Public discussion «Who is dancing?»
19 July 2019, Friday, at 19:00
MetaCulture (Kyiv, 31 Nyzhnyoyurkivska street)

Kyiv’s music scene, despite its popularity abroad, remains in an uncertain position here in Ukraine. Attacks on ravers and LGBTQIs by far-right extremists, lack of adequate drug policies, precariousness of cultural activists and overall conservative public consensus destroy possibilities for asserting freedom of speech, inclusion and social diversity.

On the other hand, Berlin’s Love Parade-era drive was absorbed by reality of capitalism; the emancipative potential of the electronic music scene was used to create just another tourist artifact.

The acute shortage of political alternatives requires joint efforts of all stakeholders. Discussants will offer their critique of night culture and will also try to articulate its possible socio-political dimensions.

Participants: Lou Drago (Cashmere Radio), Lukas Grundmann (Cashmere Radio), Maya Baklanova (Tight Magazine, Схеmа), Yustyna Kravchuk (Visual Culture Research Center), moderator – Nazarii Sovsun (Visual Culture Research Center).

The event will be held in English.

Music event
20 July 2019, Saturday, at 19:00
20ft Radio (Kyiv, 31 Nyzhnyoyurkivska street)

(UA)
Acid Jordan b2b Tofudj
Diser Tape
NFNR
Sasha Very
YV

(GER)
Elissa Suckdog
Lou Drago
Lukas Grundmann
Mari Matsutoya
Ross Alexander
Wilted Woman (DJ Puddle)

Admission to all events will be free of charge.

“Nachtkultur / Нічна культура” is the residency of electronic music, which will be held from July 16 to July 28, 2019 in Kyiv based on the Audiodrag studio. It aims to foster intercultural dialogue and engage young people in social action. The residency is a “MEET UP! Pitching winner».

Organized by Cashmere Radio (Berlin, Germany) and Visual Culture Research Center (Kyiv, Ukriane)
Team: Lukas Grundmann, Artem Illin, Kateryna Nikolenko, Nazarii Sovsun

Partners: Audiodrag, MetaCulture, 20ft Radio.

Supported by German Federal Foreign Office and Robert Bosch Stiftung.

The project is implemented within the framework of the „MEET UP! Deutsch-ukrainische Jugendbegegnungen“ program.

The School of Kyiv – Kyiv Biennial 2015 presents a new format of an art biennial integrating exhibitions and arenas of public reflection. Works of more than 100 international and Ukrainian artists will be shown in an open display structure, including six Schools, where artists and intellectuals from around the world will meet and work with the public in collaborative forums. Departing from the current situation in Ukraine, the “The School of Kyiv” will be addressing burning issues relevant for the citizens of Ukraine, Europe and beyond as well as imagining egalitarian and alternative futures; and the counter-propositions of art.

The School of Kyiv is an independent project curated by Hedwig Saxenhuber and Georg Schöllhammer, and conceived and organized together with the Visual Culture Research Center (Kyiv).

Departments of “The School of Kyiv” will open in a series of institutions across Europe as an integral part of the project.

A premiere screening of Artur Żmijewski’s November 11  film series on Friday, December 28th, 19.30 at Visual Culture Research Center (Zhovten Cinema, “Classic” hall, 26, Kostyantynivska St.).

Every year Artur Żmijewski films street manifestations in Warsaw on Independence Day, the 11th of November. In recent years this celebration in Warsaw was marked by radical right marches leading to mass riots, clashes with the police, hate campaigns in the media, as well as big anti-fascist counter-actions. In his series of films, Żmijewski traces the evolution of the street confrontation for the last four years: radical nationalists’ march in 2009; attempts of blocking the far right march in 2010 and 2011; many thousand strong March of Independence on November 11, 2012 ending up with the foundation of the radical right “National Movement”, which defined its goal as to “overthrow the republic” in Poland.

