A Bird That Cannot Land

The Kyiv Biennial is a nomadic international platform that brings together artistic, political, and social perspectives. At KW Institute for Contemporary Art, its chapter A Bird That Cannot Land takes the form of a building-wide exhibition alongside a lively program of performances, listening sessions, and conversations.

Responding to changing political realities, the project explores the idea of a Middle-East-Europe and the contested histories that shape it—conflict, colonial legacies, and imperial power. By connecting post-Soviet Eastern Europe with Central and Southwest Asia and the Mediterranean, it reflects on how people make meaning and a sense of belonging in times of war, uncertainty, and displacement.

With more than 40 intergenerational and international contributors from Berlin and beyond, the biennial foregrounds lived experience, migration, and memory, using sound and dialogue as key tools for exchange. In 2025, the Kyiv Biennial unfolded across Europe through exhibitions and events in Warsaw, Antwerp, Dnipro, Kyiv, and Linz; A Bird That Cannot Land extends those conversations at KW.