In solidarity with Ukraine, we share a set of resources to provide support to Ukraine, as well as e-resources prepared by our colleagues at Culture.pl, as well as Polish Cultural Institute New York’s current and past projects related to Ukraine.
RESOURCES TO PROVIDE SUPPORT IN UKRAINE
How to help refugees from Ukraine in Poland? While it may seem like a quick fix, the most effective way to help is in fact to donate money to organizations on the ground. Below you will find a sample list of organizations you can donate funds to. For large tangible donations (30 euro pallet or more) this link may be helpful: https://polandfirsttohelp.gov.pl/assets/pdf/RARS_UA.pdf
The call for applications for the 22nd edition of the #Scholarship program of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage #GaudePolonia for 2023 has just started. Artists and authors from Central and Eastern Europe (primarily Belarus and Ukraine), representing the following fields, can apply for a six-month scholarship: film, photography, conservation of works of art, literature/translation, museology, music, visual arts, theater, and history and criticism of film, music, art and theater. The call is open until October 15, 2022.
The EU-funded EU4Culture project is offering mobility grants for individual Artists and Cultural Professionals from Ukraine. The call is open for internships, study visits, conferences, professional developments, and other activities that foster knowledge exchange and intercultural dialogue. The call supports short-term mobilities (7-10 calendar days) with up to €2,550, medium-term mobilities (up to 5 weeks) with up to €3,600, and long-term mobilities (up to 12 weeks) with up to €5,500. Apply by April 30, 2023.
Ukraine: UNESCO launches programme to support Ukrainian artists. UNESCO will provide financial support to Ukrainian artists to support the continuation of artistic creation and access to cultural life, under a pilot programme launched by the Organization in partnership with the Ukrainian NGO Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).
Adam Mickiewicz Institute together with the Center for Contemporary Art: Ujazdowski Castle, Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, Center of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko and the Theater Institute help Ukraine by organizing artistic residencies. Polish institutions offer Ukrainian artists places for creative work, access to galleries, museums, libraries, and other facilities, curatorial care in cooperation with the artistic community, as well as accommodation in Warsaw or Orońsko, for artists and their families. We also provide assistance in administrative and medical matters as much as possible.
The International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM)—the only global network of modern and contemporary art museum experts in the field—continues to update their list of “Anti-war petitions and resources in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”. Find information on Art Emergency Hanbooks and Guides, Professional opportunities and shelter for Ukrainian, Emergency Contacts for Ukrainian, List of initiatives to Donate Funds and Materials in support of Ukraine, Cultural Heritage and Evacuation of Art, and Anti-war Petitions from the Arts.
In support of artists, scholars, and all people forced to flee Ukraine because of the Russian invasion of the country, the editorial collective of ARTMargins Online is compiling a growing list of resources (primarily art- and research-related), including residencies, fellowships, internships, and emergency funds. They continue to update this list as they become aware of new opportunities and resources. Please let them know of additional resources by contacting them through this online form.
ArtMargins Online’ statement” Vladimir Putin’s brutal unilateral attack on Ukraine, a sovereign country, is an escalation of Russia’s neo-imperialist ambitions. We unequivocally condemn this unprovoked act of aggression that jeopardizes the livelihood and security of millions of people in the region and beyond. People whose right to determine their own destiny is being trampled upon by the arrogance and delusion of the Russian regime. The responsibility for this war and the loss of lives lies squarely with Russia’s political elite and its fantasy of neo-imperial grandeur. We stand with everyone in Russia and Ukraine who opposes this senseless war.”
Contemporary LYNX—an international and independent publication for art, design, collecting and photography on visual culture—prepared a list of artist residencies and practices for artists and cultural workers from Ukraine.
To deal with the consequences of the Russian invasion and threats the war poses on the Ukrainian art community – (MOCA) Museum of Contemporary Art NGO, in partnership with Zaborona, The Naked Room and Mystetskyi Arsenal established the Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund. They provide a ane-time financial aid or stipends for up to 3 months for cultural workers (limited number of stipends is available)
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CURRENT AND PAST PROJECTS RELATED TO UKRAINE
Polish-Ukrainian Cultural Relations
Culture.pl 2022
Culture.pl’s homepage has been dedicated to the many cultural connections of Poland and our neighbor Ukraine. We are all appalled by the current news and Culture.pl is taking this opportunity to remind readers about the deep links between Poland and Ukraine, and why we are fully behind our Ukrainian brethren during these dark times. Photo: A demonstration in Wrocław in solidarity with Ukraine, photo: Krzysztof Zatycki/Forum. Now Culture.pl is also available in Ukrainian.
Encounters with Polish Literature is a video series for anyone interested in literature and the culture of books and reading. Each month, host David A. Goldfarb will present a new topic in conversation with an expert on that author or book or movement in Polish literature. More about the Encounters with Polish Literature series and the timeline.
