Anna Jermolaewa .:. Radical Hope | Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein

Detail of the artwork "Museum of Radical Hope" by Anna Jermolaewa

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With an empathetic eye and subtle humour, Anna Jermolaewa (b. 1970 in St Petersburg, Russia) lays bare hidden mechanisms of everyday life, her practice always very close to the reality of life.

Radical Hope combines earlier works in an updated and extended form with numerous new pieces. For this purpose, Jermolaewa travelled to the Pyrenees to trace the path of Walter Benjamin and Lisa Fittko, who helped him escape from France to Spain; then to Paris to meet the person who helped her escape; and finally to the Island of Jersey, where she shot material for the project at Gerald Durrell’s sanctuary for endangered species.

The exhibition is defined by three main aspects: the passion for collecting, Jermolaewa’s special relationship with animals, and exile and migration. Forced to flee former Soviet Union in 1989, Jermolaewa focuses on personal experiences and historical traces, confronting the political and societal realities of our day with radical hope.

The exhibition title goes back to the 2006 book Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation by the philosopher Jonathan Lear. He asks how we can envisage a future amidst physical, social and cultural collapse. The answer is: with radical hope.

Anna Jermolaewa

Jermolaewa has previously featured in two group shows at Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein: Parliament of Plants (2020–21) and On the Street (2025). The collection includes two of the artist’s works, both part of her exhibition in the Austrian pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale.

The show is accompanied by a comprehensive publication and an artist’s edition.

A production of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, curated by Christiane Meyer-Stoll with Henrik Utermöhle.

Anna Jermolaewa
Museum of Radical Hope, 2026 (detail)
© 2026, ProLitteris, Zurich