Art for Sanity: Panel Magazine issue #9 launch and the exhibition

Panel Magazine issue #9 launch and the exhibition opening “Art for Sanity: Reverse Perspective of War”

June 16, 2022, 7 pm

MANYI - Kulturális Muhely (Margit körút 18, Budapest, 1027)

“we try to remember

each other's names

when we begin to cry”

(After The Wars, Jeva Griskjane; featured in Panel's issue 9)

“Children contort their mouths into ugly shrieks, as the planes zero in. There is nobody to cover their eyes, no homes to take them in. The town they once knew doesn’t exist any more, so their minds have become a town of their own. I stroll the streets one by one, hoping to find something familiar. I do, everywhere I look.” (The Skies of Volnovakha, Anastasiia Denysenko; featured in Panel's issue 9)

The new issue of Panel was put together when many of us were facing grief, loss, death and fear. For some of us at Panel, the war in Ukraine has become a personal tragedy.

We were not even sure if we should release a new edition at all. But we did, because during wartime, there are stories that should be told and voices that should be heard.

We believe that while people keep writing and making art, and there are people who are interested in other people's stories, there is hope.

The upcoming issue of Panel features:

prose and non-fiction pieces reflecting the experience of the last months;
anti-war poetry from Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, USA, Germany, Latvia;
interview with a science fiction writer Sue Burke about warnings in our science and society and future we still have the chance to prevent;
interview with Anna Szilágyi, Ph.D., about language as a tool of compassion and communication in times when many are speechless;
reviews of books by contemporary Ukrainian writers;
artworks by Ukrainian, Hungarian, and international artists (Reverse Perspective of War theme).

The program of the launch includes:

readings from the new issue;
“Art for Sanity: Reverse Perspective of War” exhibition;
art sale;
Panel's products at a discounted price – proceeds going to charity;
bar and snacks;
being together, hugging each other, talking;

The exhibition “Art for Sanity: Reverse Perspective of War” is a foundational part of the evening.

During war, everyone suffers. War destroys. War dehumanizes. It distorts optics, tampers with perception, takes away joy, and sows hatred. War is a trap; it is pure insanity. The reality we once knew has split into countless sub-realities. The reality of war, the reality of those who help others, the reality of those that mourn, the reality of those that count losses, the reality of those bogged down in hatred – to name just a few. Distant objects become as close as if they stand in our own living-rooms. Something, that is just in front of our eyes, becomes invisible, or senseless.

They say art is needed in all times. Art helps to preserve sanity.

We want to believe in that, too.

The exhibition will display art works, produced in different media: paintings, collages, graphics, digital art, installations.

Curators of the exhibition – Maria Gyarmati, Taras Tolstikov.

Art works will be available for purchase. The exhibition will last for 2 weeks after the launch.

The exhibition features works by Ukrainian and international artists, such as:

AMARU, Ada Chyzh, Nikolai Gorbashov, Maria Gyarmati, Andrey Kuzkin, Ljudmila Martynova, Andriy Naboka, Andrey Nekraha, Pavel Otdelnov, David Stuart Sutherland, Robin Sperling, Tatiana Shymko, Taras Tolstikov, Rita Safonova, William Theodoracopulos, Yulia Zakharova, and others.

The event will be in English.

We hope to see you there.