make the world a better place, as simple as that
"Exiled Artists around the World Face the Same Problems"
A psychologist from Belarus struggles with formalism and bureaucracy in Italy, but continues showing social art from Belarus, Ukraine, Iran, and Russia.
Nadzeya Naurotskaya was born in 1979 in Lida, Grodno region (Belarus). In 2001, she got a degree in Medical Psychology, and in 2005 - finished a post-graduate course related to the same major. Since then, Nadzeya has worked in various directions of psychology: from military medical examination to psychotherapy and art therapy. For a while, she also headed “The Vector of Life” psychological support center in Minsk.
Art was first viewed by Nadzeya as a therapeutic tool, and it was only in 2017 when she started creating her own works - first in oil painting and then in stained glass and glass work, eventually switching to mixed media.
In 2017, Nadzeya Naurotskaya moved to Pisa (Italy) where she launched "Roots" gallery with a focus on social art exhibitions.
Art was first viewed by Nadzeya as a therapeutic tool, and it was only in 2017 when she started creating her own works - first in oil painting and then in stained glass and glass work, eventually switching to mixed media.
In 2017, Nadzeya Naurotskaya moved to Pisa (Italy) where she launched "Roots" gallery with a focus on social art exhibitions.
Nadzeya Naurotskaya
Curator of "Roots" Gallery in Pisa, artist, psychologist
Performance "Lessons of Breathing"
It all started with the first anti-war project conceived with Asya Zueva in May 2022. For the locals - Italians - it should have looked rather strange: a Russian and a Belarusian, both women, started an anti-war exhibition in a commune in the center of Pisa. Asya was dealing with the organization and found me by word of month, as one can put it. This is how the Association of Social Art was born in Pisa.
Six months went by since then, but the thought of promoting social art did not leave me. I invited Asya to continue this story and launch group exhibitions on various pressing social topics. This is how at the beginning of 2023 happened another anti-war exhibition “Mille Anime” (A Thousand Souls), then a project about people in exile - “Con e Senza Radici” (With Roots and Rootless) and later another project - “Dimmi Chi Sono” (Tell Me Who I Am) focused on social stigmatization. Both were held on art sites made available to us by other people. It was very inconvenient and difficult; in Pisa, in principle, the situation with exhibition sites is so hard. Eventually, we managed to find and rent our own space, which we called "Roots" social art gallery.
I have a degree in Psychology and another specialization of mine is art therapy - the background later successfully enriched by practice in art and exhibitions curating. Currently, I am interested in psychology only from the point of view of personality studies and social processes - something that also helps me to conceive and manage projects.
The very name of our gallery - “Roots” - is about universal origin all humans share. It is about our ability to put down roots anywhere. We might leave our roots in the ground when leaving, and something will also grow in our place. Of course, my migrant experience influenced the choice of this name, as well as my worldview relevant for that moment. In fact, we started with the theme that the Venice Biennale was dedicated to this year and I was very curious to see how this topic can be perceived in different ways.
Six months went by since then, but the thought of promoting social art did not leave me. I invited Asya to continue this story and launch group exhibitions on various pressing social topics. This is how at the beginning of 2023 happened another anti-war exhibition “Mille Anime” (A Thousand Souls), then a project about people in exile - “Con e Senza Radici” (With Roots and Rootless) and later another project - “Dimmi Chi Sono” (Tell Me Who I Am) focused on social stigmatization. Both were held on art sites made available to us by other people. It was very inconvenient and difficult; in Pisa, in principle, the situation with exhibition sites is so hard. Eventually, we managed to find and rent our own space, which we called "Roots" social art gallery.
I have a degree in Psychology and another specialization of mine is art therapy - the background later successfully enriched by practice in art and exhibitions curating. Currently, I am interested in psychology only from the point of view of personality studies and social processes - something that also helps me to conceive and manage projects.
The very name of our gallery - “Roots” - is about universal origin all humans share. It is about our ability to put down roots anywhere. We might leave our roots in the ground when leaving, and something will also grow in our place. Of course, my migrant experience influenced the choice of this name, as well as my worldview relevant for that moment. In fact, we started with the theme that the Venice Biennale was dedicated to this year and I was very curious to see how this topic can be perceived in different ways.
So, we position ourselves as a social art gallery and the themes of all our projects and solo exhibitions in one way or another relate to various social phenomena. Moreover, we try to make each project as clear and articulate as possible for the general public. While Asya deals with communication and takes care of texts and translations, I come up with exhibition themes, open calls and artists' applications that we get.
