Announcement of the results of the selection process for the programme "2026 EXERCISING MODERNITY ACADEMY" - Instytut Pileckiego

Announcement of the results of the selection process for the programme, as selected in the ‘COMPETITION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE 2026 EXERCISING MODERNITY ACADEMY, which will take place from 7–11 September 2026 in Berlin.

As many as 73 candidates applied to take part in the sixth Exercising Modernity Academy, entitled Central and Eastern Europe (de)constructed. Displacements, Relations, Transformations”, which will take place in Berlin from 7–11 September 2025.

The evaluation committee met on 30–31 July 2026, comprising:

• Dr Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk – Head of the Exercising Modernity programme at the Pilecki Institute in Berlin, Chair of the Committee;
• Dr Aleksandra Janus – curator of the Exercising Modernity progrmme, independent curator;
• Dr Katalin Krasznahorkai – curator at the Brandenburgische Gesellschaft für Kultur und Geschichte gGmbH / Brandenburg Museum für Zukunft, Gegenwart und Geschichte
• Witold Okun – Exercising Modernity Programme Coordinator, Pilecki Institute in Berlin, Secretary of the Selection Committee

The Committee members assessed each of the applications received, awarding a recommendation for participation in the Academy based on the points awarded. Points were awarded on a scale of 1 to 5 according to the established assessment categories:

• the relevance of the application to the theme of this year’s Academy;
• the quality of the artistic activities/research undertaken;
• the interdisciplinary nature of the activities;
• the quality of the concept;
• the candidate’s competencies

Furthermore, in order to ensure a balanced selection of participants across a variety of fields, the discipline of the artistic activities or research conducted was also an additional criterion determining whether an application was accepted.

In addition to the list of candidates recommended for participation in the Academy, the Committee also drew up a reserve list comprising candidates who, despite receiving high marks, were not shortlisted in the first stage of the selection process. Those on the reserve list were gradually included among the participants in the event of withdrawals or where those recommended in the first instance were unable to take part in the full programme.

Furthermore, due to the very high standard of the applications received, the Committee decided to award one additional place in this year’s Academy.

In view of the above, the Selection Committee has selected the following individuals to take part in the Exercising Modernity Academy 2026:

BERNATZKY Alex

BLUM Gilat

FINKELSTEIN Emily

HARTMANN Julia

HRAMOVICH Uladzimir

KRUEGER Marcel

LAPID Ofri

LEVRAN Oded

MEYER Christian

OLEKSIŃSKI Jakub

ORTH Susanne

PCHOLKA Lesia

SARIDI Anna

SIENKIEWICZ Jan

SOARES DE SOUZA Mateus

WEINBERG Adi

WIERZCHOSŁAWSKA Miriam