“Cultural Genocide: Ukraine’s Struggle to Preserve History and Identity” – Charity Gala & Art Exhibit

“what are we fighting for?
well that’s obvious
for our homes with children’s drawings on the walls
for those we love and for what we believe in
for peace in our suburbs and quiet nights for our loved ones”
Dmytro Lazutkin

Featuring 34 artworks by Serhiy Savchenko, Vasyl Savchenko, Vlodko Kaufman, Roman Romanyshyn, Veronika Cherednichenko, Eduard Belskyy, and Olesya Dzhurayeva put together and provided by the Savchenko Gallery, the exhibition showcases different generations of Ukrainian artists and diverse techniques and styles. While some of the pieces date back to 2011, others were created amidst war and reflect the ongoing struggle of the Ukrainian people.

The visitors may now read poems by Dmytro Lazutkin, Lyuba Yakimchuk, Grigory Semenchuk, Kateryna Kalytko, Borys Humenyuk, and Yuliya Musakovska in Ukrainian and English in the library hall. The poetry compliments the artworks and tells the dreadful stories of war. The selection of authors is no coincidence and reflects the tragic reality of Ukrainian literature: Lazutkin is currently serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while Humenyuk went missing in 2022 during the Battle of Bakhmut.

Welcoming the guests of the Gala, Dr Tomasz Makowski, the Director of the National Library, and Marek Skulimowski, President of the Kosciuszko Foundation, both underlined the importance of continuous support for Ukraine in the field of protection of its cultural heritage. “The ongoing conflict continues to pose a significant threat to these cultural institutions. We must persist in our efforts to support and protect them. The loss of cultural heritage is not just a loss for Ukraine; it is a loss for humanity. Each artifact, document, and piece of art represents a unique thread in the fabric of our shared global history,” – underlined President Skulimowski.

The Third Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Vasyl Melnychuk, conveyed gratitude from His Excellency Vasyl Zvarych, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Poland, mentioning the dramatic consequences of war for Ukrainian culture: “700 libraries 151 art education institutions, 113 museums, and galleries, as well as about 1000 cultural heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed”. As a testament to that, the guests watched a harrowing extract of Erase the Nation, film documenting the Russian crimes against Ukraine’s cultural heritage and Ukrainian people. The film’s director, Tomasz Grzywaczewski, also joined us in person.

In his opening speech, the exhibition curator Serhiy Savchenko further shared the perspective of a painter and a gallerist and how war influenced his art.

The speeches were followed by a talk with Lyuba Yakymchuk – writer, screenwriter, and cultural manager from Pervomaisk, Luhansk Region, Ukraine; Grigory Semenchuk, poet, musician, and cultural manager from Khmelnytsky, Ukraine, Kateryna Alekseenko – Deputy Director of Lviv Public Libraries, from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, and Director of Odesa National Scientific Library Iryna Biryukova moderated by Mariya Hud. We talked about art in times of war, about artists at the frontline and those killed at war, and how people turn to books searching for a bit of serenity in these horrendous times of loss and despair.

“We’d prefer to get killed rather than live in occupation,” – says Lyuba Yakymchuk, showing the audience a small fragment of a supersonic missile that she’d found in her backyard. Thousands of Ukrainians who went through hell in Russian occupation would most certainly vouch for that.

Semenchuk mentions that Yevhen Lyr and Olena Herasymyuk compiled a list of 63 writers, poets, and translators killed since the full-scale invasion, either at the frontline or as civilians. “But if we’re talking about the art scene in general, it’s hundreds of outstanding Ukrainian actors, dancers, painters, writers, and other artists killed by Russians throughout the war, and many more fighting in the frontline,” adds Mariya Hud.

The official part of the event was followed by a cocktail reception and live music by talented Polish artists – Joanna Kondrat, Marcin Olak, and Marcin Lamch.

The exhibition will be open to the public until July, 2024, at the National Library of Poland in Warsaw. All the works from the exhibition can be purchased. 30% of each purchase will support Ukrainian cultural heritage. For more information, please contact the Savchenko Gallery at info@savchenkogallery.com.