Orange Revolution sparks creative impulse in Ukraine

by Oksana Zakydalsky

TORONTO - The Center for Contemporary Art in Kyiv became the site of an artistic happening called the Revolutionary Experimental Space (Revolutsiynyi Eksperementalnyi Prostir - R.E.P. - in Ukrainian) as the gallery was transformed into a venue for artists from the maidan, said Yuri Onuch, director of the center, who was recently in Toronto.

On December 4 the center invited artists taking part in the demonstrations on Independence Square to use the gallery space and its technical resources to create works of art inspired by their participation in the maidan events. Then, from December 18 to December 26 (the day of third round of the presidential election) the works, including installations, objects, painted canvases and graphics on paper, were shown in an exhibit open to the public. As art historian Halyna Skliarenko wrote, the art works "recreated the mood of the maidan in images - its bitter, often brutal, humor, its tension and openness, and its carnivalesque ambiance."

According to the artists taking part, the main idea of their project, which was open to all regardless of age or education, was its process - the opportunity to communicate and work together.

The photos on this page give only an idea of the works on view, most of which were in vivid color (no secret which color dominated). Mr. Onuch said that at the end of the exhibit most of the works were sold - many were bought by visiting foreign election observers.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 13, 2005, No. 7, Vol. LXXIII

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