How Artists in Ukraine Navigate War – Launch Event
Online
Online launch event of How Artists in Ukraine Navigate War: Ukrainian Creatives Share Their Insights in a Practical Resource, and panel discussion
Thursday, March 6, 2025 | 18:00 (Kyiv) / 11:00 (New York) | Online
Join ARC and NGO Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA NGO) for a special panel discussion and launch event of MOCA NGO’s recently published report.
Drawing on sociological research methodologies and the personal voices of artists who have found themselves in new circumstances due to the war, Navigating the War as Artists in Ukraine: A Practical Resource–produced by the Ukrainian NGO Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA NGO) and available in Ukrainian and English–is inspired by ARC’s Safety Guide for Artists. It addresses topics such as personal safety, life under occupation, evacuation of oneself and one’s artworks, mental health, and strategies for continuing artistic practice. The guide also explores how to communicate about the war with international partners and integrate art with activism.
Developed in consultation with artists who have experienced the war in Ukraine, this guide, produced by MOCA and supported by ARC, provides essential advice on ensuring both personal safety and the continuity of artistic practice amid the full-scale invasion. 80 artist grantees have shared their lived experiences with Editor Lisa Koreichuk and contributors Yuliia Hnat, Olga Balashova, Ilya Zabolotnyi, Les Vynogradov, and Ostap Yashchuk.
Read more about the guide.
Program
- Presentation of the Navigating the War as Artists in Ukraine: A Practical Resource.
- Panel Discussion: “Challenges and the Future of Emergency Support Programs” featuring: Olga Balashova, co-founder of MOCA NGO, Tetyana Filevska, Art Director of the Ukrainian Institute, Anais Chagankerian , UNESCO’s Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) Project Officer, Julie Trébault, Executive Director of ARC, and Max Robotov, artist and military serviceman. The discussion will be moderated by Illia Zabolotnyi, CEO of UEAF (Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund).
- An online music performance by the experimental band _mediaklub featuring artist and Ukrainian soldier Max Robotov. Max Robotov participated in the preliminary research for the guidebook, sharing his mobilization experiences and the challenges of maintaining artistic practice during the war. “We are engaged in various musical experiments: during the war, it became a challenge because everyone was in different countries, in different situations, and we had to figure out how to do gigs, and we came up with concerts that we perform online. […] I become something of a conductor, I give orders and adjust the concert in a deliberately militarylike fashion. […] I have nothing but a telephone, internet connection, and my headphones. There are no musical instruments here, though I wish I could play.”
Participants
Olga Balashova
Olga Balashova is an art critic, curator, and PhD candidate in philosophical sciences. She is the co-founder and chair of the board of the NGO Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA NGO) and the Ukrainian Museum of Contemporary Art (UMCA). She has curated a number of art education projects.
Yuliia Hnat
Yuliia Hnat is an art manager, strategist in the cultural field, and curator of various research projects. She is the co-founder and director of development of the NGO Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA NGO).
Ilya Zabolotnyi
Ilya Zabolotnyi is an art critic, specialist in cultural diplomacy projects, and executive director of the NGO Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA NGO). He is the co-founder and executive director of the Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund (UEAF).
Tetyana Filevska
Tetyana Filevska is an art manager, curator, author, and researcher of 20th-century Ukrainian art. She has worked in the cultural field for over 20 years. Her portfolio includes festivals, conferences, exhibitions, educational courses, books, and films. She is a co-founder of the NGO Malevich Institute.
Max Robotov
Max Robotov is a Ukrainian media artist, musician, co-founder of the art group “SVITER” and the media art school “Photinus Studio”. He is currently serving in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Lisa Korneichuk
Lisa Korneichuk is an art journalist, researcher, and the chief editor of Artslooker, an online media platform covering Ukrainian art. She co-founded VONO, a magazine dedicated to Ukrainian contemporary art (2016), and holds an MA in New Arts Journalism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as a Fulbright fellow (2023). Her writing has appeared in artnet, Hyperallergic, Chicago Tribune, and the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Art and Challenges to Empire, Volume 2 (2025). Her professional interests include the political potential of art, underground and socially engaged practices, participatory projects, and the intersections of art and activism. She is based in Kyiv.
Anaïs Chagankerian
Anaïs Chagankerian is an Associate Project Officer at the Culture and Emergencies Entity of UNESCO’s Culture Sector in Paris, where she coordinates UNESCO’s Heritage Emergency Fund. Previously, she worked in the coordination of the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals, where she notably focused on the protection of artists in emergency situations and was UNESCO’s focal point for actions in support of artists at risk in Ukraine.
Julie Trébault
Julie Trébault is the Founder and Executive Director of Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), a global organization dedicated to safeguarding artistic freedom and supporting artists and cultural workers under threat. Under her leadership, ARC provides critical resources and support to more than 2,000 artists facing persecution from state and non-state actors, empowering them to overcome challenges to their creative expression. Prior to founding ARC, she served as director of public programs at the Museum of the City of New York and the Center for Architecture.
