Exhibition Opening
ONE MAN DOES NOT RULE A NATION
September 25, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.
Curators: Janek Simon and Max Cegielski
*Organized by the Polish Institute in Belgrade and the Museum of African Art
The opening will feature addresses by Mr. McDonnell Asante Osafo, Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Ghana in Belgrade, and Ms. Elizabeth Asafo-Adjei, Curator at the National Museum and the Museums and Monuments Board of Ghana.
The Museum of African Art in Belgrade is pleased to present One Man Does Not Rule a Nation, an installation by Polish artists and curators Janek Simon and Max Cegielski. The work explores the intertwined histories of Ghana, Poland, and, more broadly, the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement during the 1960s.
Drawing inspiration from the evolving meanings of kente cloth patterns and the lost visual symbol of the Sword Monument—designed by Polish artist Alina Szlesińska for Kwame Nkrumah—this little-known episode of international solidarity sheds light on an era of Pan-Africanism and anti-colonial struggle. Through a combination of archival materials, 3D reconstruction, and new footage, the installation not only revives the memory of Afro-optimism but also invites reflection on more equitable forms of global cooperation today.
Previously shown at the Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts, the Survival Kit Festival in Riga, and the Stuki Substation in Szczecin—and presented in parallel at Red Clay Studio in Ghana—the Belgrade exhibition revisits decentralized forms of solidarity along the North–South axis and reconsiders the enduring question of intercontinental dialogue.
