An independent online media SLUKH.MEDIA will be telling the international audience about Ukrainian music and culture.
The idea to create the English-language version of SLUKH.MEDIA was being discussed by the editorial staff during 2021. The full-scale war gave the final impulse,
“When it became clear that the attention of the world media was focused on Ukraine, especially on its culture, we decided that it was high time to implement our idea.
At first, we had been updating our site and preparing it. Concurrently, a journalist and cultural manager Anaid Agadjanova joined us and took on the operating work organization of the English-language editorial staff.
We hope that with this we could promote the popularization of Ukrainian culture and music, especially among the international audience. First, it is important that industry uses this site, and then others will follow,†Maksym Serdiuk, a co-founder and editor-in-chief of SLUKH.MEDIA.
“I have always been troubled with the fact that during 31 years of Ukrainian independence there has not appeared any English publication that would tell the foreign audience about Ukrainian culture with a focus on music. That is why, together with the SLUKH team, we decided to fix it at last,†Anaid Agadjanova, a coordinator of SLUKH.MEDIA English editorial staff.
On SLUKH.MEDIA, a foreign reader may become acquainted with current Ukrainian music and culture through regular news, selections and author publications. One may also read historical materials about Ukrainian music to understand the context of its development.
“It is important to highlight that we do not launch an English version with current SLUKH content translations, but the English-language edition. Together with Maksym Serdiuk, we have developed a separate editorial plan consisting of the materials created just for the foreign audience about current events and news about the country’s musical process, and it will also inform about our artists’ activities abroad,†Anaid Agadjanova, a coordinator of SLUKH.MEDIA English editorial staff.
“We understand that at the outset our resource should become ‘an entrance point’ and a primary source of information about Ukrainian music for the world, mostly work for specialized institutions, and we plan to build our reading audience with content about our artists that are already known to the world and are actively touring with concerts abroad now,†Maksym Serdiuk, a co-founder and editor-in-chief of SLUKH.MEDIA.
SLUKH.MEDIA was launched in May 2018 upon the initiative of the ticket service Concert.ua. Among the most significant SLUKH.MEDIA projects, there are a documentary series about the new Ukrainian culture SPALAKH (SPARK) and a festival of the same name that was held in August 2021. At present, the English editorial staff works on a volunteer basis.
Within the country, we managed to enlist informational support from the cultural institutions The Ukrainian Institute and Music Export Ukraine, and we hope that colleagues from other Ukrainian culture publishers and specialized organizations would join us along the way.
It is important for us to demonstrate joining artistic forces inside the country to the world at all levels and enlighten the art community’s involvement in global cultural diplomacy processes.
Concurrently, we are actively looking for grant opportunities and variants of collaboration with specialized European publishers to expand awareness of our resource in other countries and, in turn, acquaint Ukrainians with the modern music of other countries.
