A showcase of the work Secondary Archive: Ukrainian artists’ sound statements will run in the Warsaw Observatory of Culture front window until 5 March 2023. The installation can be seen and heard from 34/50 Marszałkowska Street.
On the 23rd of February 2022 Secondary Archive launched a new edition of the platform for female artists from Central and Eastern Europe with creatives from Ukraine and Belarus.
The launch happened just a few hours before the invasion of Russia on Ukraine. Curators, artists and guests at the event spoke about a rising tension and the need for representation and protection of the female artist’s heritage from Central and Eastern Europe, especially in the face of its destruction by Russia.
It has been a year since that day and Ukrainian artists continue to create despite all odds. It is an honour for the Secondary Archive to collaborate with female artists, who continuously fight for their rights, who are loud and proud, and through doing so shape our reality.
The past year has shown us art can be a powerful storyteller for those whose voices are being silenced. Therefore we wish to give public space to Ukrainian artists without external interference and let the voices be understood and heard.
Iryna Polikarchuk, the manager of the project from Ukraine, says: In Pristina and Warsaw, we hear 14 voices out of 50 female artists from Ukraine presented in the Archive. In the spring of 2022, art seemed powerless against Russian tanks and missiles, so not all artists could speak. But these 14 voices tried to declare, manifest, and shout to the whole world about the war.
A whole year has passed, and the war continues. Our artists felt the strength and will to speak on behalf of Ukraine through their artistic practices. They create new works and participate in international exhibitions, conferences, and discussions. They defend the right of Ukraine to win this war and get rid of colonial pressure from Russia at all levels.
A year has passed, and the audio statements of our artists remain relevant. They will sound in the public space to remind us that the war is going on and that we need the support of the European community.
Artists: Yana Bachynska, Tereza Barabash, Oksana Chepelyk, Olia Fedorova, Uli Golub, Ksenia Hnylytska, Alevtina Kakhidze, Tetiana Kornieieva, Yulia Kostereva, Yulia Krivich, Maria Kulikovska, Anna Manankina, Valeria Troubina, Anna Zvyagintseva
Project leader: Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation (Poland)
Partners: Artsvit Gallery (Ukraine), Warsaw Observatory of Culture (Poland)
Project manager PL: Iga Maria Szczepańska
Project manager UA: Iryna Polikarchuk
WOK’s project managers: Marta Michalak, Agnieszka Tiutiunik
Video editing: Ewa Łuczak
Technicians: ZUCh, Marek Jeżewski, Michał Markowicz
Statements by female artists from Ukraine were originally presented as part of Manifesta 14 in Pristina, Kosovo, alongside statements by artists from the other Secondary Archive partner countries. SA project manager at Manifesta 14: Ewa Mielczarek, coordinator PL: Asia Tsisar.
The Secondary Archive project was so far realised with the support of Visegrad Fund and the House of Europe.
