INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION PRACTICES OF CONTEMPORARY UKRAINIAN ART: NEW FUNCTIONAL DIMENSIONS IN THE CASE OF THE EXHIBITION “UKRAINE. UNDER A DIFFERENT SKY”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/facs-2025-5-48Keywords:
exhibition practices, visual art, cultural interaction, cultural dialogue, decolonial representation, memory and trauma, warAbstract
The cultural analysis of the exhibition of contemporary Ukrainian art Ukraine. Under a Different Sky (Warsaw, 2022– 2023) reveals a complex phenomenon of the archive of memory and the theme of decoloniality. The study aims to identify the phenomenon of exhibition practices in contemporary Ukrainian art that embody the functions of a memory archive, decolonial expression, and cultural interaction, as exemplified by the exhibition Ukraine. Under a Different Sky. The research demonstrates that the exhibition operates as a documentary project of visual art and as a form of international engagement with performative elements. It seeks to comprehend the collective memory of tragic events and to represent Ukraine’s independent cultural subjectivity within the global context of creative processes. The methodological foundation integrates established principles of systematism, historicism, universal interconnection, and objectivity; cultural, art historical, and historical approaches; general scientific methods such as analytical, phenomenological, and explanatory; and methods of observation, comparison, and modeling. These approaches define the specifics of postcolonial and decolonial studies as well as the concept of soft power in cultural relations. The study employs a qualitative case study and discourse analysis of curatorial texts, artistic statements, and critical reviews. A comparative analysis considers other exhibition projects in London, Berlin, and Kaunas, which collectively illustrate a network-based strategy of Ukraine’s international representation through art exhibition practices. The research novelty lies in interpreting the exhibition as a mechanism of decolonial affirmation through cultural interaction, which helps the international community comprehend the ongoing Russian–Ukrainian war and express solidarity with the Ukrainian nation. For the first time, the study demonstrates that the dynamics of displaying antiwar artworks–beyond their educational, ideological, aesthetic, and social-regulative roles–also activate communicative, psychotherapeutic, suggestive, informational, modeling, and prognostic functions, while evoking catharsis and fascination. This dynamic reveals the interplay between the traumatic experience of war and active cultural and creative self-expression. The study concludes that the analyzed international exhibition Ukraine. Under a Different Sky, by Ukrainian artists, emerged not only as an artistic event but also as a representative form of cultural self-expression of the nation–a call from Ukraine to the global community to stop the Russian terrorist state. Through artistic means, each work in the exhibition contributes to forming a shared narrative about the Ukrainian people’s national liberation war against the occupier while simultaneously serving as a testimony to this struggle.
References
Логвіненко К. Цифрові фотоархіви як чинник збереження культурної спадщини й формування національної ідентичності в Україні. Культурологічний альманах. 2025. № 2. С. 426–431. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31392/cult.alm.2025.2.51.
РБК-Україна. У Варшаву приїхала скандальна скульптура Путіна: «люди стають у чергу, щоб поглузувати з потвори». РБК-Україна. URL: https://styler.rbc.ua/rus/zhizn/skandalnu-skulpturu-putina-vstanovili-varshavi-1667831966.html (дата звернення: 28.10.2025).
Фуко М. Археологія знання / пер. з фр. В. Шовкун. Київ : Вид-во Соломії Павличко «Основи», 2003. 326 с.
ACCR. Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art. ACCR – Heritage Sites for Culture. URL: https://www.accr-europe.org/en/network/Members/ujazdowski-castle-centre-for-contemporary-art (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Artmap. Ukraine. Under a Different Sky at Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art Warsaw. Artmap – Contemporary Art. URL: https://artmap.com/ujazdowskicastle/exhibition/ukraine-under-a-different-sky-2022 (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Art Therapy for Combat-Related PTSD: Recommendations for Research and Practice / D. Spiegel et al. Art Therapy. 2006. Vol. 23, no. 4. P. 157–164. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2006.10129335.
Assmann A. Transformations between History and Memory. Social Research: An International Quarterly. 2008. Vol. 75, no. 1. P. 49–72.