November 11 series of films makes an ending to Artur Żmijewski’s long-term project Democracies exposed at the exhibition of the same name in Kyiv at the VCRC in October 2012. Democracies project consists of nearly 30 nonfiction films documenting political events and actions all around the globe. In December 2012 Żmijewski announced the end of his work on the project.

Artur Żmijewski – director, curator, writer. He participated in 51. Venice Biennale (2005), Manifesta (2004) and Documenta (2007). In 2012, he curated the 7. Berlin Biennale. In his films Zmijewski studies the current social antagonisms, problems of political representation and collective imaginaries. Zmijewski is an artistic editor of Political Critique magazine.

Program of screening:

National Radical Camp March (2009)

The Ghosts March (2010)

The Rainbow Independent (2011)

Independence March (2012)

28.12.2012, 19.30, Zhovten Cinema, “Classic” hall, 26, Kostyantynivska St.

This screening takes place within Culture of Transformation project, supported by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland.

Project partners:

Zhovten Cinema, Polish Institute in Kyiv

Media partners:

ARTUkraine, Korydor, TeleKrytyka, VideoTeKa

On November 28 – 30, 2012 the Days of Political Critique will take place in Kharkiv. Political Critique is a magazine, which is being published by the intellectual community of Visual Culture Research Center (Kyiv). The programme of events includes: presentation of the fourth issue of Political Critique, play reading of Rainbow Sector by Paweł Demirski, lecture by the theatre critic Igor Stokfiszewski on How Theatre Changes Reality?, and a discussion: Love and Hatred for the Other.

On November 28^th, at 19:00, presentation of Political Critique magazine will take place at Yermilov Centre (4, Svoboda Square). Participants: Lesya Kulchynska, Mykola Ridnyi, Nazariy Sovsun, Igor Stokfiszewski, Serhiy Zhadan.

The newest issue of Political Critique is about art as a tool for struggle, social critique and political statement. This issue contains chapters dedicated to the analysis of the Pussy Riot affair, and talks with politically engaged artists conducted by the artistic editor of the magazine Artur Zmijewski. Ukrainian translation of the play Rainbow Sector by Paweł Demirski, as well as a special project – artworks by Ukrainian and Polish artists inspired by the Euro-2012 football championship are also included in Political Critique #4. Some of the authors of the issue: Yevhenia Belorusets, Vasyl Cherepanyn, Keti Chukhrov, Mykyta Kadan, Zhanna Kadyrova, Tomasz Piatek, Oleksiy Radynski, Mykola Ridnyi, Oleksandr Volodarsky, Serhiy Zhadan, Artur Żmijewski.

On November 29^th, at 19:00 Paweł Demirski’s Rainbow Sector play reading will take place at the theatre-studio Arabesky (25/5, Hromadyanska Street).

The play Rainbow Sector is the result of a massive mystification prepared by the radical Polish dramatist Pawel Demirski before the Euro-2012 championship. He started a media campaign on behalf of an anonymous group of Polish homosexual football fans for making a special stadium section for the homosexually oriented football fans. This issue had huge feedback in Polish society, becoming the material for the play Rainbow Sector, which appears to be extremely relevant in today’s Ukrainian situation, taking into account the present legislative attacks on the rights of sexual minorities.

After the play reading Igor Stokfiszewski will present his statement on How Theatre Changes Reality?,  and a debate moderated by Zurab Alasania will be open.

On November 30^th, at 17:30 the discussion on Love and Hatred for the Other will take place at Kharkov City Gallery (15, Chernyshevska Street) with Kateryna Mishchenko (Prostory magazine), Anastasia Riabchuk (Commons magazine), and Nazariy Sovsun (Political Critique magazine). The editors of three Ukrainian intellectual periodicals will talk about the possibility of turning the intolerance into solidarity in the political, social, and cultural fields.

The events take place within the framework of Culture of Transformation project, co-organized by Visual Culture Research Center and Political Critique magazine, supported by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland.

Project partners: Polish Institute in Kyiv, Zhovten Cinema.
Media partners: Art Ukraine, Korydor, Telekrytyka, VideoTeka.

