“Culture is definitely not outdated during the war”, Pascal Gielen, professor of sociology of culture and politics at the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts, tells me while we are talking in The Naked Room Gallery in the old town of Kyiv. He went to Ukraine to explore more about Ukrainian cultural actors who ended up surviving in the country that was invaded by Russia.
The gallery was launched in 2019 by independent Ukrainian art curators and researchers Liza German and Maria Lanko and Swiss filmmaker Mark Wilkins. Since then, it became one of the best art places in the town, and its artists are well-known across the world. The Russian invasion in 2022 forced the co-founders to flee their hometown, but the gallery remained open – and started collecting war time art of the Ukrainian prominent artists.
“Culture plays a fundamental role in redesigning the nation, the country, and in filling in the gap after decolonization”, - continues Pascal Gielen. Right behind him, on the wall, there is a fresh new watercolor drawing of Kyiv artist David Chichkan where he depicted his friends in military uniform – they enlisted to the army when Russia invaded Ukraine. You can find many drawings and objects that reflect the war in Ukraine. Sometimes it is called “cultural front”, but for artists, it is more about trying to redefine their own voice in times of war, and to be kind of useful.
Painting of David Chicken, The Naked Room, Kyiv, 2023. Photo: Katerina Sergatskova.
Before the full-scale invasion, people in Ukraine usually went to museums during weekends, but since Russia target not only military objects or civilian infrastructure but historical and cultural monuments as well, museums decided to close their doors. You may remember the photos of sculptures on the streets, warped in sand bags, in order to save cultural heritage from bombings.
Citizens can’t go to museums anymore but there are lots of different things around to attend. For instance, now, paradoxically, you can find yourself at a stand-up show more often than you could before the invasion. There are several comedy concerts per week in Kyiv and Lviv.
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