Alarge-scale event for Ukrainian intellectual and artistic environment will take place in October in Lviv – Culture Congress “Transition 1989”. It will be dedicated to analysis of cultural experience of Ukraine and Europe for the last 30 years and developing of recommendations for Ukraine’s cultural sphere. The Congress will host approximately 200 prolific representatives of cultural sphere from Ukraine and foreign countries.
“Transition 1989” will launch a tradition of congress-biennale and will become a platform for systematic discussions, revisions and strategizing in cultural sphere. The event will consist of discussion and artistic programs.
The first Congress – “Transition 1989” – both chronologically and metaphorically traces back to 1989. It will have three theme blocks, within the framework of which discussions will take place: Walls. Measures. Intentions.
Participants of the Congress will try to define together, what and how changed on cultural situation of Ukraine after fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the USSR. How various phenomena and events of the past influenced cultural process and Ukrainian society in general (festival “Chervona Ruta”, activity of The Students’ Brotherhood, restoration of the Ukrainian state, etc.), as well as new events (increase of populism level, occupation of Ukraine’s territory, global information overload). Experience of Ukraine is important, but so is experience of Europe in general, because it is now facing with multiple of new challenges.
Each of three theme blocks has its own curator: Walls – Antin Borkovskyi, journalist, public activist; Measures – Zoriana Rybchynska, head of Cultural Studies Department of UCU Humanitarian Faculty, expert of CHOICE project; Intentions – Zenovii Mazuryk, lecturer of UCU of Cultural Studies Department, museologist, co-founder of “Association of Museums and Galleries”.
Triennial of modern art “Ukrainian Cross-Section” (Ukrainskyi Zriz) will become a separate component of the Congress. Works that will be shown in the exposition are artistic understanding of a “transition” situation, formal changing of Soviet traditions into patriotic clothes, lack of new senses. The triennial team consists of: curator – Vlodko Kaufman, performer, artist, graphic artist, curator and coordinator of a range of art-projects and festivals, co-founder of “Institute of Contemporary Art” (Lviv); co-curator – Serhii Petliuk, media artist, author and co-curator of many art projects in Ukraine and abroad; coordinator – Lidiia Savchenko-Duda, co-founder and art-coordinator of art projects of artistic gallery “Dzyga”, art-director of festival “Days of Performance Art in Lviv” (since 2011). It will be the fourth “Ukrainian Cross-Section” (previous events took place in Poland).
Coordinator of Congress “Transition 1989”, acting head of Institute of Culture Strategy Yuliia Khomchyn:
“The Congress will host around 200 representatives of cultural sphere from Ukraine and from abroad. They are artists, critics, managers in different spheres of culture, historians, culture experts, philosophers, diplomats, representatives of state, municipal, private cultural institutions, artistic organizations. We expect that because of up-to-date topics, involving of experts, periodicity the Congress will encourage changes of all Ukrainian cultural ecosystem. It is a possibility to contemplate about achievements and problems, develop new cultural policies together, launch projects. Other important aspect is popularization of topic of culture in the society.”
Organizers of the Culture Congress: NGO “Virmenska 35”, municipal institution “Cultural Strategy Institute”, Lviv City Council, the project is implemented with support of Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. Vision group of the Congress consists of: Andrii Dakhnii, Zenovii Mazuryk, Zoriana Rybchynska, Yurii Prohasko, Ostap Slyvynskyi, Oksana Forostyna, Viktoriia Sadova, Oksana Dashchakivska, Vlodko Kaufman, Bohdan Shumylovych, Antin Borkovskyi.
Follow the Congress’s news on official Facebook page of Culture Congress.