Bennett J. Empathic Vision: Affect, Trauma, and Contemporary Art. Stanford : Stanford University Press, 2005. 208 p.
Bernat A. Otwarto wystawę „Ukraina. Pod innym niebem” w Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Zamek Ujazdowski. URL: https://dzieje.pl/kultura-i-sztuka/otwarto-wystawe-ukraina-pod-innym-niebem-w-centrum-sztuki-wspolczesnej--zamek (data dostępu: 28.10.2025).
Bharti S. S., Aryal S. K., Kutsyk A. The Ukraine crisis: Poland as a strategic crossroad in Eastern Europe. Eastern Journal of European Studies. 2024. Vol. 15, no. 1. P. 324–344. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743//ejes-2024-0114.
Biedarieva S. Decolonization and Disentanglement in Ukrainian Art. Post: notes on art in a global context. URL: https://post.moma.org/decolonization-and-disentanglement-in-ukrainian-art/ (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Contemporary Ukrainian and Baltic Art: Political and Social Perspectives, 1991-2021. Ukrainian Voices / ed. by S. Biedarieva. Stuttgart : ibidem Press, 2021. 302 p.
Contemporary Ukrainian Art During the Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine / B. Gavryliuk et al. Grail of Science. 2025. No. 51. P. 976–981. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36074/grail-of-science.18.04.2025.132.
Cumming L. In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s review – a small yet blazing act of solidarity. the Guardian. URL: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/article/2024/jul/07/in-the-eye-of-the-storm-modernism-in-ukraine-1900-1930s-royal-academy-london-review-a-small-yet-blazing-act-of-solidarity (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Cummings M. Cultural Diplomacy and the United States Government: A Survey. Washington : Center for Arts & Culture, 2003.
Demchuk K., Krayevska O. The Transformation of Polish-Ukrainian Relations in the Context of Migration Policy Implementation. Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs. 2023. Vol. 2023, no. 4. P. 133–152. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33067/se.4.2023.8.
Destination City Guides By In Your Pocket. Ukraine. Under a different sky. Destination City Guides By In Your Pocket. URL: https://www.inyourpocket.com/warsaw/ukraine-under-a-different-sky_27397e (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Diatel O., Karavai A., Chuzhynova I. The Role of Art in the Post-War Recovery of Ukraine: Basline Report. Lviv : PVV Economic Development Agency, 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.70719/respol.2025.16.
Dreams & Design. Ukrainian Contemporary Artists In Warsaw. Dreams & Design. URL: https://dreamsanddesign.com/ukrainian-contemporary-artists-in-warsaw/ (date of access: 28.10.2025).
European Capital of Culture 2022. UKRAINE! UNMUTED: contemporary Ukrainian art in Kaunas. European Capital of Culture 2022 – Kaunas 2022. URL: https://kaunas2022.eu/en/2022/07/29/ukraine-unmuted-contemporary-ukrainian-art-in-kaunas-european-capital-of-culture-2022/ (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Foley J., Unkovski-Korica V. Decentring the West? Civilizational solidarity and (de)colonization in theories of the Russia-Ukraine War. Globalizations. 2025. Vol. 22, no. 4. P. 613–633. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.202 4.2399475.
Foster H. An Archival Impulse. October. 2004. Vol. 110. P. 3–22.
Garnsey E. The Cultural Diplomacy of Imaginary Fact. The Justice of Visual Art: Creative State-Building in Times of Political Transition. Cambridge, 2019. P. 193–204. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108637701.010.
Jones A., Meskimmon M., Callahan S. Art + Archive: Understanding the Archival Turn in Contemporary Art. Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2022. 400 p.
Jones J. P., Drass J. M., Kaimal G. Art therapy for military service members with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury: Three case reports highlighting trajectories of treatment and recovery. The Arts in Psychotherapy. 2019. Vol. 63. P. 18–30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2019.04.004.
Lee S. T. A battle for foreign perceptions: Ukraine’s country image in the 2022 war with Russia. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. 2022. No. 19. P. 345–358. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-022-00284-0.
