During the summer of 2024, NGO Cultural Dialogue and NGO Congress of Cultural Activists searched for living manifestations of intangible cultural heritage and inspired heirs in Kharkiv and Ternopil regions in two communities located 772 kilometers apart. As a result, they held a networking event and contemporary art exhibition "KUT 772. Treasures" in collaboration with the Vasyl Krychevsky Poltava Regional Museum of Local Lore.
The project is based on the practices of spaces: "Clay-walled house on Beleben" in Krasnokutsk community and "Nazar Voitovich Art Residence" in Zbarazh community.
KUT 772 is meetings and interactions of identities in the process of architectural-artistic research residency program, which was implemented with co-funding from the ZMINA: Rebuilding program, created with the support of European Union in Ukraine as part of a special call for proposals to support Ukrainian IDPs and Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors, with support from IZOLYATSIA. Platform for Cultural Initiatives, Trans Europe Halles, and Malý Berlín.
The pilot program team of the art-architectural research residency united a researcher of intangible cultural heritage, an art project curator, an urban architect, an artist focused on identity research, and an artist who responds to social and geopolitical challenges through his projects.
The idea was developed by Iryna Kats – researcher, Lucy Nychay – curator, Roksolana Dudka – artist, Vartan Markarian – artist, Oleksandr Stolovyi – urban architect.
The diverse expertise and approaches of team members made the research process multifaceted and comprehensive.
The team began their work online and defined questions they sought to answer in two communities 772 km apart. Each program lasted a week. This allowed them to get first impressions, look at communities with fresh eyes, find the boldest public creative people, and start communication.
Rethinking of research partially took place during preparation for the exhibition, a visual-narrative presentation of communities' unique features. Theoretical questions that arose during research were brought to public discussion during the networking event.
The project team invites you to immerse yourself in reflection and determine the value and significance of living heritage, which will live as long as its bearers live. Most importantly, to restore the value of Ukrainian traditional culture's diversity, highlight the timeliness of knowledge, abilities and skills relevant today and having potential to be a basis for creativity, and as a conclusion, to place at the top of these realizations the person – bearer, heir, master, each and every one of us.
These narratives were discussed during the networking event "KUT 772. Treasures," which united scientists, architects, artists, craftsmen, cultural managers and creative industry representatives, independent researchers and people involved in preserving and developing traditional knowledge, ecological building and stylistic traditions with focus on urban studies of cities and villages in the inner courtyard of the Krychevsky Poltava Museum of Local Lore.
Some important thoughts from the discussion about cultural heritage's future: Zoriana Rybchynska noted in her report that cultural heritage's relevance logically increased during war, as understanding of its preservation importance emerged alongside wars that cause destruction and theft of values. And that the question of what intangible cultural heritage is – namely what we cannot live without and be who we are – arose at the security level. A person feels safer when they understand who they are, where they're from and what surrounds them.
Elements of intangible heritage, customs, traditions, rituals, etc. cannot be considered complete without a bearer, without place, community and people who create it. Also, only by social agreement can we determine what from the past we continue to use and will do so in the future.
Liza Yevsieieva shared the story of founding a civic movement around preserving material cultural heritage, the architectural ensemble of Nova Kakhovka: buildings with "stone embroidery." Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in the process of fighting with developers, her team discovered the story of Hryhoriy Dovzhenko, a Boychukist artist and his students, who in the 1950s post-war years tried to affirm Ukrainian identity, including residents of flooded Ukrainian villages. The phenomenon of decorating new post-war buildings with "stone embroidery" is based on invaluable knowledge that was nurtured and used by Boychukists under the totalitarian system. Now, during wartime, Liza, as curator of the project "Occupied Heritage: Stone Embroidery of Nova Kakhovka" raises awareness about Nova Kakhovka's history and conducts workshops so that knowledge and techniques of monumental decoration "stone embroidery" are not lost.
Dmytro Doroshenko emphasized from the legal side that use of traditional knowledge, particularly painting styles by contemporary masters or artists continues tradition, carries knowledge and thus preserves it for future generations.
Bohdan Malii in turn noted the importance of legalizing copyright and intellectual property rights at the state level, which will facilitate and help present Ukrainian culture internationally.
Oleh Rybchynskyi, speaking about traditional building of Ukrainian ancient cities, notes that their feature throughout the territory is self-governance and self-sufficiency.
Oleksandr Stolovyi emphasizes that many cultural layers didn't have time to be fixed in Ukraine's slow architecture, so value and worldview things should be sought in other cultural manifestations, particularly in intangible heritage.
Arthur Aroyan draws attention to architectural tradition that came from people, became a romanticized style of Ukrainian modernism and returned to people in copies or replicas in private construction.
Oleh Rybchynskyi also expresses doubt about restoring traditional forms in construction due to human consumer nature and suggests everything we cannot use in such environment – fix in books, and sooner or later knowledge will return. He believes that urban planning culture should focus on people, so during reconstruction understand and remember how it was when the city was founded to use this knowledge.
You can listen to recorded discussions on the project website at: https://kut777.framer.website/events
The residency program results exhibition visually presented knowledge, traditions and skills and their potential for supporting identity and recovery and reconstruction processes.
Together with curator Lucy Nychay, artists Roksolana Dudka and Vartan Markarian and architect and writer Oleksandr Stolovyi created digital works and physical art objects continuing research, expressing impressions and concerns, views of past and future.
The basis for these reflections was creativity of local and visiting artists and craftsmen. The exposition presented artifacts that are evidence base of research into Zbarazh and Krasnokutsk communities' context.
Among "Treasures" one could see original artifacts of Mishchenko blacksmith families and beadwork master Halyna Mykhalska, abstract painting by Serhii Dekaliuk and documentary video by Svitlana Pohasiy of Lemko song performed by Viktor Mandziuk. Works from Nazar Voitovich Art Residence collection, residents of 2017-22 programs: Oleksandra Pavlovska, Roksolana Uhryniuk, TkT group, Volodymyr Shumylo. Also works by friends of "Braty" activity space: Liuba Popova, Olena Moiseienko, Olena and Anna Spiridonov, Viacheslav Nikitchenko, Oleksiy Vasyliev.
Project "KUT 772" combined intangible cultural heritage research with contemporary art and architecture. We tried to integrate traditional knowledge and skills into modern cultural formats, emphasizing importance of heritage heirs.
One of project's main values is interaction of different players — from local craftsmen and local authorities to contemporary artists, lawyers, entrepreneurs, architects and researchers. Such interdisciplinary approach allowed not only to identify and make more visible important traditional knowledge and skills of local communities, but also to include in cultural heritage discourse issues of copyright, legal regime of geographical indications protection, commercialization opportunities for communities.
We saw that for heritage preservation, along with its fixation and documentation, extremely important is active participation of heirs — people who live this heritage daily. Their voice was important in research process, and they become bridge between past and future.
The project emphasized that for communities' sustainable development, intangible heritage can be not only cultural resource but also tool for social cohesion and economic uplift. We became convinced that contemporary art and traditional knowledge can coexist, interact and create new values relevant today.
This is just beginning of journey. Results of this pilot project lay foundation for further research in other regions of Ukraine, particularly through residencies, workshops and art projects. And we will continue seeking new ways to actualize heritage and integrate it into modern cultural space.
Project "KUT 772" demonstrates that heritage will live while its bearers live, and it has huge potential to be driver of creativity, support and revival of identities of both individual communities and country as whole.
Read more about project progress here
Project About People. KUT 772. Lucy Nychai, Iryna Kats.