Warriors and Witnesses

Is there a place for art in a country seized by the revolution? And if so, what the art should be? This was the subject of the panel discussion “Warriors and Witnesses” that took place on Friday (28 March) during the XX International Festival od Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant. The participants of the discussion were: Vladislav Troitskyi – director, founder and manager of DAKH Theatre in Kiev and Natalia Vorozhbit – playwright. The discussion with Ukrainian artists was moderated by Agnieszka Lubomira Piotrowska, translator, specialist in Russian theatre and culture. 

Should art be involved in a social struggle, should it be a tool in it? According to Troitskyi it is an individual choice of an artist. Nowadays there is a strong need for finding heroes in Ukraine and artistic activity is strictly connected with social activity. It is hard to separate two roles of an artist. It is the artist who concentrates in himself energy of thousands of people and should transmit condensed emotions. Natalia Vorozhbit thinks that creators cannot be insensible to reality, they cannot lock themselves in their studies. They should look for solutions that allow them to react to things that are happening at Maidan. That is why both Troitskyi and Vorozhbit were witnesses and participants of the events there. Vladislav was preparing a play about the demonstrations, Natalia was gathering a documentary material for a play – she collaborated with other artists, interviewed people, recorded events and human stories. The material will be a base for a play to be premiered probably this May. During the discussion Agnieszka Lubomira Piotrowska read fragments of the script.

What is Maidan – the place we know only from media? What is Maidan for the Ukrainians, for the participants of the revolution? Troitskyi compared it to the act of birth – painful, bloody and at the same time joyful for it announces the approach of better future. A new Ukraine will be the child – the child that should be taken care of only by the Ukrainians. 

The problem of the authorities’ approach towards culture in present-day Ukraine was also discussed during the meeting. Troitskyi said the ministry of culture is only a remainder of the Soviet propaganda department. – Because of a post-Soviet infantile consciousness it is hard to change anything – said the DAKH Theatre director. The people in power have no idea of the role of culture and art in forming a society, the elites are not interested in culture. At the same time they do nothing to change this situation. That is why there is only one solution – to slowly and constantly build a new structure to form a new approach to culture and art. GogolFest is a good example how to change consciousness and a new approach towards shaping culture. It does not have any allocations and has been built thanks to unselfish and gratuitous engagement of ordinary people.

Thank you for your presence!