The focus of the first morning is Quarantine Freedom, exploring questions of access, freedom, and mental enclaves through ways of thinking shaped by the region. One of the key speakers in this section will be photo historian and aesthetician Dorota Łuczak, Head of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art History at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, who will present the Sputnik collective’s Sputnik Photos archive under the title The Specter of Modernism Haunts the “Lost Territories”.  Since 2006, the collective has been assembling critical documentary projects from across Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on post-socialist contexts. At the core of the archive are visual accounts of post-transition disillusionment, environmental and psychological ruptures, and the unfulfilled promises of neoliberal modernisation. 

The archive does not follow a fixed structure. Instead, it operates as an open repository of images used across books, exhibitions, and site-specific projects. These visual constellations examine post-socialist societies after the political transformations of 1989–1991 from a critical perspective, revealing the social, environmental, and psychological consequences of Soviet exploitation. Rather than reinforcing optimistic narratives of democratic renewal, the works convey disillusionment and the persistence of historical and political dependency. The collection questions cultural and political myths, depicting a world shaped by neoliberal democracy in which the promise of modernisation and social welfare has largely remained unfulfilled. The projects are analysed and contextualised by art historian Dorota Łuczak, a specialist in the history and theory of photography. 

Łuczak’s presentation is preceded by reflections on the art industry by Marc Prüst, delivered under the title Production and Circulation, followed by presentations by two current MOME students, Ekaterina Egorova and Polina Kuprina, who introduce their community-based art project. The afternoon section, titled Insider Outsiders, looks at postcolonialism, national identity and political marginalisation in Central Europe through the lens of inclusion and exclusion. Alongside Katharina Roters and Kamila Szejnoch, the section also features contributions by two Hungarian artists, Péter Puklus and Áron Tóth-Heyn. 

The events are sponsored by the Wacław Felczak Foundation. 

☞ Date: Wednesday, 28 January 2026, 10:00 a.m. 

☞ Venue: MOME Campus 

☞ More details in the Facebook event at:  https://www.facebook.com/events/2193589101414685/ és a weboldalon: https://workincontext.mome.hu/