The curatorial project “Animation of art resistance in the occupation”
Yulia Manukyan, Serhii Dyachenko
Residence Sorry No Rooms Available
November 21, 2022
Kherson was occupied almost immediately, already on March 3. The story of how Hair-Art turned into Art-Resistance, and what influence art has on the struggle.
For about three weeks, everyone was in a state of shock. And then I saw the first works on the theme of war from artists who found themselves in the free territory, and I thought that the only “mental” salvation for us is to record everything that is happening to us now through art. I started interviewing those artists with whom I often worked on projects. It should be noted that they have already begun to “work out” a new terrible reality, and not only in Kherson. Any tragic event became a trigger. It was clear that publicity should be kept to a minimum, because collaborators gradually began to appear, willingly helping FSB officers compile lists of ATO members, activists, journalists, all potentially disloyal to the “new government”. Before Buchi, we naively believed that people of culture were not particularly interesting to them, because their external influence on city decisions or the political atmosphere was not so remarkable. But it turned out that in Russia, as in any totalitarian country, they understand well that the progressive layer of the population must be destroyed first of all. Culture in an independent and democracy-seeking country is an environment in which opposition immediately ripens.
The first to respond was a naïve artist with a workshop in the city center, which actually became our art shelter, where we gathered and discussed ideas, shared news, and encouraged each other. Then others joined in and my Residence in Occupation appeared. Then it was joined by artists and artists working with various media, such as painting, graphics, photography, video, installation, texts, etc., in order to transform their experience into art, survive crazy circumstances and not remain passive observers of terrible events. For the first time, the world learned about the indomitability of Kherson artists from the article of The Guardian: “Kherson’s secret art society produces searing visions of life under Russian occupation.”
There were many reposts and feedbacks, sincere words of support and offers of help. But this is not enough. This is how the idea of popularizing Kherson’s “art resistance” through modern media was born, to remind everyone again and again that Kherson is Ukraine. This is how the project “Animation of art resistance in the occupation” was born, which aims to promote in the infospace the artistic expressions of Kherson artists who survived the occupation or are still under the enemy’s sights.
Now, when the Kherson artistic community is scattered in different cities and countries, social media are the ones that allow us to be closer to each other, inspire each other, develop joint projects, share painful experiences and artistic reflections. After all, the war not only did not stop creative people, but also opened up in them the ability for conscious “cultural” resistance. His “animation” will help to reach much wider circles of various communities anywhere. The lively scenes of paintings and drawings created by the Kherson people during the occupation will enter the heart of everyone who loves and supports Ukraine.
Documentation of the exhibition, photo credit Mykhailo Melnychenko
Record of the presentation
The residence of Yulia Manukyan and Serhiy Dyachenko was made possible thanks to the support of:
European Cultural Foundation
The beaux-arts Academy in Paris