The lecture programme «Ukrainian Art: Decolonizing Perspectives» explores Russia’s colonial policies towards Ukrainian culture and art, as well as the processes of their decolonization. The programme aims to help with understanding how imperial mechanisms shaped Ukrainian self-awareness, why cultural expansion was a key instrument of colonial control, and how contemporary cultural practitioners and institutions are rethinking the heritage in this context.
«Ukrainian Art: Decolonizing Perspectives» is a series of lectures running from mid-September to mid-November. Invited speakers include Kateryna Yakovlenko, Oksana Barshynova, Anastasiia Manuliak, Aliona Penzii, Alya Segal, Sviatoslav Chyruk and others.
The programme examines the colonial influence on several generations of Ukrainians from different angles of view, with particular attention to Dnipro and the eastern regions of Ukraine. Many of us grew up in an environment where Russian narratives dominated in education, in the media, and in the art. Today, we critically rethinking the contours and extent of this influence and learning to distinguish what is ours from what was imposed on us. This is not only a cultural process but also a personal one: a process of reclaiming an identity alienated by Moscow-centrism and russification.
Throughout the lectures, we will discuss complex issues in a simple and accessible way: why many Ukrainian artists were considered Russian, how mechanisms of assimilation operated, and what decolonization means in museums, cinema, and art history. We invite not only specialists but everyone who feels the need to better understand the historical processes of the appropriation of names, objects, and phenomena and wants to gain a deeper knowledge of the roots of Ukrainian culture.
Admission is free with registration.
Design: Olena Misiura.
The residency is part of the «Expanded Learning» program, implemented with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. All materials produced within the program reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the International Renaissance Foundation.
