Participants: Katarina Tracz, Vakhtang Kebuladze, Yulia Yurchuk,Torbjörn Becker

Moderator: Lisa Bjurwald

The 24th February of 2022 has become the point of no return to the geopolitical world order that existed untouched for many decades since the Second World War. Brutality of the war crimes and hatred conducted by Russia only strengthened the rupture between the past and the future. The future is being built on our eyes. Ukraine is at the heart of these processes. The bifurcation point redefines both the past and the future. What is this war about? How does it change us and what may follow next? The aim of this panel is to reflect on the experience the world is going through and on the meanings that Ukraine's victory will bring to the world.

Artist Anton Logov works with painting, performance, video art, and installation.

Last year he won the Objects Art Prize for young artists.

He was born in the Odesa Region and graduated from M. Grekova Odesa Art School.and the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture. Logov is an active participant in exhibitions in Ukraine and abroad. When the war started on February 24, 2022  he was in Kyiv with his family.

His artworks reflect reality: horrors of the war, fears, and faith in victory.

Anton Logov

Ukrainian artist, in 2020, he won the OBJECTS art prize competition for young artists
Works with painting, graphics, sculpture. video art and installation

Participants: Andriy Lyubka

Moderator: Alina Zubkovych

Alina Zubkovych leads a meeting with Ukrainian writer Andriy Lyubka. They will talk about Andriy’s experience of war, his creativity during the last year, about Ukraine and Ukrainian culture. Conversation Language:  Ukrainian.

Participants: Alfons Karabuda, Alyona Dmukhovska, Gordiy Starukh,

Anastasiya Voytyuk, Susanna Ryden                                  

Moderator: Sofia Nyblom

Whether it’s to speak out against injustices, raise awareness, motivate or soothe, music has, over the years, provided an invaluable outlet. 

After the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine, the whole world was able to observe the resistance of Ukrainians. Civil resistance is now active on all fronts, so art and culture cannot stand aside either. These days, the musical front reacts instantly, creating many concerts and performances, which help to raise funds for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, better familiarize the domestic and international public with Ukrainian composers and music history, and, crucially, support the fighting spirit of Ukrainians. In this panel we will talk about how professional musicians support the cultural front. We will learn more about the richness of Ukrainian music and the Ukrainian artists, who remain active no matter what.

At the beginning of the panel discussion The Untold Story of “Carol of the Bells” • Ukrainer in English is screened. From a folk song to the global Christmas hit, the Ukrainian carol “Shchedryk” soared to fame like a swallow. The melody of “Carol of the Bells”, which became an essential part of the Christmas season in the USA and worldwide, was first introduced to the North American audience 100 years ago. On the 5th of October 1922, the Ukrainian Republican Choir led by Oleksandr Koshyts performed the song at one of the main venues in North America – Carnegie Hall.

Musicians: Lyubomyr Rudenko, bandura; Olga Kovalenko, domra; Iana Kovalova, vocal; Anastasiya Voytyuk, bandura

The instrument was first noted in a 6th century Greek chronicle in a reference to warriors from Ukrainian territories who played lute-like instruments.

Because its development closely reflects the history of the Ukrainian nation, the bandura is more than a national musical instrument: It is the voice of Ukraine. From a musical perspective, the bandura unifies acoustic principles of both the lute and the harp. This produces a sound that is emphatic and gentle, resembling that of a harpsichord, but with a wider range of dynamics and tonal control.

Domra is a rare 4-string  Ukrainian folk instrument, belonging to the group of plucked stringed instruments

Participants: Alyona Savranenko (Alyona Alyona), Oleksandra Zaritska (Kazka), Gordiy Starukh        

Moderator: Mansour Hosseini

We are inviting to an open conversation with the Ukrainian musicians about the role of culture in and after wartime and their personal experiences during since 2014 and February 24, 2022. Ukrainian artists are fighting today at the frontline, volunteering and are creating artworks that give support, faith and hope to their countrymen and make them heard around the world. 

We are talking unconditionally about the situation where the Ukrainian musicians and their audiences are today.

Participants: Maksym Bulgakov, Susanna Dahlberg, Serhii Dorofieiev,

Amer Hlehel, Maksym Holenko

Moderator: Josette Bushell-Mingo

The theater landscape of Ukraine is multifaceted. The traditional theaters exist alongside new formats and meanings. There were more than 400 private and public theaters in Ukraine before February 24, 2022. With the beginning of a full-scale war, these art institutions in Ukraine have transformed the way they work. They strive to contribute to victory in multiple ways: providing the military and civilians with essential supplies, organizing shelters for internally displaced people, helping colleagues from other cities or working as bomb shelters. Alongside volunteering, some theaters, especially in relatively safe regions, are redesigning their performances to raise the fighting spirit of Ukrainians and collect funds for the army or affected civilians. 

The tragic year of the war saw however also an unprecedented international breakthrough of Ukrainian theaters, evidenced by tours, participation in numerous festivals, and even awards.

This panel will discuss the dramatic journey of Ukrainian theaters during the war, from bombardement to international recognition. We will explore how theaters can reinvent themselves under the direst of circumstances.

Participants: Özz Nujen, Svitlana Nemonezhyna, Daria Antsybor, Vasyl Baydak

Moderator: Alina Zubkovych

Laughter during the war is not just important, but essential!

Humour is the weapon of unarmed people: it helps people who are oppressed to smile at the situation that pains them, Simon Wiesenthal, Holocaust survivor, born in Buchach, Ukraine.

Laughter during the war is not just important, but essential.Humor is the weapon of unarmed people: it helps people who are oppressed to smile at the situation that pains them”, said Simon Wiesenthal, a Ukraine-born Holocaust survivor. Despite the horrors, there is always a place for humor in the life of Ukrainians. Ukraine has often turned to comedy as a means of fighting Russian propaganda, sharing memes that discredit or ridicule false information or narratives spread by the Kremlin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with the Atlantic said Putin fears humor "very much" because it's an effective, accessible tool for spreading truth. Ukrainians have also turned to humor as a means of coping with the hardships that come with fighting and living through a war. 

After February 24, 2022 the Ukrainian stand-up came out to the fore. Stand-up comedians, including Vasyl Baydak and Svitlana Nemonizhyna, switched to Ukrainian language without hesitation. The popularity of stand-up in Ukraine is growing rapidly and its audience is expanding. The stand-up comedians perform  near the front lines, volunteer and support the fighting spirit of Ukrainians as well as mobilize support from abroad.

In this panel discussion we will explore the role of humor and learn how and about what Ukrainians manage to laugh in the face of the war.

Participants: Amanda Lind, Oleksandr Tkachenko , Susanna  Pettersson,Vakhtang Kebuladze, Susanne Thedéen, Anastasiia Cherednychenko   

Moderator: Stefan Yngvarsson

Anastasiia Cherednychenko

Ph.D. Historian. Chair of the ICOM Ukraine.