 21 Cardinals of the Catholic Church from around the world. The Vienna exhibition was made possible thanks to the support of the Pfarre Zur Frohen Botschaft and, in particular, Father Gerald Gump, who provided St. Elisabeth Church as a venue for the exhibition.
The presence of the Czech Ambassador at the opening holds particular significance for the project. It was in the Czech Republic that the project was created, and its first exhibition took place in Prague with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. Today, the project brings together artists living in different European countries and continues to introduce contemporary Belarusian art to an international audience.
The exhibition “Belarusian Artists in Exile” will remain open at St. Elisabeth Church in Vienna until 30 August 2026.
St.-Elisabeth-Kirche der Pfarre Zur Frohen Botschaft
St.-Elisabeth-Platz, 1040 Vienna, Austria
9–30 August 2026
