Letters to Ales Pushkin
We support the imprisoned artist
On March 30 2021, Belarusian militia arrested the artist Aleś Pushkin at the request of Grodno prosecutor’s office. Later, Pushkin’s house was searched and his studio was demolished. Aleś has been jailed and, according to Belarusian criminal code, faces 12 years in prison for “inciting hatred” (part 3, paragraph 130).
He is accused of “inciting hatred” on account of a painting, exhibited at Grodno cultural centre Centre, portraying Auhien Żychar, the commander of a anti-communist partisan unit that fought Soviets for a decade following the end of the war. The prosecution decided that presenting Żychar’s image amounts to “rehabilitation of Nazism”, because Żychar had previously collaborated with the Germans fighting against the USSR.
We encourage you to express your support and cheer Aleś up by sending him a letter. The prepared envelopes are addressed to the artist’s current location. In this way, we want to express our solidarity with the artist and show him that he is not alone and has friends in Poland who understand what he is fighting for.
The self-addressed envelopes along with the mailbox are in the space of the exhibition Political Art.
