MINISTRY OF SMALL PLEASURES
Artist Talk with Katarína Poliačiková

Monday, 13 April 2026, 19:00 h
Location: < rotor >, Volksgartenstraße 6a, Graz

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As part of the exhibition In the Wheel of Emotions – Awareness, Care, and Forms of Quiet Resilience in Times of Crisis, we cordially invite you to an artist talk with Katarina Poliačikova.

The visual artist and writer will discuss her research and practice, drawing on the pop-up office Ministry of Small Pleasures, which was set up as part of the exhibition. The starting point for her reflections is Katarina Poliačikova’s long-standing engagement with participatory practices as well as those small moments of joy that point to a shared, human foundation.

The Ministry of Small Pleasures is a semi-fictional institution concerned with simple, intangible moments of happiness that often fade into the background amid the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The project was inspired by Susan Sontag’s diary and her list of things she liked—everyday joys that point to a shared human foundation.

For Katarína Poliačiková, artistic production is a way of being present: engaging with objects, stories, and relationships with curiosity and care. She understands joy as a simple yet essential capacity that remains with us, even when personal or social pressures make it difficult to access.

The artist talk will be held in English.

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In the frame of the exhibition
IN THE WHEEL OF EMOTIONS

Participating artists:
Róza El-Hassan • ex-artists’ collective (Tamás Kaszás & Anikó Loránt) • Oleksandr Halishchuk • The Hologram • Jana Kapelová •
Eva Koťátková • Mouries Collective • Katarína Poliačiková

Curated by: Judit Angel, Eliška Mazalanová, Margarethe Makovec,
Anton Lederer

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The exhibition focuses on emotions amid the tension between multiple contemporary crises and an increasingly polarised political climate. It responds to a situation in which systemic extraction, political manipulation, and enforced self-repression collide with the basic need for fulfilment, happiness, and hope.

The artworks on display reflect on the formation of emotional maturity through upbringing, education and social norms. They explore ways how anxiety can be addressed, empathy fostered, loss overcome and hostile forces resisted. Moreover, they articulate the urgency of collective healing, mutual care, and sustaining hope in uncertain times—while recognising quiet resilience, small everyday gestures that surface in the cracks of the system.

Duration of the exhibition:
30.1.–26.04.2026

Opening hours:
MON–FRI 10:00–18:00, SAT 12:00–16:00
Closed on Sundays and public holidays

Dialogic tours through the exhibition for school classes and other groups by prior appointment:
rotor@mur.at, 0316/ 688306

Admission free!

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In cooperation with tranzit.sk, Bratislava.
ERSTE Foundation is main partner of tranzit.

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