Art Exhibitions and Projects in Kyiv, 2022–2023

In the summer of 2022, Kyiv’s artistic life gradually resumed: in June, the National Philharmonic, theatres, and cinemas reopened, followed by museums at the end of the summer. The first art exhibitions were held in June and July, with participants seeking to capture and reflect on what they had experienced over the previous four months. One of the earliest was Inter Arma. Art During War (Khlibnya, National Reserve “Sophia of Kyiv”). In the following months, large-scale exhibitions and projects were presented by the Ukrainian House National Centre (Ukrainian Wartime Posters, How Are You?), the National House of Artists (Year of Resilience), Mystetskyi Arsenal (Coexistence with Darkness), and others. Exhibitions devoted to war caricature, such as Viktor Kudin’s War Caricature, became a distinctive phenomenon of the time. Many projects reflected a deep need for connection with the “cultural code,” both Ukrainian and global (e.g., Maria Paints; Salvador Dali. The Divine Comedy; the project By Gold, By Colour, By Light, dedicated to the 175th anniversary of Wilhelm Kotarbiński; and exhibitions by Ivan Marchuk). In parallel, exhibitions held “not about the war, but despite the war” appeared almost immediately, and their number steadily grew. Having been in Kyiv throughout the entire period, the author was able to directly observe the gradual revitalisation of the exhibition scene, analyse key trends in this process, and consider the attitudes of its participants.