Maftei J., Popa A. Cultural Diplomacy in the 21st Century in the European Context. Analele Universităţii "Dunărea de Jos" din Galaţi Fascicula XIX Istorie. 2021. Vol. 19. P. 183–194. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35219/history.2020.10.
Mignolo W. D. DELINKING: The rhetoric of modernity, the logic of coloniality and the grammar of de-coloniality. Cultural Studies. 2007. Vol. 21, no. 2-3. P. 449–514. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601162647.
Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego. Wernisaż wstawy „Ukraina. Pod innym niebem”. Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego. URL: https://www.gov.pl/web/kultura/wernisaz-wstawy-ukraina-pod-innym-niebem (data dostępu: 28.10.2025).
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900 – 1930s. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza. URL: https://www.museothyssen.org/en/exhibitions/eye-storm-modernism-ukraine-1900-1930s/brochure (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Nye J. Soft power: the origins and political progress of a concept. Palgrave Communications. 2017. Vol. 3, no. 1. P. 2–3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palcomms.2017.8.
Pietrzak P. Poland, a Benign but Not a Naïve Power in Its Response to Russia's War in Ukraine (2022-Present). Dealing With Regional Conflicts of Global Importance. 2024. P. 124–160. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-9467-7. ch007.
PolskieRadio. Ukrainian art to go on display in Warsaw. PolskieRadio. URL: https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7791/artykul/3064355,ukrainian-art-to-go-on-display-in-warsaw (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Rad P. Ukrainian–Belarusian Relations amid the Russo–Ukrainian War. Ukrainian Analytical Digest. Relations with Ukraine's Neighbors. 2024. Vol. 010. P. 2–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000705867.
Royal Academy of Arts. In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900–1930s. Royal Academy of Arts. URL: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/eye-of-the-storm (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Timeless. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. URL: https://www.smb.museum/en/exhibitions/detail/timeless/ (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Sutton B. Ukrainian artists reflect on Russia’s war at Expo Chicago. The Art Newspaper – International art news and events. URL: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/04/13/expo-chicago-fair-ukraine-voloshyn-gallery (date of access: 28.10.2025).
The Warsaw Voice. Artistic testimony of Russia's war on Ukraine. The Warsaw Voice. 2022. No. 1231. P. 22.
Tlostanova M. Learning to unlearn: Decolonial reflections from Eurasia and the Americas. Columbus : Ohio State University Press, 2012. 304 p.
Toukan H. Politics of Art: Dissent and Cultural Diplomacy in Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. Stanford : Stanford University Press, 2021. 336 p.
Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art. Ukraine. Under a Different Sky. Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art. URL: https://u-jazdowski.pl/en/programme/exhibitions/ukraina-pod-innym-niebem (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Ukrainian Cross Section. Ukraine! Unmuted. Ukrainian Cross Section. URL: https://ukrainian-cross-section.com/en/archive-projects/ukraine-unmuted-en/ (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Vinnichenko O., Kulikovska M. Ukraine. Under a Different Sky. Maria Kulikovska + Oleh Vinnichenko. URL: https://www.mariakulikovska.net/project-page/ukraine-under-a-different-sky (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Vogue Ukraine. Україна. Під іншим небом: у Варшаві відкрили виставку українських митців. Vogue Ukraine. URL: https://vogue.ua/article/culture/art/ukrajina-pid-inshim-nebom-u-varshavi-vidkrilas-vistavka-ukrajinskih-mitciv-50430.html (дата звернення: 28.10.2025).
Vovk K. Cultural Diplomacy. How does Ukraine return the names of its artists abroad? Svidomi. URL: https://svidomi.in.ua/en/page/cultural-diplomacy-how-does-ukraine-return-the-names-of-its-artists-abroad (date of access: 28.10.2025).
Zhurzhenko T. Everyday Europeanization and Bottom-Up Geopolitics at the Ukrainian-Polish Border. Geopolitics. 2024. P. 1–43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2023.2283488.
