MODEERN FREEDOM is a major international exhibition bringing together artists from Central and Eastern Europe in a wide-ranging exploration of memory, trauma, courage, and the meaning of freedom in the contemporary world. Opening on May 19, 2026, and on view through August 31, 2026, the exhibition will take place at the newly opened Pilecki Institute USA in New York City.

Bringing together prominent artists as well as younger voices from across the region, MODEERN FREEDOM examines how the experience of war, totalitarian violence, political pressure, and social transformation continues to shape identity, culture, and artistic expression across generations. The exhibition positions Central and Eastern Europe not as a marginal geography, but as a vital site of reflection from which new ways of thinking about freedom may emerge.

The exhibition is curated by Piotr Franaszek, Tomáš Koudela, and Wojtek Radtke and features invited artists from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Germany, Georgia, Moldova, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and more. They are internationally recognized names such as Jiří Surůvka, Aleksander Tinei, Marek Schovánek, Paweł Althamer, Katarzyna Kozyra, Joanna Rajkowska, Zbigniew Libera, Robert Kuśmirowski, Izabella Gustowska, Kryštof Kintera, Wolfgang Stiller, Zhanna Kadyrova, and many others.

Rather than presenting art as a closed or fixed statement, the exhibition frames artworks as part of a living narrative still unfolding. Through objects, sculptures, installations, drawings, paintings, films, and texts, MODEERN FREEDOM explores the intersection of memory, existential tension, and aspiration. Its curatorial vision is organized around three thematic axes: Memory / Tremor / Freedom.

Wojtek Radtke, curator of the MODEERN FREEDOM explains: In the world of art, the concept of freedom has a different dimension. On the one hand, the purity of intention resulting from the creative process, intuitive work with the subconscious, conversation and encounter with oneself, and on the other, the emotions associated with public judgment, the temptation to follow trends, verification, and the cogs of the ruthless business machine that is the art market, place artists in the difficult role of commentators on the world. Let us therefore appreciate the courage of those who persist in their creative freedom, disregarding the complex consequences of their own attitudes. Let us appreciate this form of freedom. Let us also examine what freedom means for each of us. Within ourselves. Let us encounter ourselves, provoked to reflection by translators of „another language” – artists and their works, a product of dilemmas, helplessness, sensitivity, reflection, anger, rebellion, and a deep need to change the world for the better.

Piotr Franaszek, curator of MODEERN FREEDOM and CEO of Pilecki Institute adds: We cherish freedom and, drawing on the lessons of the past, understand that it must be expressed through tolerance. We stand at the forefront of building a modern, global future. At the same time, we observe with concern the resurgence of authoritarian systems, surveillance, and information manipulation. Borders and walls are being rebuilt, human freedom is once again being restricted. Today, more than ever, we need an understanding of history—its consequences, its tragedies, and its warnings. Memory of the past can protect us all from repeating its mistakes.

Tomáš Koudela, curator of MODEERN FREEDOM says: This exhibition does not present Central Europe as a fixed location but as a visual testimony – a field of signs through which civilizational tensions become visible in gesture, form, surface, and silence. The works presented – both contemporary and historical – do not merely comment on local issues. They create semantic layers in which one can recognize deeper economic and social processes of recent decades. Shifts in the rhythm of labor, perceptions of the body, regimes of vision and memory. With a degree of interpretive latitude, this exhibition may be seen as a visual archive of unease – and a compelling call for change.

In addition to the exhibition itself, MODEERN FREEDOM will be accompanied by a robust public program of lectures, discussions, presentations, performances, and other special events designed to broaden the conversation and reach new audiences.

The exhibition is organized by Pilecki Institute USA and the University of Ostrava, in collaboration with partner institutions and organizations.

Exhibition Details

MODEERN FREEDOM
Pilecki Institute USA
92 Greenwich Street
Lower Manhattan, New York
Opening: May 19, 2026
Exhibition dates: May 19 – August 31, 2026