25 Steps to Freedom

Description

25 Steps to Freedom is an exhibition by Belarusian artist Volha Yakubouskaya that transforms the emotional and political weight of protest into something disarmingly tender: cats. Behind each feline figure lies a true story—a protester, a political prisoner, a voice silenced or exiled. This is not escapism. It is what Yakubouskaya herself calls cat therapy—a way to process trauma and speak to resistance through care, wit, and quiet subversion.

Created in response to the Belarusian people's ongoing fight for democracy and human rights, the works in 25 Steps to Freedom use familiar, almost naïve visual language to speak to deeply serious realities. Each cat becomes a stand-in for an individual’s courage—a visual code of survival under repression. Yakubouskaya’s paintings have been exhibited in Monaco, Poland, Belgium, Italy, and Latvia, and have even been gifted to political figures—including Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs.

But the power of these images lies less in where they travel and more in what they carry: a refusal to normalize injustice. In each brushstroke, the artist insists on memory, dignity, and resilience—told in a way that is both approachable and profoundly moving.

Public Program

The exhibition opened at the New East Cultural Space on 4 July with a special visit from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian democratic opposition. During the opening, Volha Yakubouskaya shared the stories behind her work and the philosophy of kotykoterapia. A public discussion followed, exploring the intersections of art, protest, and exile—asking how visual storytelling can both soothe and mobilize in times of political crisis.