Still Joy presents new works by eleven Ukrainian and international contemporary artists. The exhibition takes its starting point in a series of testimonies given by soldiers in Ukraine describing what joy means to them. Responding to these statements, the artists in the exhibition have created works revolving around themes of youth, friendship, community, nature and hope.

Featuring chandeliers made from pastel-coloured sweets, scenes from underground techno raves in Kyiv, skulls painted directly on the walls, and shimmering brass bells bearing the fingerprints of displaced people, the exhibition looks beyond the images of war and catastrophe presented by the news. Across different forms of artistic expression and media, what persists is a collective insistence on confronting the harsh realities of our time and preserving the capacity for human happiness.

Still Joy was originally developed by PinchukArtCentre in Kyiv, where it was first exhibited in the spring of 2026, as well as part of this year’s Venice Biennale. The exhibition is curated by PinchukArtCentre’s Artistic Director, Björn Geldhof and Curator Oleksandra Pogrebnyak, with further development in close collaboration with Gammel Strand.

The exhibiting artists include: ÁlvaroUrbano, Ashfika Rahman, Kateryna Lysovenko, Oleksiy Sai and Yuriy Gruzinov, Pavlo Kovach, Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk, Simone Post, Bögdana Kosmina and Zhanna Kadyrova.