Among some of the topics we have already worked with are the war in Ukraine, migration, stigmatization, totalitarianism, eco-feminism, loss, abandoned spaces, life outside the system. I'd desribe them as self-explanatory. The upcoming one will be devoted to the body as private property.
I sincerely believe that art can convey more to the viewer than propaganda, state slogans and ideology. My expertise in psychology allows me to design projects so that those appeal to emotions and the deep layers of the unconscious, triggering complex experiences and forcing people to think. We are open for collaborations with the artists from all around the world, but certianly I am always very happy to see Belarusians among them.
Among some of the topics we have already worked with are the war in Ukraine, migration, stigmatization, totalitarianism, eco-feminism, loss, abandoned spaces, life outside the system. I'd desribe them as self-explanatory. The upcoming one will be devoted to the body as private property.
I sincerely believe that art can convey more to the viewer than propaganda, state slogans and ideology. My expertise in psychology allows me to design projects so that those appeal to emotions and the deep layers of the unconscious, triggering complex experiences and forcing people to think. We are open for collaborations with the artists from all around the world, but certianly I am always very happy to see Belarusians among them.
Unfortunately, my expectations about getting social art supported by the residents of Pisa turned out to be too high. In general, in Italy, very few people are truely interested in contemporary art. The claim "Venetians never attend the Biennale" is not an exaggeration! After almost two years of attempts to shake up the local community, I see it with my own eyes that it is really so.
I am pretty well-integrated into Italian society at the everyday level, but “fitting in” at the level of modern social art into the life of a small conservative city is something else.
If you think that the fact that Italians only talk about food is an overstatement, then I need to disappoint you. In many ways it's really so. Our main visitors are mainly international students, teachers, migrants, and tourists. And I am glad to see our gallery guests impressed and delighted with the work we do.
I am pretty well-integrated into Italian society at the everyday level, but “fitting in” at the level of modern social art into the life of a small conservative city is something else.
If you think that the fact that Italians only talk about food is an overstatement, then I need to disappoint you. In many ways it's really so. Our main visitors are mainly international students, teachers, migrants, and tourists. And I am glad to see our gallery guests impressed and delighted with the work we do.
Performance "Lessons of Breathing"
Our projects involve numerous artists in exile: Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians, and Iranians... and each works with the topics that are not necessarily directly related to their country of origin.
For example, one of the participants in our projects is the art association Herzland.shaft, whose artists explore the phenomenon of dictatorship (and I am one of them). Here I would like to name such Belarusian artists as Elena Berezina, a famous Belarusian artist and actionist Vladislav Bokhan, and Sergei Romanov, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence in a Belarusian prison on political charges. Another artist working with the subject of totalitarianism, who ended up in a pre-trial detention center and left Belarus after being released is Nina Raidan.
Another Herzland.schaft project participants is Anton Maarangam, who now lives in Darmstadt, where he studies the so-called "expanded media". Anton is that very scandalous performance artist who, in 2019, brought his painting into the Tretyakov Gallery and placed it on the wall, while another performance participant played the role of the “golden calf,” attracting the public's attention. The media, of course, focused on the supposedly naked man showing up in the hall (he was actually not fully naked) and ignored the point of the intervention, which was about the initiation of a dialogue - a response to the fact that not long ago a visitor had taken out a painting by Kuindzhi from the Tretyakov Gallery.
We are trying to involve in almost all of our exhibitions the multidisciplinary artist Maria Gvardeitseva, who now lives and works in London. In 2022, she was nominated for participation in the Biennale representing Belarus with her "Drygva" project. However, the same year, Belarus refused to participate in the Biennale, and Maria’s political art closed her way back to Belarus.
Ironically many Italians do not really understand the difference between Belarus and, for example, Ukraine or Russia. Someone has heard about Lukashenko. Someone - about dictatorship. Almost everyone knows about the war, but the attitudes to it differ. You would be suprised but in Italy propaganda is extremely effective! It is customary not to like the NATO and America, and therefore - love their enemies. This, of course, is not universal, but I have faced such attitudes not once.
For example, one of the participants in our projects is the art association Herzland.shaft, whose artists explore the phenomenon of dictatorship (and I am one of them). Here I would like to name such Belarusian artists as Elena Berezina, a famous Belarusian artist and actionist Vladislav Bokhan, and Sergei Romanov, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence in a Belarusian prison on political charges. Another artist working with the subject of totalitarianism, who ended up in a pre-trial detention center and left Belarus after being released is Nina Raidan.
