Themes by tag: culture

On May 20 at 11:00 AM, the procession “We are waiting for the heroes of Mariupol to come home” will take place in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv. And already in the evening, installation art symbolizing indomitability and faith of the prisoners of war from Azovstal will be unveiled on Sophia Square. Also, a charity run in vyshyvankas (embroidered shirts) “Towards Freedom” will take place on May 20 in Brovary, Kyiv region. The distance is 3 kilometers, all those willing to participate must pay a charity contribution of UAH 300.

• culture
• military
• Kyiv

On May 20, 2022, the last Ukrainian defender left the territory of the Azovstal steelworks. Following 86 days of heroic defense, the formerly flourishing city by the sea found itself under complete occupation. According to preliminary data alone, more than 22,000 citizens of Mariupol died, 90% of the city’s infrastructure was destroyed, and thousands of Mariupol residents were forced to leave their homes.

On May 19, 20 and 21, the exhibition “Mariupol. 86 #Live,” public lecture “Unbreakable” about the lost ethnic groups of Mariupol and performative literary event “#Live” will be held in the territory of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War.

So, for example, the exhibition “Mariupol. 86 #Live” will tell how the world watched the struggle of the city during the 86-day-long siege via social networks and mass media. Photographs, artifacts, and video materials connected to the defense of Mariupol, its heroic defender, and the lives of people under occupation will be presented, as well as a film about the blockade of the city.

Visitors will have an opportunity to talk to the participants and witnesses of the events in Mariupol and the defenders of the city.

• culture
• military
• occupation
• Kyiv

Journalists are invited to attend the “Keep fighting – you are sure to win” project presentation to be held on May 16 to be the first to see and hear the unique audio postcards 

The “Postcards of Heroes” project collects 12 stories of modern Ukrainian heroes. Azov commander Denys Prokopenko “Redys”, fighter pilot Vadym Voroshylov “Karaya”, volunteer Tata Kepler, soldier Oleksandr Budko “Teren”, journalist and blogger Ihor Lachenkov, and others are among them. They all have embodied the characters of the postcards and will share the inspiring stories that motivate them to fight and win.

The event will be attended by:

Igor Smelyansky – Director General of Ukrposhta

Vlad Bolsun – Creative director of MOZGI Group

Tata Kepler – volunteer, the “Ptahy” movement founder, which helps the military and civilians

Kateryna Prokopenko, wife of Azov regiment commander Denys Prokopenko.

Other postcard characters and illustrators will also be present.

Registration is required.

• culture
• Kyiv

A piece of the wall with mural by the world-famous English street artist Banksy in Irpin will be moved. 

In April 2023, the building with the graffiti on its wall was dismantled. However, the city authorities decided to keep the image of the girl gymnast performing a handstand on chunks of broken masonry devastated by a Russian shell.

For reference: There are seven works by Banksy in the Kyiv Oblast. On November 17, 2022, the artist confirmed the authorship of these works on his Instagram, posting a video about their creation and his trip to Ukraine.

• culture
• Kyiv

The Lviv Defense Cluster together with ArtArmor project provides an opportunity to replace bulletproof vests that were damaged at the front free of charge. After all, body armor that has been hit at least once is no longer usable. Used armor plates from an old bulletproof vest will not go to waste, as artists from ArtArmor will turn them into works of art. Some of the works will be sold at auctions, and the proceeds will be used to help the military.

• culture
• military

Students of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy brought a 50-kilogram book “Crime without Punishment” to Europe. This book contains information on russia’s crimes in Ukraine. The book is 6,000 pages long, which symbolizes the 6,000 children kidnapped by the russian occupiers. The activists were “inspired” to create the book, the title of which is an allusion to the russian classics, by the arrest warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, the children’s ombudsman of the russian federation. The book will arrive in Ukraine in a few days.

• children
• culture
• russian crimes

On May 3, Media Center Ukraine — Ukrinform will host a briefing entitled “Ukraine cultural events within the Eurovision Song Contest.”  Topics of focus at the event include: representing Ukrainian culture at the Eurovision Song Contest and its impact on the positive image of Ukraine; the primary public events of Ukraine and the Ukrainian cultural ambassadors’ activities.

The participants of the briefing include: Emine Dzhaparova – First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; Halyna Hryhorenko – Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine; Volodymyr Sheiko – Director General of the Ukrainian Institute; Jamala – Ukrainian singer, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

Accreditation is required

For reference: The Eurovision Song Contest kicks off in May. (Ukraine will be represented by “TVORCHI” band). Last year, Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest, however, due to the war unleashed by russia, this year’s competition will be held on behalf of Ukraine in the UK.

• culture
• Kyiv

On April 27, an exhibition of artists’ paintings on the remains of russian rockets that were used in the attack on Kyiv region will open in the capital. The exhibition is dedicated to the anniversary of the liberation of Kyiv region from russian occupation forces.

The opening of the exhibition will be attended by: Emine Dzhaparova, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; Lieutenant General Yevhen Moisiuk, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; Oleksandr Markushyn, Mayor of Irpin; artist Yosyp Bartosh.

Organizers of the exhibition: Hennadii Udovenko Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, Strategic Communication Office of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

In Irpin, the demolishing works began on the house, where one of the graffiti by world-famous street artist Banksy is painted. The image of the gymnast standing on the hole from a russian shell will be preserved. It is to be detached from the building.

For reference: There are seven works by Banksy in Kyiv region. On November 17, 2022, the artist confirmed the authorship of these works on his Instagram by publishing a video of how they were made and his trip to Ukraine.

• culture
• reconstruction
• Kyiv

On April 27, in Lviv, experts of the Heritage Emergency Response Initiative will present the results of their work. Experts spent over six months going on dozens of expeditions in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv, and Kharkiv regions to record the damage caused to Ukrainian cultural heritage as a result of the russian invasion. The collected information includes: photographs of damage, documentation carried out in accordance with the methodology of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, eyewitness accounts, aerial photography, 3D models, etc.

Detailed program of the conference is available at:  https://bit.ly/3N2HLZX 

Awareness raising events will be held in Kyiv —  with a focus on looted museums, and in Kharkiv —  with a focus on war crimes against cultural heritage.

For reference: in February, Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy, said that about 1,500 objects of cultural heritage and cultural infrastructure had been damaged or destroyed as a result of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

• culture
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Lviv