From Culture to Control: Art, Power, and Algorithmic Narratives
On 17 June 2026, Goethe-Institut Czech Republic, Galerie Rudolfinum, and IZOLYATSIA Foundation will conduct a screening of Igor Minaev's film Izolyatsia, followed by a moderated discussion.
The film IZOLYATSIA traces the transformation of the Izolyatsia cultural centre in Donetsk, Ukraine, into a notorious prison and torture site, opening up a reflection on violence as a tool of control.
The screening will be followed by a moderated discussion with Mykhailo Glubokyi, Development Director of the IZOLYATSIA Foundation, and Rudolf Samohejl, a visual artist whose work, among other things, engages with the "defensive architecture" of data centres.
The evening will be moderated by Respekt journalist Dominika Perlínová, who, together with her guests, will explore how "soft" forms of power, digital infrastructures, and automated narratives shape fear, polarisation, and collective perception.
Learn more at Galerie Rudolfinum website →
Izolyatsia (2023, dir. Igor Minaev) is a film researching the transformation of an abandoned insulation materials factory into a contemporary cultural centre by Ukrainian cultural activists, and then its seizure by representatives of the Russian Federation into an illegal prison and a place for torture and executions. The name comes from the Donetsk plant of insulating materials. The factory ceased to exist after the collapse of the USSR. In the early 2000s, a centre for contemporary culture was created within its walls. The art centre was destroyed in 2014 by Russian occupying forces. Factory cellars were turned into torture chambers. Those who came out alive testify to this. It is a film about dehumanisation — about how a person loses all bearings and becomes a monster.
The event is co-produced by Goethe-Institut Czech Republic and Galerie Rudolfinum and is part of the accompanying programme of the exhibition DATAS: The Data and the Sovereign, on view at Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, from 11 June to 30 August 2026.
DATAS (2025–26) is an assembly convened to amplify unheard voices from Central and Eastern Europe, and the South Caucasus, reflecting on the relationship between the self, technology, and power. Produced in partnership between Goethe-Institut (Germany), IZOLYATSIA (Ukraine), MeetFactory (Czech Republic), Projekt Atol (Slovenia), and Tallinn Art Hall (Estonia).
Co-funded by the European Union under the Creative Europe programme. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.