War at the center of the Ukraine Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Here's what it will look like

It will be titled Net Making , the exhibition that the Ukrainian Pavilion will present at the 60th Venice Biennale.It was not easy to curate the participation in the Biennale, for the second time since Russia invaded the country in 2022, but in the end curators and artists succeeded in their work, so from April 20 to November 24, 2024, Ukraine will have a regular presence at the world’s leading contemporary art exhibition. Details of the project were presented on January 25 at a press conference in Kyiv, attended by Culture Minister Rostyslav Karandeev and the pavilion’s commissioner, Taras Shevchenko, deputy minister for European integration.

“One of the best ways to communicate,” Minister Karandeev said during the press conference, “is through art. We can convey much more through exhibitions and festivals than through traditional communications, even those accompanied by economic and military language. The emotion that accompanies a cultural action is more powerful than the language of numbers. We really want the pavilion to become lively, to bring together many people, thoughts, discussions, music, so that for every visitor to the Venice Biennale it becomes a rule to visit our pavilion and learn about modern Ukrainian art, with the narratives we bring to the world.” The theme of the Ukrainian pavilion will be closely connected to that of the Biennale curated by Adriano Pedrosa and titled Strangers Everywhere, which touches on the issues of otherness and the coexistence of diversity, which are fundamental to all societies in the world. “The theme of this year’s Biennale,” said Shevchenko, “is closely intertwined with the narratives of our modernity, both Ukrainian and European. Many of our fellow citizens have moved to live in other countries. We hope temporarily, but we understand that not everyone will return. At the same time, many foreigners have come to Ukraine to help, volunteer and fight at the front. Therefore, these meanings are very close to us.” He also emphasized that with a large-scale invasion like the one Ukraine is undergoing, the world’s attention will be focused on the country, and the next edition of the Venice Biennale will be an opportunity to promote Ukrainian art to the world.

.

What will the Pavilion of Ukraine look like? Net Making exhibition curators Viktoria Bavykina and Maksym Horbatskyi said they focused not only on differences, but also on joint actions. “After all, during the war, everyone has their own experience, which makes us different.” At the same time, “unity is the common thread of our pavilion,” Bavykina added. “Each of our projects communicates very complex experiences, which are difficult to understand for those who have not lived through these experiences. These experiences can make us different.” The Net Making project will reflect the theme of diversity and “foreigners everywhere” through the metaphor of weaving a web (hence the title of the exhibition), which symbolizes joint action and empowerment. The metaphor of the weaving of networks allows for a focus on issues such as self-management, horizontal action and joint work as central factors in the resilience of modern Ukrainian society, while at the same time it is the commonality and unification of various experiences of otherness that makes society stronger.

Three artworks have been involved in the project, which will show the audience various shared experiences, ways of living these experiences, and the possibilities of their communication. The first work is a video, Tsyvilʹni. Vtorhnennya (“Civilians. Invasion”) by Andriy Rachynskyi and Daniyl Revkovskyi, and consists of photos and videos from the archives of the civilian population, which the artists found in small groups and chats.

Katya Buchatska will present a series of works entitled Shchyri vitannya (“Sincere Greetings”), performed in collaboration with 15 other artists. The project aims to demonstrate how the usual greetings and good wishes change or return to their original meaning due to war. In fact, explaining the concept of her work, Buchatska said that after the beginning of the invasion it became difficult to wish happiness and health to a person in an air raid shelter, and the wish for a peaceful night is now perceived differently. According to the artist herself, the “Sincere Greetings” series of works is an important event for Ukraine, and she hopes that the 15 artists involved in the project can be present in Venice.

Finally, Liya and Andryi Dostlevy together created a work entitled Comfort Work, with which they intend to ironically explore stereotypes about Ukrainian refugee labor in Europe. The two artists have created a space in which these stereotypes can be demonstrated by those who invented them. This is a work in which Ukrainian communities from different parts of Europe participated, and they contributed to the implementation of the concept by formulating ideas. The play’s clichés were then performed by local professional actors.

The three works will be seen in an architectural backdrop created by Oleksandr Burlaka and called Robota (“Work”). Burlaka’s architecture will use traditional home textile production practices characteristic of Ukrainian culture, while creating a backdrop for personal experiences and reflection on recent events. “Combining different experiences of otherness,” Horbatskyi concluded, “helps these experiences reinforce each other. Although they all function within the logic of cultural works, in reality these four works are manifestations of reality, which in itself is eloquent.”

The Ukrainian Pavilion has also had problems with regard to funding, particularly the lack of support from the Ministry of Culture, and although space in the Arsenal was provided free of charge to Ukrainian artists by the organizers, most of the work on the project has remained unfunded, which is why the artists have had to cope by seeking income from outside, relying only on private support from partners and sponsors. Moreover, much of the time artists and curators were diverted from their work to improvise as fund raisers. “A presentation on an international platform of this level,” the curators pointed out, “is an opportunity to remind the world community of the Russian war in Ukraine, whose attention today has shifted to the more media-driven armed conflicts. At this time, in the conditions of waning interest in Ukraine by foreigners, we should not miss the opportunity to make our voices heard by those whose support in the world is very important to us.” Commissioner Shevchenko assured, however, that allocations for the Ukraine Pavilion are already ready in the state budget for 2024, but awaiting approval, and explained how the ministry still provides only partial financial support for the creation and implementation of the project, and that the winners get have always worked, even in the past, with additional funds. The first tranche however is expected to arrive in March. And by all means, the Ukraine Pavilion is ready to go.

War at the center of the Ukraine Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Here's what it will look like

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.