Nordic Ukraine Forum urges Stockholm gallery to cancel exhibition of Russian artists

STOCKHOLM – The Nordic Ukraine Forum has called on a Stockholm art gallery to nix an art show that features Russian artists who have not publicly denounced Moscow’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement released on Nov. 3, the organization said it was “deeply concerned and disappointed” by Airsight Gallery’s decision to proceed with the November exhibition of Russian artists Anton Kupriyanov and Denis Rusakov. 

“Culture cannot be discussed in abstract terms when one country is committing genocide against another. Equating cultural exchange with impunity is to blur the suffering of the victims of Russian aggression,” the Nordic Ukraine Forum said.

The Forum said activists had earlier sent an official letter to the gallery requesting that it postpone or cancel the exhibition. Artsight responded that “culture is a community without borders and should not be isolated or boycotted,” a stance it also published on its website.

The Nordic Forum called the stance “morally blind,” arguing that Russian cultural institutions and figures have long been used by the Kremlin as instruments of soft power to justify and normalize war. 

Since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, more than 200 Ukrainian artists and cultural figures have been killed, while hundreds of museums, theatres, libraries, and monuments have been destroyed or looted.

The Forum also pointed out that the gallery has not clarified whether it plans to sell the Russian artworks or whether proceeds from such sales could indirectly fund Russia’s war machine through taxes.

The Nordic Ukraine Forum urged Artsight to immediately cancel the exhibition to avoid legitimizing Russia’s cultural silence amid its ongoing aggression against Ukraine.