We continue our series on Polish-Ukrainian literary dialogue in this episode with contemporary author Żanna Słoniowska, who is also our first author on the program discussing her own work. In her recent essay for The New York Times, she writes about how Ukrainian identity is changing in Poland, reflecting a shift from a colonial relationship to one of mutual recognition as Europeans with common interests and values. “It used to contain such nuances as, for example, ‘the Easterner’ or ‘the village man’ or even ‘wild man,’” she says, but “[n]ow it sounds different. When the word is uttered, I hear ‘the brave warrior’ and ‘our brother.’ For those leaving their lives behind, under the pressure of bombardment and attack, the fraternal salute seems exactly right.”
Encounters with Polish Literature is a video series for anyone interested in literature and the culture of books and reading. Each month, host David A. Goldfarb will present a new topic in conversation with an expert on that author or book or movement in Polish literature. More about the Encounters with Polish Literature series and the timeline.
The wholesale invasion of Poland’s neighbor, Ukraine, by the Russian military on February 24, 2022 opened a new chapter in European history and in Poland’s relationship with Ukraine. We’ve seen an outpouring of international grassroots support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s aggression, and for the millions of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war, most of them crossing the Polish border. Polish citizens have proven themselves capable and agile, taking the helm to offer food, lodging, and transportation for refugees at the border, often at significant personal expense.
Yuri Andrukhovych (b. 1960) was born in Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine, not so far from Drohobych, the birthplace of Bruno Schulz who has come to represent a significant monument in Andrukhovych’s literary landscape. He has written poetry, fiction, and essays, and has created a distinctive genre of performance beginning with the L’viv poetry group, Bu-Ba-Bu, and extending to his more recent performances with the Polish band, Karbido.
Theory of Protection with a Ukrainian artist Darya Koltsova
Window-taping project in solidarity with Ukraine
Organized on March 24, 2022
Curator: Ewa Sułek
First installment as a protest against the war in Ukraine at Lescer Art Center in 2022.
On March 24, 2022—a month after Russia’s invasion on Ukraine—we taped our windows, and we invited you to tape your windows in solidarity with Ukraine. The project entitled THEORY of PROTECTION, by artist Darya Koltsova, mimics protection of glass against it falling into pieces in an uncontrolled way in response to a shock wave from an explosion. The social media initiative has been a great success with hundreds of individuals and organizations participating from around the world. We are grateful for your participation, and let us continue in solidarity with Ukraine until the war ends. You can see the project’s results by searching through hashtags #TheoryOfProtection, #DaryaKoltsova, and #StandWithUkraine.
Toward Xenopolis Visions from the Borderland
KRZYSZTOF CZYŻEWSKI 2022
KRZYSZTOF CZYŻEWSKI is one of the founders of Borderland Foundation in Sejny, Poland, now accepting people of Ukraine for month-long residencies with shelter, a work space, and a 1,000 EUR scholarship.
How do we build civil society? How does a society repair itself after violence? How do we live in a world with others different from ourselves? These questions lie at the heart of Krzysztof Czyżewski’s “Toward Xenopolis Visions from the Borderland” and his work with Fundacja Pogranicze, the Borderland Foundation. Writing from the heartland of Europe’s violence and creativity, Czyżewski seeks to explain how we can relate better to each other and to our diverse communities.
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Maniucha & Ksawery
Jazztopad 2021
Maniucha Bikont & Ksawery Wójciński are a duo that draws on the deep-rooted yet endangered traditional songs of the vast Polissya region in Ukraine. Their compositions combine jazz improvisation with songs of spring, harvest, weddings, lullabies and love to create a narrative of the cycles of nature and human life. Vocalist Maniucha Bikont is known for her long-term involvement in both traditional and experimental fields and has spent many years travelling to meet and learn from old singers in the Ukranian villages.
Karolina Cicha and Bart Palyga
9 Languages US Tour 2015
9 Languages is linked to the traditions of Podlasie, the home region of multi-instrumentalist and composer Karolina Cicha. The project draws on the full range of traditional music, but rather than an archival compilation, it’s a compact whole, speaking the language of contemporary music. 9 Languages features songs in the minority languages of the Podlasie region of northeast Poland, bordering Russia, Lithuania and Belarus: Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Russian, Romani, Belarusian, Yiddish, Polish, Tatar and Esperanto. Photo by Czarli Bajka.
Kateryna Zavoloka
Unsound 2012
In its third season, in 2012, Unsound Festival New York presented, amongst other talented artists and musicians, a “Ukrainian-born and Berlin-based Kateryna Zavoloka, who goes by the stage name Zavoloka. She is a blossoming composer, sound artist, performer, and visual artist that devotes herself to orchestrating uncompromising experimental music free from genre-dependent definitions and styles. Photo by Oleksandr Popenko.
Lead image: New York City’s landmarks lit blue and yellow in solidarity with Ukraine. Here the Pershing Square Viaduct with the Grand Central Terminal in the background. Photo by Marcin Steczkowski.
