On March 9, on the birthday of Ukrainian writer Taras Shevchenko, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with representatives of culture, art and media. The moderator of the event – Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
Thus, famous performers, artists, cultural managers and all those who during the last year have been holding the cultural front and artistic resistance to aggression of the russian federation were able to discuss today’s challenges at the highest level. The President outlined the direction of the conversation: how to create new waves of support so that the world talks about Ukraine constantly, how to create hundreds of hours of content to fill the information vacuum, so that it is not filled by the enemy. It should be created by the witnesses and participants of this war – with works, plays, books, music, films.
The President emphasized that cultural and artistic figures who went to defend Ukraine as part of the defense forces contributed to the consolidation of Ukrainian society, the growth of patriotism and encouraged citizens to defend the country by their example.
“Ukraine defends its independence because it is not alone. Thanks to the united people, thanks to our Armed Forces and the whole world,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
According to the Head of State, diplomacy, journalism and culture played an important role in uniting the world around Ukraine – both inside and outside the country.
In particular, various international venues hosted numerous cultural events that told about Ukraine, the war launched by russia, the consequences of russian aggression and the crimes of the russian army. As the President emphasized, such informing of the international community influenced the strengthening of financial and defense support for our country by our partners.
“I thank all the artists who are helping here, who are in the trenches giving their lives to this cause. And also to all those abroad who created and helped diplomacy and journalism to form this wave of support so that Ukraine would not be alone,” he said.
Despite the war in Ukraine during 2022 more than 50 theatrical premieres were created, hundreds of exhibitions of Ukrainian art and photography were held, dozens of documentary film and music videos were shot, dozens of musical works were composed, and concerts were held on the front lines and in military units. Art serves as art therapy for hero veterans and internally displaced persons. External activities are equally important. It is about the presentation of Ukrainian culture, the promotion of Ukrainian art all over the world. Over 3,000 such events took place during the year. These are exhibitions, concerts, festivals, art events.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine is being waged over identity and culture. A huge propaganda and punitive machine has been deployed against Ukrainian culture for hundreds of years. Today, our culture is at the forefront of the fight for ourselves, for the country, in support of our defenders. State support is important. But everyone in their place can also do a lot, and is already doing it. For which we are very grateful to our cultural front workers. The Ministry will create a road map of particular actions both on the part of the state and cultural figures and institutions, which will help us win in the cultural and informational war against the enemy. Another important result of the meeting is the approval of additional nominations for the Shevchenko Prize for works created during the war,” Oleksandr Tkachenko noted.
