II Ukraine Season (19.09–30.11.2024) highlights Ukrainian culture and supports Ukrainian artists in the midst of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The overall theme of the series of events is “Women in war”.
The multi-art cultural festival, which broadly represents Ukrainian culture, starts with the exhibition “Woman in Times of War” (19.09–30.11). Ukraine is strongly represented at the Helsinki Book Fair (24–27.10). The eighth Ukrainian Film Days will be held at the Orion cinema (7–10.11). The Ukraine Season will then be completed by a series of concerts by the famous Ukrainian choir Shchedryk in collaboration with Finnish choirs Tapiola and Cantores Minores (20-24.11).
Ukraine Season focuses on women and their various social roles during the war. In Ukraine, almost 70,000 women are serving in the Armed Forces, of which about 4,000 are on the front lines (https://www.mil.gov.ua/news/2024/05/01/kilkist-zhinok-v-armii/). Many women are involved in volunteer activities, many have left to save their children. There are 64,415 Ukrainian refugees in Finland (July 31, 2024, UNHCR, https://bit.ly/3YcHEAf).
– Ukraine Season was organized for the first time last year. This year, the focus of the festival is on women during the war. In addition to the Ukrainian women working on this topic, we have also invited several Finnish artists. The experiences of the Finns during the Second World War are well known in Ukraine, and we wanted to consider the perspective of the connection between today’s Ukraine and Finland in the 1940s, says Nataliya Teramae, founder of the Ukraine Season, coordinator of cultural projects of the Ukrainian Association in Finland.
Ukraine Season is supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, the City of Helsinki, and the Tre Smeder Foundation.
Team:
Nataliya Teramae: founder of Ukraine Season, coordinator of cultural projects of the Ukrainian Association in Finland
Iryna Gorkun-Silén: coordinator of cultural projects of the Ukrainian Association in Finland
Olena Skorokhod: financial manager
Oksana Kozhan: smm, design
Anastasiia Kuznietsova: translation
PR support is provided by Liekki Promotion
Program
WOMAN IN TIMES OF WAR LAPINLAHDEN LÄHDE, 19.9–30.11.2024
– The exhibition “Woman in Times of War” is designed to reflect a woman’s view of the painful realities of war. The exhibition features Ukrainian and Finnish female artists who express their experiences through their art. In addition to their own works, these five women will make a collaborative work during the exhibition, which will become part of the exhibition when completed. The project is also important because it supports Ukrainian artists and gives them the opportunity to focus on their art, say the curators of the exhibition Ramiro Camelo (Artists at Risk) and Iryna Gorkun-Silen (Ukrainian Association in Finland).
Participants: Lesia Lesia Synychenko (UA), Maya Kolesnik (UA), Julia Savtchenko (FI), Maryna Semenkova (UA) ja Päivi Maunu (FI).
The exhibition space also hosts small concerts and other gatherings.
The exhibition is organized together with Lapinlahden Lähde and Artists at Risk and supported by the City of Helsinki, the Tre Smeder Foundation and the Goethe-Institut.
UKRAINIAN PROGRAM AT THE HELSINKI BOOK FAIR, 24.10-27.10.2024
Two Ukrainian writers will take part in the program of the fair. Jevhenija Kuznjetsova will present her novel “The Ladder” about Ukrainian refugees. Another guest is Yaryna Chornohuz, a military officer and poet laureate of the Shevchenko Prize, whose poems will be read in Finnish by Finnish writer Laura Lindstedt, laureate of the Finlandia Prize.
The Ukrainian program will also be supplemented by the presentation of the Finnish translation of the art book “BOHOMAZOV 1911: Following the Ukrainian artist in Finland”. Nataliya Teramae’s book tells about the artistic research trip to Finland in 1911 by Oleksandr Bohomazov (1880–1930), who is considered one of the most outstanding Ukrainian modernists. Nataliya reconstructs this journey based on Bogomazov’s writings and letters and his own research. The book contains familiar Finnish landscapes, such as the rapids of Imatra, the waves of Saimaa and the pines of Punkaharju, drawn by Bohomazov. Bohomazov’s works are presented at the exhibition “In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900–1930s” at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
The Ukrainian program of the Helsinki Book Fair is organized in cooperation with the Ukrainian Book Institute, the Ukrainian Institute, PEN Ukraine and Suomen PEN.
UKRAINIAN FILM DAYS AT THE ORION CINEMA 7.11.–10.11.2024
The annual Ukrainian Film Days festival, organized for the first time in 2017, presents the best modern films and classics. This year’s theme, according to the Ukraine Season, is “Women in War”. There are four films in the program. In addition to Ukrainian movies, there is also Taru Mäkelä’s documentary “Lotat” (1995).
The concert program will include both well-known classical European works and modern works by Ukrainian composers. Concerts:
20.11. Shchedryk concert at the main cathedral of Helsinki
21.11. Joint concert of Shchedryk with Tapiola choir, Kallio Church, Helsinki
23.11. Charity concert with the choir Cantores Minores, Vihtin church
Ukrainian Season News:
Ukraine Season 2023
We proudly present the very first Ukraine Season of Culture in Finland that will last from September until December. It will include several events:
- 20-22.09.2023. Participation of the Ukrainian delegation at the Finnish Film Affair. Read more.
- 15-16.10.2023 Music of Ancient and Modern Ukraine concerts of the Ukrainian acclaimed ensemble Chorea Kozacky (Tampere, Helsinki). Read more Tickets.
- 26-29.10.2023 Ukrainian Program at the Helsinki Book Fair. Read more
- 28.10.2023 Diaries of Hope, a concert of Ukrainian music with Perespiv choir and soloists Marina Kramarenko and Sofiia Yakovyshyna (Kulttuuritalo Grand, Porvoo). Read more Tickets.
- 16-19.11.2023 Ukrainian Film Days. Kinopalatsi, Kaisaniemenkatu 2, Helsinki
- 1.12.2023 Zona performance of the Ukrainian Theater in Finland (Sampo Puppet theatre, Helsinki) Read more
The events are organized in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute, Tampereen tuomiokirkkoseurakunta, Töölön seurakunta, Kirkko Helsingissä.
The Ukraine Season of Culture is supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland and the city of Helsinki.
Ukraine Season of Culture Team:
Nataliya Teramae: founder of the Ukraine Season of Culture, cultural coordinator at the Ukrainian Association in Finland
Iryna Gorkun-Silén: Cultural coordinator at the Ukrainian Association in Finland
Pinja Multala: Marketing and fundraising coordinator
Olena Skorokhod: Financial manager
Anastasiia Pihlman: Visuals, design
Oleksii Prykhodko: Translation
Veronica Tunon: Merchandise
PR services are provided by Miltton consulting agency