Lecture by Denys Pilash

November 15th, 2012, Thursday, 18:00

These days the student movement is rising all over the world. But far not in every country has it reached such a scale as in Chile and Canadian province Quebec, where it has become one of the main factors of social life. What was the reason for student protest activities? What did they manage to achieve, and what still has not changed? What can Ukrainian libertarian student movement learn from these events? And, finally, who is cooler – Camila Vallejo, or Anarchopanda?

Denys Pilash – PhD student at National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv, “Direct Action” and “Left Opposition” activist.

Within the framework of Education Week and Global Education Strike

6 listopada, wtorek, 19:00, Krytyka Polityczna, ul. Foksal 16, p. II, Warszawa

W wyborach parlamentarnych na Ukrainie, które odbyły się 28 października, zwyciężyła, a do tego umocniła swoją pozycję, rządząca Partia Regionów. Także bardzo dobre rezultaty zanotowały uważana za skończoną Komunistyczna Partia Ukrainy i jedno z nowych oblicz opozycji – nacjonalistyczna „Swoboda”. Razem te partie zebrały niemal 25 procent głosów ukraińskich wyborców. Trzecią partią, która wdarła się na scenę polityczną jest Ukraiński Demokratyczny Alians na rzecz Reform znanego boksera Witalija Kliczki. To o tej partii najwięcej mówiono w kategoriach „europejskiej normalności”. Jednak, czy „UDAR” nie okaże się kolejną płonną nadzieją wierzących w unijną przyszłość Ukrainy? Co mówią wyniki nacjonalistów i komunistów o ukraińskim społeczeństwie i jak na nie wpłyną?

Na te pytania postarają się odpowiedzieć zaproszeni goście: Piotr Andrusieczko (Ukrajinśkyj Żurnał), Bogumiła Berdychowska (Forum Polsko-Ukraińskie), Wasyl Czerepanyn (Centrum Badań nad Kulturą Wizualną w Kijowie, Krytyka Polityczna), Ołeksij Radynski (Centrum Badań nad Kulturą Wizualną w Kijowie, Krytyka Polityczna). Spotkanie moderować będzie Paweł Pieniążek (Krytyka Polityczna).

Political mathematics class book

Presentation of Problem Book, made by architects, sociologists and artists

On Sunday, November 4^th, at 17:00, presentation of an interdisciplinary publication Problem Book will be held at Visual Culture Research Center (26, Kostyantynivska St., Zhovten Cinema). The authors propose us to have a different view on mathematics, and show its connection with social processes. The authors of the book, artist Anastasia Ryabova and architect Oleksandr Burlaka, together with Independent Student Union Direct Action activist Roksolana Mashkova, will participate in the presentation, moderated by sociologist Anastasia Riabchuk.

According to its authors, Problem Book helps to display the social and political contradictions around us. The story base for these mathematical tasks is in social, political and economic problems of contemporary cities. A text by the theorist Tzuchien Tho “The Difficult Truth about Mathematics”, devoted to the philosophical problem of political mathematics and its emancipatory potential, is also published in the book. The Problem Book project is aimed for experimental work with the book at social studies school classes.

Architects, sociologists and artists were involved in creating the Problem Book: Ivan Brazhkin, Oleksandr Burlaka, Dmytro Vorobyov, Anastasiya Ryabova, Maksym Spivakov, Tzuchien Tho, Vladyslav Shapovalov. The book was published within The Way of Enthusiasts exhibition (parallel project of the 13^th International Architecture Biennale in Venice).

The Problem Book is available online in Russian, English and Italian: http://www.supostat.org/1/zadachnik#more-663

In addition, we would like to remind you that from October 26^th to November 18^th, 2012 the exhibition Responsible for Circulation by Oleksandr Burlaka, Anastasiya Ryabova and Maksym Spivakov is taking place at the Visual Culture Research Center. The exhibition is dedicated to the visual accompaniment of the election procedure, the intervention of the election campaign into the urban space and the illusion of political action.

Contact person: Oksana Bryukhovetska, 093 460 68 81