Planeta Ukrain. Here's how the Milan Triennale is preparing the Ukraine Pavilion.

As is often the case in times of war, the conflict that erupted at the end of February 2022 between Russia and Ukraine has caused an unimaginable shockwave in the world of art and culture: in just a few weeks, many European countries have mobilized to offer solidarity to Ukraine through a multitude of demonstrations, exhibitions, events, fundraising campaigns and collective actions. Among the many initiatives is Planeta Ukrain: a platform for discussion and reflection, preparatory to the creation of a Pavilion dedicated to Ukraine during the XXIII International Triennial Exhibition to be held in the summer under the title Unknown unknows.

The Planeta Ukrain project, a name that between play and symbol alludes to Esperanto and thus to the idea of unity and brotherhood of peoples, was presented on Wednesday, March 9, at the Milan Triennale and is curated by Gianluigi Ricuperati and his wife Lidiya Liberman in collaboration with Stefano Boeri, co-pilot of the initiative and moderator during the evening. The meeting took place as a large round table around which, in addition to the curators of the Pavilion, a number of institutional figures and prominent personalities from the Italian press gathered, some in attendance and some via video link.

The most significant speeches were undoubtedly those of some of the protagonists of the Ukrainian cultural fabric invited to contribute to the realization of the Ukrainian Pavilion, including curators Katia Kabalina and Sergey Kantsedal; artists Yuval Avital, Olena Achkasova, Yevgenia Belorusets, Alevtina Kakhidze and Valeriya Shebelnichenko; Galyna Grygorenko, Head of the State Agency for Arts and Culture at the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture; and philosopher Mihail Minakov. Many presences in the musical sphere: Oksana Lyniv, music director of the Bologna Municipal Theater; Antonii Baryshevskyi, pianist; Anna Gadetska, musicologist (Program Director Open Opera Ukraine); several musicians from the Kyiv Soloists National Chamber Ensemble; Albert Saprykin, composer and founder of Kyiv Contemporary Music Days. And also Andrii Kurkov, writer; Katerina Pischikova, political scientist; Konstantin Sigov, historian. In short, not only art, because being designed to be open to different areas and disciplines of culture, the Pavilion was born precisely under the sign of a multidisciplinary approach that aims to maximize the role of art as a universal language and instrument of dialogue between cultures, the affirmation of free thought and the conveyance of the message of peace. Valuable was to hear, in particular.

The realization that a Pavilion for Ukraine at the XXIII Triennale was at this point not only right, but rightful and necessary, materialized very quickly. The initiative was sparked at the instigation of Stefano Boeri, who for the curatorial side had no doubts in immediately involving writer and curator Gianluigi Ricuperati with his wife Lidiya Liberman, an actress, and Anastasia Stovbyr, a pianist, both of Ukrainian descent.

The idea for the project was also born in response to recently leaked news about Ukraine’s absence from the Venice Biennale, understandably for logistical and security reasons. An absence that would have weighed deeply on the event, and which was finally rectified just Wednesday evening, to the general excitement, by curator and member of the Pavilion’s curatorial team Liza German: connecting from a safe area a few kilometers from Kiev, the curator announced that the country would be present at the Biennale and confirmed the initial project of an exhibition by Pavlo Makov, a Russian artist with Ukrainian citizenship. “It is extremely important to carry out this project in spite of the humanitarian catastrophe that is happening right now in Ukraine,” the curator continued. “We feel that it is crucial to present Ukraine at the Biennale, not only as a victim of war, but also to give a strong international voice representing the country, in every possible way. And for all of us, Pavlo Makov’s artistic contribution is crucial.”

Very touching was the anecdote about the book Ukraine. Art for Architecture. Soviet modernist mosaics 1960 to 1990 by photographer Yevgen Nikiforov, who for several years has been tirelessly pursuing a dense photographic archive on Soviet-era mosaics in Ukraine-a work sadly destined to remain unfinished since, as German explained, at the end of a war the ground is usually littered with mines and remnants of weapons that make any travel or movement through the territory highly dangerous.

Liza German’s speech was echoed by that of the president of the Venice Biennale, Roberto Cicutto, who recalled how the Venetian institution has always been at the forefront in the defense of oppressed peoples and in spreading the message of peace: unforgettable, for example, was the 1974 Biennale devoted entirely to Chile, during which the city was invaded by many murals created by Chilean artists in response to Pinochet’s coup d’état the year before.

Italy’s cooperation between major cultural institutions, which already united Milan and Venice, was then further enriched with the presence of Rome and the MAXXI Museum, which in dialogue with the Imago Mundi Foundation opened on March 10 the off-program exhibition Ukraine: Short Stories. Contemporary Artists from Ukraine featuring works by 140 contemporary Ukrainian artists, the proceeds of which will be donated to a humanitarian emergency fund. Presenting the initiative were Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini and MAXXI President Giovanna Melandri, who took the opportunity to read a letter from Solomia Savchuk, curator of the Mystetsky Arsenal Museum of Contemporary Art in Kiev, drawing attention to a particularly sensitive issue, namely the urgency of protecting, securing and preserving works of art, museums and cultural sites in war zones.

Many insights were developed over the course of the evening, not only on cultural issues. On the relationship between art and politics, among others, the thoughts of Albert Saprykin, co-founder of the Contemporary Music Festival in Kiev, stood out, who very openly stated how art is not independent from politics, but rather shapes it. The composer went on to call on other countries to give space and visibility first and foremost to artists, musicians, composers, intellectuals and personalities who can shed light on Ukrainian culture, rather than that of the invading country. “If my country, Ukraine, attacked a neighboring country, I would do everything I could to stop it. I would also help the people of the country that my country is invading, but for the duration of the war I would have enough decency and conscience to give up my place on the cultural platforms to the people of the invaded country. If I were a Russian citizen and I were invited on a discussion platform in support of Ukraine, I would ask: Are you sure there are no Ukrainians who can take my place? If I were a Russian citizen invited to perform a concert for the right to peace, I would ask: Are you sure there are no Ukrainian musicians who could do it instead of me?” and concludes, “This may be the last chance for these people to be able to say something.”

The position of Israeli artist Yuval Avital, originally from Jerusalem but based in Milan, is different, for whom “The root of this initiative, which Gianluigi Ricuperati created with Stefano Boeri, is undeniably truthful and authentic, because Gianluigi is living the situation firsthand together with his family in Ukraine, and he decided not to limit himself to being a spectator but to become a catalyst for a sign. Not a political sign, despite some would argue that art is the first form of politics, but an absolutely human sign.”

A thought fully shared by Ricuperati himself, who with a firm voice and unequivocal clarity clarified what are the basic assumptions of this Ukrainian Pavilion: “The ostracism of Russian culture is a false problem, which none of us feel, least of all the Ukrainians who right now would have many reasons to hate the invaders. The real problem is the Ukrainian victims and the children who die. Now it is essential to shift the focus to the Ukrainian artists, their situation, the people, and to act by doing everything we can do for the oppressed. We have to decide where we stand: whether with the oppressed or with the oppressors. Right now we put our attention on the oppressed, then we will give attention to the very brave Russian dissidents. But right now let’s worry about giving these intellectual artists a design hope and those who are here a home for them.” Incidentally, Ricuperati tells us while talking about the Ukrainian Pavilion, there was nothing similar planned for the XXIII Triennale. But then suddenly the idea sprung up, and Planeta Ukrain came to light, as an act of love and resistance acted in unison by communities inextricably welded together by a single principle, so basic and yet so gravely threatened, even today, at the pinnacle of human progress.

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