On Thursday, March 12, 2026, the Rudolfinum Gallery in Prague will host the accompanying programme of the Ukrainian National Pavilion at the 61st International Art ExhibitionLa Biennale di Venezia.

From 10:00 to 22:00, visitors will have the opportunity to see the sculpture The Origami Deer (2019) by Ukrainian artist Zhanna Kadyrova, who presented her work to the Czech public at the Rudolfinum Gallery in the spring of 2024 in the exhibition UNEXPECTED.

Socha will be the centerpiece of Ukraine's national exhibition at the Biennale, Security Guarantees, curated by Ksenia Malykh and Leonid Marushchak.

Thursday's event will also be accompanied by a documentary film screening, conversation and discussion. Admission to the entire program is free and will be in English.

Origami Deer

Zhanna Kadyrova created the sculpture Origami Deer as a permanent public artwork for a park in Pokrovsk, a city in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. The statue originally stood on the site of a dismantled Soviet nuclear aircraft. When the front approached Pokrovsk in August 2024 and the evacuation of the civilian population began, Zhanna, along with Leonid and a team of city workers, dismantled the statue and moved it to a safer location. In 2025, the Origami Deer made its way to Venice.

The Ukrainian pavilion project raises the issue of unfulfilled security guarantees that led Ukraine to give up its nuclear arsenal in 1996. It also reflects the fragility of peace and the indomitability of the Ukrainian people.

Programme of the event

10:00-22:00 - Exhibition of the sculpture Origami Deer in front of the Rudolfinum building on Jan Palach Square in Prague

18:00-19:00 - screening of short documentary film IDP (directed by Zhanna Kadyrova, 2025), which depicts the evacuation of the statue from Pokrovsk, followed by a discussion with Zhanna Kadyrova and Leonid Marushchak at Café Rudolfinum (in English)

7:00-8:30pmat Café Rudolfinum (in English)

About the Artist

Zhanna Kadyrova is a Ukrainian artist whose work focuses on the theme of Russian aggression against Ukraine. She is also known for her sculptures, installations and projects that explore urban spaces. She is the winner of the Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian National Prize in Fine Arts (2025), winner of the first Her Art Prize founded by Marie Claire France and Art Paris magazine (2025), winner of the PinchukArtCentre Prize (2013) and the Kazimir Malevich Prize (2012). She lives and works in Kiev. In the spring of 2024, she presented her work to the Czech audience at a monographic exhibition at the Rudolfinum Gallery entitled UNEXPECTED.

About the project

TheUkrainian Pavilion: Zhanna Kadyrova's Origami Deer on the Road to Venice project will take place. March 8th in Vienna (MuseumsQuartier), March 12th in Prague (Galerie Rudolfinum), March 14th in Berlin (CTM Festival, daadgalerie), March 17th-20th in Brussels (Bozar) and March 23rd in Brussels (Bozar). March in Paris.

The curators of the accompanying programme are Katia Khimei and Ivanna Kozachenko.

Acknowledgements

The project is supported by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, UNESCO and Sushko Philanthropy. In Prague, it will take place with the support of Galerie Rudolfinum, Café Rudolfinum and Tetiana Babchuk.

Media partners: Suspilne Kultura, Radio Kultura, Artslooker