How to Understand Ukrainian Society through the Lens of Art and Culture

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many Ukrainian creators have expressed their strong wish to be a part of and to strengthen the Ukrainian resistance through the means available to them. Some decided to join the armed forces directly right at the beginning of the invasion, while others reacted with multiple civilian responses. Those were direct actions as in the case of the PEN-Ukraine permanent humanitarian and solidarity trips to frontline arias or collecting of testimony of the violence as writer Victoria Amelina did before she was killed on one of such missions. But those were/are also purely artistic acts such as the one by artist Alevtina Kakhidze who stayed in Kyiv suburb during the siege of Kyiv or Mystetkyi Arsenal's curator Natasha Chichasova who initiated an archive of artistic reflections on the war while in evacuation from Kyiv. There are/were also blurred practices such as the continuous artwork by artist Zhanna Kadyrova who produces sculptures called Palianytsia (Bread Loaf) out of Carpathian river stones and sells them to galleries and collections exclusively to raise money for the Ukrainian armed forces, which is a part of the artistic process itself. Ukrainian creators and institutions also express a strong belief that they can serve as a voice for Ukrainian society on the international stage, and that has shaped their activities through 2022 and 2023.

 

 

Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta is the Director General of National Art and Culture Museum Complex “Mystetskyi Arsenal” (Art Arsenal), as well as the Board member of the Warm City platform for civic initiatives (Ivano-Frankivsk) and the CEDOS think tank (Kyiv). Until recently, she was the Board member of the Ukrainian Institute and the East Europe Foundation, as well as the head of the Program Board, Social Capital program, at the International Renaissance Foundation. She was the Head of analytics at pro.mova consulting company and a founding member of Culture2025 independent platform for development of a national strategy for culture. During 2014 Ms. Ostrovska-Liuta served as the First Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine. As the Deputy Minister, she supported participative development of the national strategy for culture and development of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. She also advocated autonomy for the institutions of culture and equal rights for state owned and civil society institutions of culture. During her career she was the First Deputy to the Head of the National Committee for UNESCO and a member of Ukraine-Poland Presidential Advisory Committee. She was also a member of several professional bodies. Among them: the Board of the Center for Contemporary Art Foundation, jury of Kazimir Malevich Art Prize founded by the Polish Institute in Ukraine, jury at Molodist International Film Festival, boards of the I3 grant program and the Dynamic Museum project at the Foundation for Development of Ukraine.

 

Ms. Ostrovska-Liuta served as the Program Director for culture of the Foundation for Development of Ukraine between 2008 and 2014. She also works as a curator of contemporary art and writes on the issues of culture and policy for Ukrainian and foreign outlets. Among her recent curated projects is The Heart of Earth exhibition at Mystetskyi Arsenal, Kyiv, November 2022-February 2023 https://artarsenal.in.ua/en/vystavka/heart-of-earth/

Ostrovska-Liuta has an MA in Cultural Studies from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. She is fluent in English, Polish and Russian, and Ukrainian as her native language.