Programmarchiv

Video Art, Performance, Zines, Readings

It is the rupture of civilization that is marked by the day of February, 24th. This evening is dedicated to the commemoration of its anniversary, without being able to call it a day, because the day does not end in the upheavals it has ushered in. It is the irreducible moment of the false, and at the same time a moment that does not fade in complexity.

This multi-media art event (video art, zines, poetry, narration and music) brings together a variety of artists, both from Ukraine and Germany and mixed, from different backgrounds and styles as a performative reflection. How, challenging the idea that something that breaks down the social order can become normality, must artistic practice radically realign itself? How to work artistically at all, when work contains normality, in the shadow of a war? What about those who have to live in exile and/or suffer from the representational logics of the war? What do confessional symbolisms do to the question of representing the unrepresentable? Can the commemoration of this day be left to politics?

Beyond the daily discursive orientations in the recollection and without any confinement of false completeness, the event will provide space for artistic works to stand side by side, as a moment of self assurance of complexity of resistance and grasp.

Irina Bondas (UA/DE, *1985), interpreter, translator and author, moderator and organizer of literary events, reads her poetry. Uliana Bychenkova (UA, *1986), Feminist Artistic Researcher at the intersection of disciplines, introduces her zines: "‘Contemporary History of Ukraine’ by Oksana Kazmina" and „Perlamutter. Ukraine feminist culture in exile“ + the sound essay “Outline Ritornello ‘Velyki Selments’i”. Harri Kraievets (UA, *1992), psychotherapist, visual and video artist and co-founder of the multimedia art collective „NJK – NEUE JÜDISCHE KUNST“ will present his video work: „Besieged Fortress“, and Sebastian Unger (DE, *1978), poet and essayist, will read from his recently published collection, a narrative essay about his impressions in Kyiv during the first days of the full scale invasion. von jeglichem wort will provide sounds.

Irina Bondas (*1985, Kyiv) studied interpreting and political science in Leipzig and Edinburgh and works as a freelance conference interpreter and translator as well as a lecturer, moderator and cultural mediator in Berlin. She has researched on translation in theater and works for numerous international festivals and cultural institutions. She writes poetry and essays, was Styria-Artist-in-Residence in 2024 and has been a member of the Berlinale Forum selection team since 2024.

Uliana Bychenkova (*1986, Kerch) is an audio & visual artist, designer, researcher and curator. In 2022 due to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, she left Kyiv and is currently based in Weimar (Germany). As an artistic methods, Uliana practices Feminist Artistic Research, the intersection of disciplines, strategic imagination, and tactical inventions, which are formalized through a variety of mediums, including sound performance, ceramic objects, self-publishing, conceptual terms, etc.

Harri Kraievets (*1992, Odesa) is an artist, performer, and curator. His works evolve around the creation of new forms that transform psychoanalytic thought by changing its optics, mode of interaction, and linguistic apparatus whilst deconstructing such concepts as identity, nationality, religion, and memory. Harri’s practice in various types of media including video, performance, radio-play, text, poetry, and theatre mysteries.

Sebastian Unger (*1978, Berlin), poet and essayist, currently works as a DAAD-lecturer (online) in Kharkiv. The essays of his recent volume “Das Pferd als sein eigener Reiter. Essays zum Ende der Natur“, were largely written in Ukraine, where he lived alternating between Kyiv, Odesa and Berlin for the last two years before the full scale invasion. For his poetry debut “Die Tiere wissen noch nicht Bescheid” (2019) he was awarded the Frankfurt Poetry Prize and the Düsseldorf Poetry Debut Prize.

We would like to point out that the elevator in the building is unfortunately not working at the moment. For this reason, access is currently restricted at the moment. We would like to apologize for this.