How Solidary Are We Really? Curator Nav Haq on the Kyiv Biennial 2025
In October, the sixth edition of the Kyiv Biennial opened. Near East, Far West unfolds through five exhibitions across Europe. The main presentation is in Warsaw, while M HKA contributes its own show in Antwerp. Nav Haq, Associate Director of M HKA, is involved in both as curator.
Failed Solidarity
What is the theme of this biennial?
We live in brutally imperialist times. Eastern Europe and the Middle East are enduring major crises and conflicts, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Israel’s devastating campaign in Gaza, and the broader fascist drift in global politics. The biennial probes the West’s role in these situations. How does it position itself towards the conflicts in Central and Eastern Europe?
From a distance, as the title Near East, Far West suggests.
It’s not a flattering story. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza lay bare the contradictions within Europe. Especially around the question of Western solidarity, which so often carries a whiff of hypocrisy. That’s why this theme feels so urgent today. At the same time, we’re searching for new, more genuine forms of solidarity. That’s the core of the exhibitions in Warsaw and Antwerp.
You’re curating both exhibitions?
The biennial was once confined to Kyiv. Since the last edition – the first after Russia’s invasion – it has adopted a distributed model, with shows across Europe. The central exhibition opens at the brand-new Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, co-curated by M HKA alongside five other curators.
No surprise, given M HKA’s focus on Eurasia.
The Kyiv Biennial 2025 is organised by L’Internationale, a European confederation of museums, art organisations and universities of which M HKA is a founding member. We welcomed the invitation: we’ve long been engaged with Ukraine and hold several Ukrainian artists in our collection. Supporting this initiative felt entirely natural.
Is there a connection between Warsaw and Antwerp?
Both exhibitions trace historical and contemporary forms of collaboration – earlier exchanges and evolving solidarity movements – while also addressing the conditions of crisis and conflict. In Warsaw we’re showing works from the M HKA collection, including pieces by Koka Ramishvili (Georgia) and Saule Suleimenova (Kazakhstan). Antwerp expands on this with works by seven or eight artists.
Homelands and Hinterlands
The M HKA exhibition bears its own title: Homelands and Hinterlands.
The relationship between the two concepts is crucial. “Homelands” speaks for itself: The place where you live, work and belong. “Hinterlands” is more elusive: the territories behind the centres of power that sustain them with food, energy and labour. How do these spheres relate?
So you’re reframing global conflicts?
M HKA has often reflected on the conflicts across Central and Eastern Europe, and our engagement with the Middle East has been long-standing. But there’s room for deeper involvement. This exhibition is a step towards renewed commitment to Middle Eastern and Palestinian artists.
Hence the focus on Palestine.
We’re presenting the Palestinian duo Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, alongside a work by the British-Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum from our collection. Like many Palestinians, she lives in exile. The piece – delicate and intimate, made from her own hair, a material she often uses – has never been shown at M HKA before. It quite literally brings the work back to the body.
And Ukraine remains central.
One particularly moving story is that of Ukrainian artist Davyd Chyckan (1986–2025), who went to the front to defend his country and was killed there. A stark reminder of war’s cost. We’re also showing works by Anna Zvyagintseva (Ukraine), Iman Issa (Egypt), Ala Savashevich (Belarus), Mashid Mohadjerin (Iran, based in Antwerp) and George Gagoshidze (Georgia).
Against Censorship
Conflicts abroad also resonate in Belgium, especially in relation to Palestine. Do you expect strong reactions from visitors?
The war in Gaza is deeply polarising, and every country responds differently. In Germany and the US, there’s widespread censorship. Not only of Palestinian voices but often of artists from the broader Middle East. That’s unacceptable: artists must be free to speak. The situation has become so catastrophic that silence is no longer an option.
What role can a museum play?
As a cultural institution, our duty is to support artists, particularly those silenced elsewhere. They offer fresh perspectives and vital insights. Discussion of Gaza and Ukraine often plays out on social media, but those platforms – and even political debate itself – have sunk into polarised echo chambers. Museums offer something different: depth and reflection. They’re places to pause, to think through issues that are more complex than they seem. We provide artists with a forum from which lasting collaborations can grow.
Commitment Beyond the Exhibition
M HKA’s engagement extends beyond this show.
It does. In late October we hosted a forum focused on the Middle East-Europe axis. We’re also running extensive public programmes around the exhibition. And next year we’ll present a new show, curated by Vasıf Kortun and Nadia Radwan, dedicated to censorship relating to Palestine. Many people are being silenced simply because they are Palestinian, or from the Middle East. That must be confronted.
‘Homelands and Hinterlands’ deals with urgent political themes. How can you persuade politicians and policymakers to visit?
That’s the challenge. Unfortunately, not all politicians make a habit of visiting contemporary-art exhibitions. As a result, they sometimes fail to understand or appreciate them. Even though they shape cultural policy. Perhaps we should start by simply inviting them, encouraging them to visit with an open mind.
Also on View
Kyiv Biennial 2025: Homelands and Hinterlands
The Kyiv Biennial 2025 unfolds across multiple European venues. Within this framework, M HKA presents a group exhibition extending the main show at the recently opened Museum of Modern Art (MSN) in Warsaw.
we refuse_d brings together fifteen artists around the power of refusal, resilience and community. Responding to censorship and conflict, the exhibition features new works centred on solidarity, heritage and repair. Above all, it is an ode to life.
There Is Nothing Solid About Solidarity
This INBOX presentation, and the accompanying multi-day forum, explore how communities forge new bonds beyond established structures. The artworks reveal how solidarity and empathy endure under pressure, inviting reflection and dialogue.
