Mystetskyi Arsenal. How it works. The project about why do we need cultural institutions.About Us

Mystetskyi Arsenal. How it works. The project about why do we need cultural institutions.

Mystetskyi Arsenal presents a manifold How It Works series of episodes — online project about the role and capabilities of cultural institutions in modern society. The project is based on 12 video conversations with philosophers, economists, researchers and contemporary artists. The interlocutors are looking for answers to the following questions:

🔶 Why do developed societies spend huge resources on the development of museums, theaters and festivals?

🔶 What do cultural institutions give to their states instead? What role do they play in developing citizens and empowering communities?

🔶 How does history define the cultural institution?

🔶 How do institutions shape and rethink cultural heritage? How does a work of art or an archaeological find acquire the status of a cultural heritage?

The first was a conversation “What is a good institution and whether it is possible in Ukraine” by Mystetskyi Arsenal director Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta and philosopher, musician, and journalist Volodymyr Yermolenko.

How history affects the formation of cultural institutions — this is discussed in our second video:

About the history of the Arsenal during the time of Arsenal military factory says Olena Petrivna Shevchenko, who has been working here for 50 years:

What artworks fall into the collection of the Mystetskyi Arsenal. Conversation with Vlada Ralko, whose series Kyiv Diary became part of the institution’s funds:

The economy of cultural institutions as an area for investment and as a stimulator of the creative industries market.

About the building of the Mystetskyi Arsenal as a majestic architectural monument 👇

What is the difference between gallery works and street art, and artistic egoism? A conversation with Hamlet Zinkivsky, whose works are in the museum’s collection.

What are the educational functions of cultural institutions —  this was the subject of a conversation between Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta and former Minister of Education Anna Novosad.

About the work and role of the contemporary artist in a conversation with Alevtina Kakhidze, whose work “History of the city of Strawberry Andriivna, or Zhdanіvka” is in the collection of the Mystetskyi Arsenal.

What is the military history of Arsenal? Learn more in the 9th episode of the project 👇

About the outstanding collector Igor Dychenko, thanks to whom the collection of the Mystetskyi Arsenal houses more than 500 works by Ukrainian avant-garde artists, dissidents, and famous contemporaries.

How art can help to explore borders —  political, social, personal. A conversation with Maria Kulikovska, whose sculptures are are on display in the Arsenal’s courtyard.

What Deputy Director of Development Maryan Manko says about the project How It Works:

“The community knows Mystetskyi Arsenal primarily through our exhibitions, Book Arsenal and educational festival. However, quarantine has allowed us to slow down and reflect on what our cultural institution is. We conduct this research for ourselves and are happy to share the results with everyone. This is a great opportunity to look behind the scenes of the largest cultural institution in the country, learn about the secrets of its history, its capabilities and its impact on society.” 

This project is funded by the International 2020 Relief Fund for Organisations in Culture and Education supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, Goethe-Institut, and other partners: https://www.goethe.de/en/uun/auf/hlf.html

Mystetskyi Arsenal is a monument of history and architecture of the XVIII century, and is also Ukraine’s flagship cultural institution that brings together various arts – from contemporary art, new music and theater to literature and museum development. The mission of the Mystetskyi Arsenal is to contribute to modernization of Ukrainian society and Ukraine’s integration into the global context based on the axiological potential of culture. The Arsenal exposition area, which is already used for the implementation of art projects, reaches 24,000 sq.m.