What is the goal of an artist in the situation of turbulence? Can art help solve social problems? With the beginning of warfare in Eastern Ukraine, we try to understand: how to live simultaneously in conditions of war and peace? Some are sure that in such a situation, it is the art that can save us, being able to speak the language of life, dignity, mutual respect.

We will have a meeting with Dmitry Chepurnoy, project coordinator of Donbas Studies research platform of IZOLYATSIA. Platform for Cultural Initiatives foundation. Dmitry will speak about the forms of work of the research platform and series of participatory cultural projects in Eastern Ukraine “ZMINA”, which has been implemented since 2015 in close cooperation with local communities. He will speak about the project method of research organization, resource center and new forms of representation of the modern Donbas history, as well as the role of replaced cultural spaces in the nationwide historic narrative.

Our second guest is Darya Tsymbaliuk, participant of Odos and coauthor of Odyssea Donbas project, which was started in Kyiv, 2015, and in 2017 it was represented at Odessa Biennale of Contemporary Art that this year is called “Turbulence” for a reason.

The third guest is Julia Kishchenko – education coordinator of Vostok SOS, coauthor of the joint project of the foundation and Odos group named ‘Vostok-Dom’. ‘Vostok-Dom’ aims to integrate stories of the conflict witnesses into the cultural memory of Ukrainian society through the pictures of people who don’t leave their houses during the conflict.

We invite you to the presentation of these projects and discussion of ways to find social solidarity where we are now.

The discussion will be held within the framework of Hubs of History project “From group to individual: art in search of social solidarity”.