Photo: Pavlo Makov, “Fountain”

On October 28–29 the Ukrainian Institute in cooperation with the Ukrainian Pavillion at the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia will organise a series of events titled “Fallen Between the Cracks. Unknown Art Histories”. They are part of the interdisciplinary programme “Decolonising Art. Beyond the Obvious” which engages artists, curators, public intellectuals, and a wider audience.

The programme is curated by UI’s Creative Director Tetyana Filevska in cooperation with curators of the Ukrainian Pavilion Lizaveta German, Borys Filonenko, Maria Lanko. 

The opening discussion titled “How Russian War Against Ukraine Changed the [Art] World” was launched in April. The autumn programme arranged in four modules (four long weekends) is a continuation of the started discussion. The previous modules within the programme were:

• “How Do We Decolonise Art?” (September 2–4)
• “Art as a Weapon and as a Target” (October 8–9)

You can watch all lectures and discussions of these modules here.

The new module will deal with unknown histories which are numerous in the art world. For centuries, the history was written with a focus on the European context, the paradigm itself was formed in this part of the world. How many unknown stories remained behind the brackets, lost between the cracks, gone or destroyed? How should we look at these stories? Can we rewrite art history that is inclusive and accommodating all stories? Can we recover lost pages? 

A special event within the module is the Italian premiere of the documentary “The Melt Goes On Forever. The Art and Times of David Hammons” by Judd Tully and Harold Crooks. It is a striking portrait of a celebrated African-American artist David Hammons who has steadfastly remained an outlier in the art world but whose work offers an essential commentary on race in the US. The film chronicles his career from Watts rebellion era ’60s L.A. to global art world prominence today. The event will be held with participation of the acclaimed film writer Harold Crooks and executive producer Lisa Cortés from New York. The programme includes also a screening of the film “Facade Color: Blue” by Ukrainian director Oleksiy Radynskyi.

The detailed programme of the module (CEST time):

28 October

15:00-15:15 Introduction Tetyana Filevska, 

15:15-15:45 Keynote Olena Chervonik. Does Ukraine Have an Art History? Followed by Q&A

15:45-17:15 Opening discussion: Art History in Cracks, Blanks and Gaps. What Stories Are We Missing? Beatrice von Bormann, Olena Chervonik, Olha Zhuk, Fabio Cavalucci. Moderated by Tetyana Filevska 

18:00-20:00 Screening: film by Judd Tully and Harold Crooks. The Melt Goes On Forever: The Art and Times of David Hammons (101’). Followed by Q&A with Harold Crooks and Lisa Cortés

29 October

14:30-15:00 Screening:  film by Oleksiy Radynskyi. Facade Color: Blue (23’)

15:00-15:45 Keynote by Shaheen Merali. Shifting Paradigms: The role of political Black art and curation in de-canonisation and decolonisation of the art field since the late 1980s (Britain). Followed by Q&A

15:45-17:30 Discussion: Epistemic Justice in Art History. Shaheen Merali, Anastasiia Yevseyeva, Nadia Kaabi-Linke. Moderated by Tetyana Filevska

About participants:

• Shaheen Merali, (born in Tanzania) writer, curator, critic, and artist of Indian heritage based in London (UK)
• Olena Chervonik, art historian, curator, PhD candidate in art history at the University of Oxford (UK)
• Nadia Kaabi-Linke, artist, born in Tunisia, living and working either in Berlin or Kyiv
• Beatrice von Bormann, curator at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Netherlands)
• Fabio Cavalucci, contemporary art critic and curator (Italy)
• Olha Zhuk, Deputy Director of the Mystetskyi Arsenal (Ukraine)
• Anastasiia Yevseyeva, Head of the Visual art sector at the Ukrainian institute (Ukraine)
• Tetyana Filevska, Creative Director at the Ukrainian institute (Ukraine)
• Harold Crooks, film writer of the film “The Melt Goes On Forever” (USA)
• Lisa Cortés, executive producer of the film “The Melt Goes On Forever” (USA)

Location: Teatro Piccolo Arsenale 

CAMPO DELLA TANA, 2169/F 

30122 VENEZIA 

Programme will be streamed online on the Ukrainian Institute Facebook and Youtube pages. The film screening will be available only for visitors in Venice. 

If you are willing to attend the event in Venice in person or have the chance to ask questions online please kindly register here.

The fourth module within the programme titled “Histories Behind the Pavilion. Decoloniality and Biennials” will take place on 18–19 November 2022.