Ukraine has been an important partner of the contemporary art fair "ArtVilnius" since its foundation. In 2009, as many as ten art galleries from Ukraine came to the first fair. "The artists of each country have their own style, but the works of Ukrainians immediately attract attention - talented, interesting, bright, important themes. In 2015, after the first annexation of Russia, in order to support the Ukrainian nation, we invited Ukraine to become a special guest of the fair for the first time. The intentions are exactly the same this year - Ukraine is participating in the fair as a special guest," said Diana Stomienė, head of the contemporary art fair "ArtVilnius".
According to Valentino Klimašauskas, curator of the project area who initiated the topic of "ArtVilnius'22" - ecology, this year's guest of the fair - Ukraine, particularly reflects the broad theme of ecology. "In the context of the war in Ukraine, it has become obvious that ecology is not just about supporting an imaginary regime of sustainability - it is also related to the fight against overtly or covertly repressive powers or ideologies that tend to fictitiously regress to the past", says V. Klimašauskas.
This year, six Ukrainian galleries are coming to ArtVilnius'22: regular participants of the fair Tsekh (Kyiv | Vilnius), Lviv's Ya Gallery, Kyiv's Art14 and Ra Gallery, already seen at the fair, new names of the fair - Kyiv's Shcherbenko Art Center" and "Naked Room Gallery", representing Ukraine at the 59th Venice Biennale this year.
In the project area, a special program of video films dedicated to ecology and Ukraine will be shown, showing poetic, critical, anti-war and other films by Andro Eradze (Sakartvelas), Dana Kavelina (Ukraine), Goda Palekaitė (Lithuania) and Adrijanas Gvozdenović (Montenegro), Sashko Protyah (Ukraine), Video works by Anastasia Sosunova (Lithuania), Miglė Vyčinaitė (Lithuania). Oleksijus Radynskis, a famous filmmaker and writer living in Kyiv, will present his individual project at ArtVilnius'22 - the video installation "Circulation", for which he spent three years filming the ever-changing landscape of Kyiv through the train window. In the background of geopolitical processes, the changing images of the city are hints about the war going on in the country.
Participant of the Venice Biennale
"Since we founded our gallery in 2018, we have planned to show Ukrainian artists to the world. 2022 was supposed to be our breakthrough year: "ArtVilnius" in Lithuania and similar art fairs in other countries, the Ukrainian pavilion and the work of artist Pavlos Makov at the Venice Biennale. The brutal Russian invasion disrupted everything - our work, our creativity, and our lives, - say Maria Lanko and Lizaveta German, co-founders of the Ukrainian gallery The Naked Room. - Nevertheless, we are moving forward, trying to implement our plans, after all, there is much more at stake in this terrible, devastating situation than the success of our private gallery. Every moment we think about the artists and their community. They are in our heart, we must save them first."
At the ArtVilnius'22 art fair, gallerists would like not only to share the same energy they felt when opening the Ukrainian pavilion in Venice together with curator Boris Filonenko, but also to find inspiration. "Although Kyiv is still the center of the gallery, new partnerships in Europe enrich our activities and our program," says M. Lanko, who comes to Vilnius herself.
"The Naked Room" in Vilnius hopes to attract attention to the young Ukrainian artist Alexandra Kadzevich, currently living in Holland. Her work was specially selected for ArtVilnius - extremely personal works created last year, the starting point of which was a box of old photo negatives inherited from her grandfather. In it, Alexandra not only discovered a completely new, unknown chapter of her family history, but also demonstrates a different approach to painting. At The Naked Room booth, viewers will also see some of Alexandra's very personal family-related items.
Hidden collections
Ya Gallery, which is participating in ArtVilnius for the fourth time, and its founder, collector, exhibition curator Pavlo Gudimovs are extremely happy with the friendship between Lithuanian and Ukrainian artists, to which Lithuanian diplomats have contributed for a long time.
