Few groups are as easily recognizable as Pussy Riot. Clad in vibrant balaclavas, the Russian punk band and activist group has made a name for itself as an unflinching detractor of their country\u2019s authoritarian state as well as fascism at large globally. With over a decade of feminist artistry and rebellion, it seems more than time for a retrospective on their stalwart work. And that is just what we\u2019ll receive with the upcoming exhibition Velvet Terrorism: Pussy Riot\u2019s Russia.<\/p>\n
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Hosted by The Polygon Gallery in Vancouver, Velvet Terrorism is the first of its kind for the art collective. It collects documentation of their activism from 2011 onwards and is set to display a dichotomy of the group\u2019s actions against a backdrop of Russian officials\u2019 reactions. The name for the exhibition itself comes from such a source\u2014a quote from Putin\u2019s spiritual advisor Bishop Tikhon Shevkunov referring to the actions of the feminist collective as \u201cvelvet terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cThrough videos, photographs, testimonies, song lyrics, and reflections,\u201d explains The Polygon\u2019s statement, \u201cthe exhibition offers a rich account of Pussy Riot\u2019s non-violent actions, alongside the reactions of the Russian authorities to their provocations. In illustrating an increasingly hostile relationship between the group and the state authorities, the exhibition provides key insights into the evolution of Putin\u2019s Russia over the past ten years, leading up to the military invasion of Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Velvet Terrorism is collected by group member Maria Alyokhina, one of the individuals who was sentenced to two years in a penal colony for their protest against Putin\u2019s reelection. Having described her time in the group and her punishment through her novel Riot Days, she is giving resonant insight into one of the most notable activist and musical groups this century.<\/p>\n
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Velvet Terrorism opens March 22nd at The Polygon Gallery.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Few groups are as easily recognizable as Pussy Riot. Clad in vibrant balaclavas, the Russian punk band and activist group has made a name for itself as an unflinching detractor of their country\u2019s authoritarian state as well as fascism at large globally. With over a decade of feminist artistry and rebellion, it seems more than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-call-for-artists"],"yoast_head":"\n