Russian war will not stop Ukrainian culture: EU-supported Cultural Mosaic Art Open Air in Kyiv

On 8 July 2023, the Lavra Art Gallery hosted the Cultural Mosaic Art Open Air with the support of the EU. This was a key public event of the European Union’s communication campaign ‘Together, We Create. Together, We Preserve’, which has been running since March 2023, informing Ukrainians about the European Union’s support for Ukrainian culture and art during the full-scale war.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, 1,582 cultural infrastructure facilities (excluding cultural heritage sites) have been damaged, destroyed and looted since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, and this figure is far from final. The war has forced many Ukrainian artists to seek opportunities to continue their work abroad or to defend their homeland with weapons in hand, risking their lives and health. To help Ukrainians to protect and preserve their priceless cultural heritage, the EU has mobilised some €15 million over the past two years. The Cultural Mosaic presented at the plein air in Kyiv was therefore only a sample of the projects and initiatives supported by the European Union. There are dozens of them across Ukraine.

Ambassador Matti Maasikas, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, and Tetiana Mironova, Director of the Lavra Art Gallery, attended the opening ceremony and awarding of the art competition winners.

“Culture in its material embodiment is very vulnerable – it can easily be shot, burned, flooded, stolen. We’re talking about the Maria Pryimachenko Museum, the Skovoroda estate, museums, churches, and the damaged Lviv Polytechnic. We are talking about the murdered artists – from Vasyl Slipak, to Victoria Amelina, and Viktor Vakulenko. Russia is not only trying to destroy Ukraine physically – it targets its identity and history. But this will not happen. Ukrainian artists today are fighting for independence, protecting their heritage, creating contemporary culture, presenting it to the world – and the world already clearly identifies what ‘Ukrainian’ means. The EU supports and will continue to support Ukrainian culture, because it is our common European value,” said Ambassador Matti Maasikas.

Guests of the art plein air learned about the opportunities available for art projects and cultural figures in Ukraine, and how Ukrainian wartime culture is alive and changing thanks to the European Union’s support for Ukrainian culture during the war.

The exhibition of the award winners of the art competition showed how the perception of war has changed and how each artist has reinterpreted it according to their life experiences. More than 50 artists participated in the competition, and 7 won.

The ALIPH Foundation photo exhibition presented the results of the joint efforts of Ukrainian cultural figures, with the support of the EU, to preserve the cultural heritage of Ukraine. First presented at the Paris Peace Forum (20–22 November) and then in Brussels, the exhibition received a great response. ALIPH is a unique international initiative for protecting and promoting culture in conflict zones, and the European Union is one of its donors. From March 2022 to June 2023, ALIPH supported 310 cultural organisations in Ukraine with EU funding.

The Cultural Mosaic showcased a wide panorama of Ukrainian culture, preserving and creating in times of war: from painting and photography, to documentary films, theatre, and crafts. Every area presented had projects supported by the European Union.

The Creative Space became a territory of co-creation – it taught the basics of handicrafts, the secrets of restoration and postcard making, weaving and knitting dolls, making paper dolls, and weaving jewellery. The themes of the workshops overlapped with EU-funded projects, and project participants ran some of them. For example, the masterclasses on ‘Secrets of Restoration’, organised by the Hryhorii Halahan Chernihiv Regional Art Museum, ‘Knitted Doll and Folk Toy’ by Natalia Svyrydiuk, founder of the OTOLOVKO Creative Hub (Poltava), and on the potter’s wheel in ‘Magic Ceramics’, held by Honoured Masters of Folk Art of Ukraine Ivan Reshta and Danylo Reshta (Yurii Bukhanchuk Museum of Fine Arts, Kmytiv, Zhytomyr region). Dukh i Litera Publishing House and children’s book illustrator Liliia Martyniuk presented Ukrainian printmaking.

In the Cinema Hall, the audience watched contemporary documentaries produced or coproduced by Ukraine, such as ‘Wounded Land‘ and ‘A House Made of Splinters’. They had the opportunity to talk to the filmmakers and get involved in discussions. The first public screening of ‘Culture in Time of War. The West’ – one of the four films produced by UkraЇner with EU support as part of the ‘Together, We Create. Together, We Preserve’ campaign – took place there.

The Space of Opportunities presented EU programmes supporting Ukrainian culture, experiences of cooperation between Ukrainian cultural actors and European programmes, and EU education projects. Of particular interest were the case studies of grant-funded projects implemented, which showed the living practice of work and development in times of war.

A separate area informed visitors about the European Union’s comprehensive and consistent support to Ukraine during the war – guests learned many new facts and information about support programmes. These programmes have helped to secure, evacuate and preserve museum collections and unique cultural heritage, speed up the digitisation of exhibits and architectural monuments at risk of destruction or theft due to Russia’s large-scale war, and support artists.

On the Theatre Lawn, adults and children watched performances by the Ravlyk Puppet Theatre, and took improvisation and acting lessons run by the Na Varti Playback Theatre. In the Kids’ Corner, children drew, danced and created an art wall.

As in previous public events supported by the EU, everyone sent a postcard to the defenders of Ukraine.

To learn more about the communication campaign ‘Together, We Create. Together, We Preserve’, please visit our website.

The electronic version of the media kit can be downloaded here.

Contact person:

Tetiana Voronina, media expert,
EU project ‘Communicating the European Union for Ukrainians’ (CEU4U), implemented by Ecorys,
email: tvoronina9@gmail.com,
phone: +38 067 501 11 8