‘No’ — The Book Our guide to Meduza’s tenth anniversary exhibition in Berlin is on sale now
Meduza’s publishing imprint has released a book to accompany “No,” our art exhibition opening at the Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien gallery in Berlin on April 26. Dedicated to everyone who still dares to resist, the book is not only a complete guide to the exhibition but also includes exclusive bonus materials. Whether you plan to visit the gallery or will be unable to attend the exhibition, if you’re a Meduza reader, this book has something for you. Get your copy from our online store today!
From April 26 to July 6, the Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien gallery in Berlin will host “No,” an exhibition curated and organized by Meduza’s newsroom. This project brings together artists and journalists to reflect on the events of the past decade and explore why the world has become so fractured. Ahead of the exhibition’s opening, Meduza has also released a book that serves not only as a comprehensive guide but also includes bonus materials that won’t be displayed in Berlin.
The book is available for purchase through Meduza’s online store (where you can also buy our merch) and will be on sale at the gallery, as well.
The curators behind “No” decided that this exhibition called for more than just a catalogue with snapshots of artworks and short biographies of their creators. Most of Meduza’s readers won’t be able to see the exhibition in person, after all, and no catalogue can replace a visit to the gallery in Berlin. Therefore, we’re offering a full-fledged book with some extras thrown in. (You can also keep up with “No. The Exhibition” on Instagram!)
Like the exhibition itself, the book features nine sections based on key themes identified by the curators through a review of 10 years of Meduza headlines: dictatorship, censorship, exile, war, resistance, fear, loneliness, polarization, and hope.
An essay written exclusively for the project prefaces each chapter. In one essay, Meduza’s former publisher, media manager Ilya Krasilshchik, reflects on the state of the anti-Putin movement and asks whether resistance can exist without hope for victory. In another, historian of Soviet culture Ilia Venyavkin analyzes the origins of polarization in the modern world and why we struggle to overcome it. Other essays are anonymous, such as one by a Meduza journalist still working in Russia, who recounts how state censorship has forced her to take safety measures at nearly every step and lead what amounts to a double life.
Naturally, the book features photos of the artworks on display in Berlin. Inside, you’ll find the likes of All Data To The People, a mural by the Danish artist collective SUPERFLEX that serves as a visual metaphor for censorship; Primer, a series of paintings by Pavel Otdelnov, inspired by a Soviet ABC book; and Feeling Defensive, a video work by Finnish artist Pilvi Takala, documenting her experience in the National Defense Course. Rather than featuring these works alongside boilerplate descriptions, we’ve included interviews with all 13 artists who participated in the exhibition, as well as profiles offering insights into their creative methods and place in the art world today.
The book also contains a series of monologues from Mikhail Durnenkov’s documentary project for “No,” which he based on conversations with Meduza journalists and friends of the newsroom. These include Meduza CEO Galina Timchenko’s account of how media censorship has evolved in modern Russia, film critic Anton Dolin's experience of emigrating abroad, and journalists Elena Kostyuchenko, Lilia Yapparova, and Taisia Bekbulatova's coverage of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
As for the bonus content, we’ve shared extracts from Meduza’s editorial discussions, offering readers an inside look at our immediate reactions to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the murder of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, and other life-changing events of the past decade.
We dedicate “No” and this book to everyone who still dares to resist — to those who say no to war, dictatorship, censorship, and fear.
Meduza