Pussy Riot Protest, Ukraine's Security Guarantees and Poland's Liquid Tongues | Pulse of Culture

This week Pulse of Culture travels to Venice for a firsthand look at the 2026 Biennale, one of the art world's most important – and most politically charged – gatherings this year.

Poland's pavilion presents Liquid Tongues, an immersive audio-visual installation by Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski exploring alternative forms of communication, from sign language to whale songs and other marginalized voices. Ukraine's pavilion is titled Security Guarantees and centres on Zhanna Kadyrova's Origami Deer, a concrete and paper sculpture originally created in Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. It is a metaphor for fragility and uncertainty that has travelled across Ukraine and Europe to reach Venice.

This year's Biennale has also been overshadowed by politics, with jury members resigning in protest over the participation of Russia and Israel, and Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova personally confronting Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco outside the Biennale offices. Back in Poland, the Maria and Pierre Curie Museum in Warsaw's Old Town has opened a quietly remarkable exhibition: Poza Szlakiem, which tells the story of the Curies' cycling journeys together, revealing an unexpectedly romantic and free-spirited side of the world's most famous female scientist. And Warsaw's Zachęta National Gallery of Art is presenting Adolescence, a contemporary exhibition exploring early adulthood through the voices of young people living through it.

Pulse of Culture is a weekly English-language magazine for anyone with a connection to Poland, including tourists, the diaspora, and the simply curious. New episodes are released every Sunday.

Host: Sally Jastrzębska

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Venice Biennale 2026: Culture Politics and Art from Warsaw to Venice
00:32 - Poland at Venice Biennale 2026: Liquid Tongues by Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski
03:10 - Pussy Riot at Venice Biennale: Nadya Tolokonnikova Confronts Biennale President Over Russia
06:31 - Ukraine Security Guarantees Pavilion: Zhanna Kadyrova Origami Deer Venice Biennale 2026
09:33 - Maria and Pierre Curie Cycling Exhibition Warsaw: Poza Szlakiem at Sklodowska Museum
12:14 - Adolescence Exhibition Zacheta National Gallery of Art Warsaw

🔴 Watch our 24/7 livestream - https://youtube.com/live/9RY46AUtIl4

Bringing you all the latest daily news and updates, TVP World is Poland's first English-language channel where you can find world news as seen from the Polish perspective and the latest news from the CEE region. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

https://tvpworld.com/
https://www.facebook.com/tvpworldcom
https://twitter.com/TVPWorld_com
https://www.instagram.com/tvp_world/
https://www.threads.net/@tvp_world
https://bsky.app/profile/tvpworld.bsky.social
https://www.tiktok.com/@tvpworld.com
https://t.me/tvp_world

#VeniceBiennale2026 #PussyRiot #Warsaw