Björn Geldhof

Hope Recycling Station z.s. and the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague coordially invite you to the lecture n.17 of the artistic director of the PinchukArtCenter in Kyiv

Björn Geldhof is artistic director at the PinchukArtCentre in Kyiv. Geldhof curated numerous projects internationally including: the Ukrainian National Pavilion at the 56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (2015); the Future Generation Art Prize exhibitions in Venice in 2011 and 2013. He has curated many solo-exhibitions and thematic exhibitions such as, China China, Fear and Hope, Loss: in Memory of Babi Yar, Suns and Neons above Kazakhstan, Democracy Anew and Fragile State and worked with among others: Damián Ortega, Olafur Eliasson, Anish Kapoor, Ai Weiwei, Jenny Holzer, Berlinde Debruykere, Tony Oursler, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Shilpa Gupta, Michelangelo Pistolleto, Marina Abramovic, Santiago Sierra and Carlos Motta.Between 2015 and 2018, Geldhof combined his position at the PinchukArtCentre with the role of artistic director of YARAT contemporary art in Baku Azerbaijan.Prior to this role in Kiev, Geldhof worked directly with the Belgian artist Jan Fabre, as independent curator and manager the art and culture magazine Janus. Geldhof studied at Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven, Belgium.

The PinchukArtCentre was founded in September 2006 by businessman Victor Pinchuk. It is one the largest private contemporary art centres in Central and Eastern Europe. Its exhibition program investigates national identity in the context of international relations. It engages the public in a dialogue through a full range of educational and discursive events. The PinchukArtCentre invests in the next generation though the Future Generation Art Prize and the PinchukArtCentre Prize, awards for young contemporary artists aged 35 or younger. These prizes have made the institution one of the hotspots for the best emerging artists worldwide while empowering a new generation in Ukraine. The PinchukArtCentre is located in Kyiv's historic architectural complex in the Besarabka area, which underwent a major renovation. The interior architecture for the centre was developed by the French architect Philippe Chiambaretta. The PinchukArtCentre occupies six floors with exhibition spaces on four floors, library, education room, book store, video-lounge and café. The total exhibition space is around 3000 sq. meters.