Despite the blackouts, Lviv, Uzhgorod and Kyiv will show digital works by Ukrainian and international artists, which were presented at the first Biennale of Digital and Media Art Ubiennale. The events will be accompanied by a professional discussion panel in which artists and curators from Ukraine, Spain, Germany, France, Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic will take part.
Last year, the first Ubiennale featured more than 50 works by artists from 15 countries, including VR, AR, video art, kinetic, and NFT exhibits, some of which can be seen again:
- December 7-11 in Lviv, art center "Dzyga"
- December 14-18 in Uzhgorod, Uzhgorod National University
- December 21-25 in Kyiv, Kyiv History Museum
At the exhibitions, both the exhibits of last year's biennale and the new works of Ukrainian artists dedicated to the war will be presented.
“We are watching this war in real-time, which is unprecedented because never before has war been seen online. Ukrainian art, as an imprint of the times in which we live, actively reacts to events, concentrates on the theme of war and drawing attention to Ukraine. We also want to see answers to the awareness of what has already happened, the vision of the consequences of this war, the future of our state and a reminder of what we are fighting for, to form the program of the second Ubiennale, which will take place in 2023, from the works presented,†says Valery Korshunov, curator of the Ukrainian Biennale of Digital and Media Art.
Attention to Ukrainian art and culture will grow in the coming years and not only because of the war, but also because of the status of the country as a candidate for the EU, which we gained during it. And as new member of the big European family, we must integrate, tell about ourselves through our culture and art, listen to others and build our future relations at points of intersection - common values.
Yurii Leh, international curator of the Biennale:
"The reconstruction of modern Ukraine must focus especially on cities, architecture, art, culture, and measure the degree of psychological trauma caused by the unjustified invasion and war unleashed by Russia to establish a permanent sanitary border with this country through state institutions, municipalities, educational, cultural and artistic organizations, as well as other more interstitial actors of Ukrainian reality.
To this end, it is necessary to promote a radical transformation in the relations of dominance and subjugation, marked by Russian cultural propaganda, to cease to be considered part of the defunct pan-Slavism and to establish, in the short-term, inseparable ties with Europe and its high culture and geopolitics."
The project is financed from the Stabilization Fund for Culture and Education 2022 by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany and the Goethe-Institut.
