It has been over two months since the sovereign country of Ukraine was unjustifiably attacked by the Russian oppressor. As the time passes, the war in Ukraine becomes more and more brutal: cities are torn down to the ground and people are left homeless. Here, west from Ukraine, the longer the war takes the more normalised the situation becomes. It leaves us with the feeling of inability and helplessness.
While preparing for the second episode of Kitchen Conversations for Ukraine, I travelled to Poland to see with my own eyes how the situation looks from up close. It is estimated that over 2 million Ukrainian people have already arrived in Poland. I was positively surprised to see the enormous social mobilisation coming from the Polish society, both towards millions of Ukrainian refugees, but also towards people fighting in Ukraine for the freedom of their country. The visit gave me strength to continue this podcast series and help spread the Ukrainian culture and arts the best I can.
As the curator for the second episode, I invited a Ukrainian artist, photographer and former classmate of mine – Olga Permiakova. First, you will hear me speak about Olga’s two artistic projects: Capri Blue / Traffic Yellow (2017 – ongoing) and Camouflage (2018). In different ways, they reflect on the indestructible Ukrainian identity and portraying aspects of a country at war. Second, following Olga’s red thread of recommendations, you will learn about the film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) by Sergei Parajanov, a Ukrainian singer and rapper Alina Pash and an iconic folk art painter Maria Prymachenko. Each stream, follow, and share adds to our solidarity with Ukraine and is an active protest against Russia’s war.
Check out the podcast below:
This podcast is produced by artist Patrycja Rozwora (since May 2020). If you enjoy the content, you can support it with a monthly donation of your choice via patreon.com/kitchenconversations.