Another Herzland.schaft project participants is Anton Maarangam, who now lives in Darmstadt, where he studies the so-called "expanded media". Anton is that very scandalous performance artist who, in 2019, brought his painting into the Tretyakov Gallery and placed it on the wall, while another performance participant played the role of the “golden calf,” attracting the public's attention. The media, of course, focused on the supposedly naked man showing up in the hall (he was actually not fully naked) and ignored the point of the intervention, which was about the initiation of a dialogue - a response to the fact that not long ago a visitor had taken out a painting by Kuindzhi from the Tretyakov Gallery.
We are trying to involve in almost all of our exhibitions the multidisciplinary artist Maria Gvardeitseva, who now lives and works in London. In 2022, she was nominated for participation in the Biennale representing Belarus with her "Drygva" project. However, the same year, Belarus refused to participate in the Biennale, and Maria’s political art closed her way back to Belarus.
Ironically many Italians do not really understand the difference between Belarus and, for example, Ukraine or Russia. Someone has heard about Lukashenko. Someone - about dictatorship. Almost everyone knows about the war, but the attitudes to it differ. You would be suprised but in Italy propaganda is extremely effective! It is customary not to like the NATO and America, and therefore - love their enemies. This, of course, is not universal, but I have faced such attitudes not once.
A screenshot of Maria Gvardeitseva's instagram page with the description of her "Drygva" project.
Among the artists in exile whose works we show at "Roots" there are also Russians who left their country in February 2022 because of their active anti-war position and detention risks.
In this regard, I would like to mention interesting photo projects by Vlad Yakubovsky now forced to wander around countries without being able to get legalized. Another name is Natasha Monakhova - a video artist and one of the organizers of the International Festival of Bad Video Art in the south of Italy.
Among the Ukrainians we work with I have in mind the photo project "Home" by Masha Pryven. She was forced to leave the country as a result of the events in 2014 in Lugansk, and now she lives in Germany, co-launching exhibitions and art events on socially significant topics. I remember how carefully I wrote to her the first time, not knowing what reaction my nationality would cause. English thus becomes a marker, showing which side you support.
In this regard, I would like to mention interesting photo projects by Vlad Yakubovsky now forced to wander around countries without being able to get legalized. Another name is Natasha Monakhova - a video artist and one of the organizers of the International Festival of Bad Video Art in the south of Italy.
Among the Ukrainians we work with I have in mind the photo project "Home" by Masha Pryven. She was forced to leave the country as a result of the events in 2014 in Lugansk, and now she lives in Germany, co-launching exhibitions and art events on socially significant topics. I remember how carefully I wrote to her the first time, not knowing what reaction my nationality would cause. English thus becomes a marker, showing which side you support.
Performative march around the city of Pisa after the opening of "Lessons of Breathing" exhibition.
Exiled artists live all over the world and face the same problems: you have to survive, to prove that you are not dangerous, to figure out how to feed yourself - and all these indispensable routine is far from creativity. It’s hard to find open calls, hard to get to exhibitions and even harder - to transfer your personal drama of exile into work, if this is the visual language you work with. Moreover, museums do not buy up social art, especially from artists who are only starting their journey. "Roots" cannot help to solve the problem of art purchase, but we can at least give such artists the opportunity to speak out.
I intend to develop the dimension of social art and, of course, one day help artists make money from their art. By the way, we are slowly building up our collection of social art, buying or accepting as gifts the works of those we exhibit. Now our collection is rather modest, but it's good that we have taken the first steps.
Why am I doing all these? I am sure that our actions can make the world a better place. As simple as that.
Apparently, any gallery owner is collecting his or her "portrait" - similar to the way every artist paints their own portrait in every work. While I was sharing here with you the names of the artists we showed at "Roots", I realized that all of us share something very important: common values, sarcastic (and at the same time subtle) humor, a sense of justice, and a desire for barricades!
All images: "Roots" Gallery, Pisa
Interview, translation, design: Olga Bubich
I intend to develop the dimension of social art and, of course, one day help artists make money from their art. By the way, we are slowly building up our collection of social art, buying or accepting as gifts the works of those we exhibit. Now our collection is rather modest, but it's good that we have taken the first steps.
Why am I doing all these? I am sure that our actions can make the world a better place. As simple as that.
Apparently, any gallery owner is collecting his or her "portrait" - similar to the way every artist paints their own portrait in every work. While I was sharing here with you the names of the artists we showed at "Roots", I realized that all of us share something very important: common values, sarcastic (and at the same time subtle) humor, a sense of justice, and a desire for barricades!
All images: "Roots" Gallery, Pisa
Interview, translation, design: Olga Bubich