"The situation in the east of Ukraine today is very complicated," says P. Gudimov, who is coming to "ArtVilnius'22" himself, "Kharkov Academy of Art and Design moved to Lviv, and Kharkiv School of Architecture left there as well." When we talk about the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, it is difficult at all, there are many destroyed cultural objects. The situation is somewhat more stable in Odesa, and the same in Dnipro. Ukrainian cultural activities today are concentrated in the western part of the country, Kyiv is slowly returning to its former life, galleries are opening, new exhibitions are opening. Museums are still closed or functioning as exhibition spaces, still keeping their collections hidden. Most contemporary art galleries have also moved to the west of the country or moved abroad altogether. The works of our gallery have been moved to Lviv, part of the collection is in Vilnius. The gallery team is working in Ukraine, we only have the opportunity to leave the country and exhibit artists abroad."
What worries Mr. Gudimov is that the country has lost many artists, especially women, who today work and live in safer places, mostly abroad. Their departure drained the blood of the art field, the curator has no doubt that the cultural field of his country will feel the consequences for a long time and will have to put a lot of effort to bring the artists back to their homeland.
In the Ukrainian war, the artists of this country have their own weapon - creativity. Mr. Gudimov talks about his curated group exhibition "The Muses Are Silent" held in Lviv. The work of artists during the war years was shown here. This exhibition received a huge response abroad. "There is no wartime creativity left in the world, and we are talking about what we know well, what is happening here, it is phenomenal," says the curator. - Our artists are very active - both in the field of creativity, politics and society. And yet they desperately need help to survive this difficult time, to spread Ukrainian culture to the people of their country, and to find their place in the world art sphere."
The gallery was given over to military use
The organizers of "ArtVilnius'22" invited the Kyiv gallery "Ra Gallery" to restore its activities in Lithuania. "Today, the manager has given his gallery to war purposes," says the manager of the fair, D. Stomienė. - It is very important that the activity of the gallery does not stop, its artists can survive this difficult time, get offers to exhibit their works in other countries, discover people who would buy their works."
Kyiv-based Shcherbenko Art Center is famous for its interdisciplinary, experimental projects that address ecology, politics, feminism, and conflicts in a contemporary context. At the art fair "ArtVilnius'22" Shcherbenko Art Center will present the project "The promise of Freedom", whose curator is Maryna Shcherbenko, the founder of the center.
ArtVilnius'22 will also be attended by regular participants of the fair, Tsekh gallery, which has branches in Kyiv and Vilnius, and has implemented more than 400 personal and group projects in Ukraine and abroad during its twelve years of operation. At the fair, "Tsekh" will present artists already liked by visitors Yevgeny Merman, Mykola Bilous, Evgeny Petrov, Yaroslav Derkach ir Rustam Mirzoev works. "ArtVilnius'15" gallery was chosen as the best foreign gallery by the "Tsekh" evaluation committee.
Support for the arts is important
ArtVilnius'22 project area curator V. Klimašauskas would like to look at today's war from the perspective of hope. He believes that a common denominator that tells the tragedy of war and the fragility of human destiny is necessary, but also necessary is hope and a new approach that calls for rewriting not only the history of art, but also the history of the world.
"This year, we strongly invite ArtVilnius'22 to support Ukrainian artists, to help them survive this difficult period, to purchase Ukrainian works, which you can later donate to museums, leave for future generations as a symbol of friendship and unity between our countries," says the head of ArtVilnius and Lithuanian D. Stomienė, president of the association of art gallerists.
The organizers of the fair are also very grateful to the Lithuanian Embassy in Ukraine, the Vilnius City Municipality, the Lithuanian Institute of Culture and the Lithuanian Cultural Attaché in Ukraine Ina Kniuriene for their operational assistance in organizing the Ukrainian art program "ArtVilnius'22". The 13th international contemporary art fair "ArtVilnius'22" will be held on October 7-9. "Litexpo". Litexpo in three main halls and an outdoor area, totaling 12 sq.m. m area, 000 art galleries and institutions, 70 artists from 320 countries of the world will participate in the program of the fair.
