06/02/2026
talk
Beyond the protocol
How culture regains its voice in the shadow of war
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In the face of full-scale aggression and hybrid actions, the Ukrainian cultural sector has had to radically rethink its existing operational models. Changing the role of cultural institutions from protective to proactive, developing self-organization as a resilience system, and redefining relationships with audiences – these are the challenges facing cultural activists.
- The meeting will be devoted to analyzing practical solutions developed by the Ukrainian artistic community that allow cultural institutions to maintain a proactive stance. The main theme of the event is maintaining the subjectivity of culture in conditions of total war, affecting both physical infrastructure and the information space.
- Representatives from various areas of cultural life will participate in the meeting. Julia Vaganova, director of the Khanenko Museum in Kyiv, will discuss managing an institution in times of crisis, when existing protocols lose their effectiveness due to power, internet, and banking outages. She will focus on transforming the museum into a space of security and support, sustaining the institution despite empty exhibition halls.
- Olga Sahaidak, Chairwoman of the NGO Coalition of Cultural Activists, will present the perspective of the civic sector. She will highlight the importance of self-organization among creative communities, building interregional coalitions, and the role of NGOs in shaping cultural policy and responding to crises that are beyond the scope of standard management procedures.
- Kostyantyn Zorkin, a visual artist and scenographer living and working in Kharkiv, will present his experiences of culture operating in a city under daily bombardment, where institutional staff are deployed to the front lines. He will discuss the shift in creative goals and the paradigm of artistic work. He will consider whether, in a world where physical security has become paramount, art responds to a deeper hunger, a need for community, and inspiration.
- We invite cultural managers, museum professionals, curators, and researchers from the NGO sector. This meeting is for those who, faced with challenges, seek answers to the question of how to maintain institutional agency and prevent its paralysis in times of war. The Ukrainian experience serves as a universal lesson: that in times of crisis, culture and interpersonal relationships are the foundation of community security.
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The meetings, which address the situation of art institutions facing the challenges of information warfare, were organized as part of a partnership between Dwutygodnik and the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, with financial support from the National Recovery Plan – KPO for Culture, funded by the European Union.
Partnerstwo
