Home - dwelling - residence. Concepts that have come center-stage at the height of a global pandemic. What notions get stirred up when one considers these broad yet personal aspects of our humanity? When topics hold an intimate and emotional resonance it is often easy to generalize, assuming universality. Opening the door to a dialogue of fluid definitions, where a multitude of narratives have a seat at the table, the exhibition intends to simultaneously challenge, comfort and validate that which one labels “home”. Starting with a particular interest in Italian artists, a homecoming of sorts is curated, in a city that often houses the work of international practitioners. 

With the aim of sparking conversations around displacement, access, resource, community, safety, self and space, Metaxy Curatorial Kollectiv offers a broad online program of collateral events to the exhibition and seeks to leave the audience with increased awareness, understanding and compassion about people’s diverse journeys to a safe place of belonging, a safe place to call home. In a time of mass migration enforced by climate change, armed conflict, totalitarian regimes, inequality and gentrification, for far too many it has become deeply challenging to find a safe place to call home. Those particularly deprived from the option, the liberty, to find belonging in a certain environment are those forcibly displaced and those under physical or emotional attack. As recorded by the United Nations, at least 79.5 million individuals have been forced to flee their home as of the end of 2019. This includes nearly 26 million refugees. 

Metaxy Kollectiv is an international curatorial collective, composed out of Elise Beuke (US), Giacomo Gandola (Italy), Ester Kneidlova (Czech Republic), Marloes Lagerweij (the Netherlands), Clemence Pons (France), Irina Samsonova (Russia), Yunqi Yu (China) and Curatorial Team Coordinator Hesperia Iliadou-Suppiej (Cyprus). Headquartered in Venice, the curators are united in their belief that arts and culture play an indispensable role in moving forward sociopolitical debates crucial to our times. 

Enjoy the virtual tour and check the official website www.belongingishere.com for more info on the online initiatives!