Project «Ukrainian Female Artists: Seeing and Hearing »

“Ukrainian Female Artists: Seeing and Hearing” is a series of public podcasts aimed at increasing the visibility of Ukrainian women artists, curators, and art researchers. The project combined live events in Lviv with the subsequent publication of video podcasts online.

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The initiative was implemented by Lviv Municipal Enterprise “Lviv Radio” and the NGO “Lviv Cultural Centre” in partnership with the Lviv Culture Hub and UNESCO, with financial support from AECID.

The series is curated and hosted by researcher and art critic Oleksandra Kushchenko.

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Episode 1 — Following Your Traces: Women Artists of Ivano‑Frankivsk.

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The first episode, titled “Following Your Traces: Women Artists of Ivano-Frankivsk,” focuses on a feminist perspective, the Stanislav phenomenon, and the cultivation of an artistic ecosystem (through the synergy of Asortymentna Kimnata gallery, a library, and the post impreza publication).

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The guest of the episode was Aliona Karavay, co-founder of the Asortymentna Kimnata gallery and the post impreza media platform.

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Episode 2 — Practices of Presence: Performance and Education.

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The second episode, “Practices of Presence: Performance and Education,” focuses on the representation of contemporary art within educational contexts.

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The main guest of the episode is Daryna Skrynnyk-Myska — PhD in Philosophy, Head of the Department of Contemporary Art Practices at the Lviv National Academy of Arts, and curator.

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The challenges of developing an educational programme, and how performance has become part of the learning process, are further explored by interdisciplinary artist, curator, and lecturer Yaryna Shumska.

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Episode 3 — Artists as Keepers of Memory: Heritage, Myths and Living Memory.

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The third episode of the podcast “Ukrainian Female Artists: Seeing and Hearing” features Olena Zaretska — an artist and the founder and head of the Alla Horska and Viktor Zaretsky Foundation.

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What does it mean to preserve memory and reconstruct the figures of iconic Ukrainian artists in the contemporary world, while also balancing one’s own artistic practice with motherhood? The episode explores the complexities of artistic legacy, role models, and stereotypes surrounding the Sixtiers movement.

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Episode 4 — Visible on the World Stage: Biennales, Photography and Ukraine’s Visibility.

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Photography as a way of speaking about fragility, memory, and the experience of war is at the core of the fourth episode.

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Author and host Oleksandra Kushchenko, together with artist Olena Subach, take a closer look at photography as a medium. In conversation with curator and researcher of contemporary photography Viktoriia Bavykina, the episode also offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on the Venice Biennale.

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This episode brings together Ukrainian women artists reflecting on the national pavilion, politics, female figures, and the struggle for visibility in times of war.

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Episode 5 — Art and Support in Wartime: Friendship, Practice and Resilience.

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This episode concludes the season, and it is no coincidence that author and host Oleksandra Kushchenko turns to the topic of art and support in times of war.

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The final episode features artists and close friends Oleksandra Sysa and Mariia Plyatsko. Oleksandra has currently paused her journalistic and artistic practice to serve in the military on the Pokrovsk direction. Meanwhile, despite motherhood, Mariia organizes art workshops and fundraising initiatives to support her friend from the home front.

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What lies behind this friendship at a distance, and how creativity helps to navigate loss, is explored in the final episode of the season.

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Partnerships and Production

The project was implemented by the NGO “Lviv Cultural Centre” and Lviv Municipal Enterprise “Lviv Radio” in partnership with the Lviv Culture Hub and UNESCO.

Production: What If Creative Studio
Design: Kateryna Drozd
Curator and host: Oleksandra Kushchenko
Photo: UNESCO / Bohdan Yemets

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The project was carried out with the financial support of AECID.

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