No one will say my words for me.
No one will do my job for me.
This series of encounters with Ukrainian culture and its makers – Ukrainians as well as foreigners – is aimed at closing the distance between the events unfolding in Ukraine and the Dutch audience that experiences them mainly through news outlets.
The chosen language of contemporary art, which is used as an attempt to convey sharp yet nuanced and thought-provoking images of the world as it is changing in front of our eyes, and helping to build empathy and deeper understanding.
Although art is inevitably behind the actual events that develop far too quickly to process and analyze them, it can still be a viable tool for dealing with reality.
As the lines from Serhiy Zhadan’s poetry suggest, the task of telling our own story, creating an appropriate vocabulary to describe our experience has to be assumed and performed by ourselves.
The arduous task of fighting back the enemy, suffering the distresses of war and the calamities it brings, as well as rebuilding the country afterwards falls on Ukrainian shoulders. But those who generally consider themselves incapable of making difference, actually have a duty to decide and act too. After all, Ukrainians may win the war for freedom and democratic values but it is the duty of Europeans to nurture and cherish them for this.
No one will say my words for me
No one will say my words for me, No one will do my job for me offers time and space for a multifaceted articulation of Ukrainian voices that comment on the recent and up to the minute history of Ukraine. The project features writings dealing with decolonization efforts by Ukrainian art practitioners which have been triggered by the war; artworks created in response to the current events; war diaries written by an artist who remained in Kyiv under bombardment; a series of movies shot in and about the besieged city of Mariupol; and a sound representation of Ukrainian folk culture in the Donbas.
All suggested entries will unroll gradually over a span of one and a half months. They are open-ended and seek to engage in dialogue with each other and the audience.
Timetable:
May 3rd at 6 p.m. – Performance: Save Heritage by Irina Ozi
May 10th at 6 p.m. – The War Diary of Yevgenia Belorusets, Firefly Frequencies Radio
May 23th at 6 p.m. – Reader presentation: Blind spots, dead pixels: on the decolonial approach and anthropogenic perspectives in Ukraine by Lia Dostlieva & Andrii Dostliev
June 7th at 6 p.m. – Screening night: Piotr Armianovski, Me and Mariupol(2017), Zoya Laktionova Territory of Empty Windows (2020), Romea Muryn and Francisco Lobo, Centrallurgy (2015)
June 14th at 6 p.m. – Sound performance: Dyvyna: The Songs of Resilience
Venue
Drop-In It’s OK…for common uncertainties
Oudekerksplein 3 1012GX Amsterdam
