Cultural bridges: support of cultural figures of the Southern regions of Ukraine
Funding: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) “Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative” (UCBI)
Partners: Asortymentna kimnata, post impreza, Antonin Artaud Fellowrship, Opera aperta
Duration: September 2023 – January 2024
Budget: 787 232,00 UAH
Contact: office@insha-osvita.org
Dialogue and reflection on individual experiences allow us to consolidate and strengthen local communities. Insha Osvita initiated a project to support cultural and artistic figures in the southern regions to foster support, solidarity, and a collaborative search for more relevant, reality-oriented, and diverse narratives about the southern regions.
The project will involve:
- Visual and performing artists from the southern regions: who live there or come from there and want to join the process of reflection.
- Visual artists from Ivano-Frankivsk.
- Cultural journalists from all over Ukraine.
The project has three main areas:
Support for artists from the performing arts sector: Antonin Artaud Fellowship for the Southern regions. The Antonin Artaud Fellowship team conducted a workshop for 16 participants — performers from Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions to conceptualize ideas in their works. The participants were supported by mentors: Veronika Sklyarova, Yevhen Bal, and Anna Vinogradova. As a result of the workshop, 6 works in progress were selected and presented in Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson.
Residencies for visual artists and exhibitions in Odesa and Ivano-Frankivsk curated by Asortymentna kimnata. Artists from Mykolaiv, Kherson, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia regions embarked on a retreat residency at Khata-Maysternia in Ivano-Frankivsk region from November 22 to 30. The residency provided a space for self-reflection, slowing down, and rejuvenation for female and male artists. They interacted with colleagues, some worked if desired, while others took breaks to recharge. The program included reflecting on their artistic practice and its “planning” for the future, as much as possible. Anna Potiomkina curated the residency.
Meanwhile, a group of artists from Ivano-Frankivsk region went on a three-day educational trip to Odesa. There, they met with local colleagues and institutions, visited the exhibition “Visual History of Mykolaiv” by the MYPH photography school, and met the team of the MY ART platform in Mykolaiv.
As part of the project, in December 2023, an exhibition about the south titled “What Does Water Dream About?” curated by Alona Karavai took place at the Asortymentna kimnata. It featured paintings, video art, graphics, and watercolors from artists of various styles and generations. In January-February 2024, a retrospective exhibition of female video art from Ivano-Frankivsk curated by Anna Potiomkina and Ksenia Pohrebennyk was held at the Odesa Fine Arts Museum.
Storytelling about culture and cultural actors from the south, curated by post impreza. 10 journalists from all over Ukraine went on an educational trip to Odesa and Mykolaiv to delve into the context and get acquainted with local cultural figures. As a result of the trip, they published 5 materials about the cultural life of the south and cultural migration between the western and southern regions of Ukraine.
“Cultural bridges: support of cultural figures of the Southern regions of Ukraine” is the project implemented by Insha Osvita with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) “Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative” (UCBI). In partnership with Asortymentna kimnata, post impreza, Antonin Artaud Fellowship, Opera aperta.
