The Mystetskyi Arsenal will traditionally take part in the largest book fair of the world — the Frankfurter Buchmesse, which this year will last from October 15 to 19. The institution’s team will dedicate its stand to the concept Everything is Translation, which was the Focus Theme of the XIII Book Arsenal.
Every year, Mystetskyi Arsenal presents its stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair. For us, it is an invaluable opportunity to introduce Arsenal and our activities, but most importantly — to highlight Ukrainian culture. The Frankfurt Book Fair is a hub of thousands of connections, and our publications — from catalogues on Boichukism and Ukrainian Futurism to studies of Les Kurbas and a full series on Ukrainian artists of the 1990s–2000s — consistently spark genuine interest among both professionals and the broader public.
This year, we are also joining the Ukrainian program in Frankfurt with the Focus Theme of Book Arsenal 2025, confident that Ukrainian authors have much to contribute to the world’s largest international book fair
Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, Director General of Mystetskyi Arsenal, said.
At stand J83 of Mystetskyi Arsenal, located in Hall 3.1 within the Art. ArtBook. Design section of the fair and provided on a partnership basis by the organizers, visitors will be able to explore Mystetskyi Arsenal catalogues, promotional materials of the International Book Arsenal Festival, as well as a range of souvenir items. The festival’s main metaphor and Focus Theme this year, Everything is Translation, will be reflected in the stand’s visual identity. Relevant aspects of this theme for the international audience — translation of experiences and the search for a language of understanding in a constantly changing world — will also be explored in the events of the Ukrainian program at the national stand.
Mystetskyi Arsenal’s participation in the Frankfurt Book Fair this year, with both its stand and program of events, has been made possible through the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.
This year, for the fourth time, a Special Program for publishers from Ukraine and neighboring countries will take place. Organized by the Frankfurt Book Fair in cooperation with Book Arsenal and the Goethe-Institut Ukraine, the program provides opportunities for intensive training and networking for publishers, editors, licensing managers, and literary agents from Ukraine, Armenia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary.
Within the program, 15 participants—five from Ukraine—will take part in the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair, join networking events, attend seminars led by professionals from the German book market, and participate in a rich schedule of events at the national stands of the participating countries. The program was launched in 2022 and is made possible with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office.
The Mystetskyi Arsenal team has once again contributed to the development of the Ukrainian program, which will feature authors, journalists, and artists. This year’s Focus Theme of Ukraine’s National Stand is Filling in. Ukraine is filling the gaps on the European cultural map, revealing new dimensions of its literature and history. We present editions of Ukrainian classics in foreign languages, broaden the understanding of our geography and cultural heritage, revive forgotten names, and highlight authors without whom European literature would remain incomplete.
Alongside Mystetskyi Arsenal, Ukraine will also be represented at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair by the Ukrainian Book Institute and the collective stand of Ukrainian publishers, the Goethe-Institut Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute, as well as publishing house Creative Women Publishing, winner of the Chytomo Award.
The project was made possible through the support of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media of Germany (des Beauftragten für Medien und Kultur), the Frankfurt Book Fair, the German Publishers Association (Börsenverein des deutschen Buchhandels), the Federal Agency for Civic Education of Germany, the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, the International Renaissance Foundation, the NGO Horizon Without Borders, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Consulate General of Ukraine in Frankfurt am Main, Cultural Forces, and the Coordination Center in Frankfurt am Main.
The full program of Ukrainian events at the Frankfurt Book Fair is available via the link.
Mystetskyi Arsenal is a leading Ukrainian cultural institution that integrates various types of art in its activities—from contemporary art, new music and theater to literature and museum work. The mission of the Mystetskyi Arsenal is to contribute to the modernization of Ukrainian society and the integration of Ukraine into the world context, relying on the value-based potential of culture.
Frankfurter Buchmesse is the most important international exhibition of publishing achievements and diverse content. Here global publishing experts meet partners from the technology industry and related creative industries such as cinema and games. Thus, the Frankfurter Buchmesse is a hub for the international trade in rights and licensing, where new types of cooperation and business models emerge.
The Mystetskyi Arsenal is a co-organizer and participant of the following events:
13 — 18 October 2025
Events of the Special Program for Publishers from Ukraine and Neighboring Countries
15 October 2025
11:00 – 11:50 Official Opening of the National Stand of Ukraine
Language: Ukrainian and English
Organisers: Ukrainian Book Institute, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Ukrainian Institute, Mystetskyi Arsenal
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 4.1, Stand F79/80
13:00 – 13:50 A Look at Women in War – Im Blick. In memory of Victoria Amelina
Participants: Kateryna Mikhalitsyna (author, translator and editor, Ukraine), Andreas Rostock (publisher, author and journalist, /edition.fotoTAPETA, Germany), André Störr (publisher, Verlag Friedrich Mauke KG, Germany)
Language: German and Ukrainian
Organisers: Mystetskyi Arsenal, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 4.1, Stand F79/80
16:30 — 17:30 Canary in the Coal Mine. Panel Discussion
Participants: Jon Yaged (Chief Executive Officer, Macmillan Publishers, USA), Kateryna Mikalitsyna (children’s writer, activist and cultural manager, Ukraine), Sherif Bakr (General Manager, Al Arabi Publishing and Distributing, Egypt), Lawrence Schimel (author, translator, Spain/USA).
Language: English
Organisers: Frankfurt Book Fair, Mystetskyi Arsenal
📍 Location: Centre Stage Hall 4.1/B 68. Frankfurt Kids Conference
16:30 – 18:30 Celebrating Freedom of Expression Defenders. Launch of the Freedom of Expression Defenders Award by the International Publishers Association
Speakers: Gvantsa Jobava, IPA President; Juergen Boos, CEO Frankfurt Book Fair (TBC); Yuliia Kozlovets, IBAF; Kristenn Einarsson, WEXFO; German Freedom of Expression Week; Penguin Random House – TBC. Burhan Sönmez, PEN International President
Master of Ceremonies: James Taylor, IPA Director of Communications and Freedom to Publish
📍 Location: Fantasie, Congress Center
16 October 2025
11:30 – 12:20 The Languages of Childhood: Translating Children’s Literature
Participants: Lawrence Schimel (author, translator, Spain/USA), Kateryna Mikhalitsyna (children’s writer, activist and cultural manager, Ukraine), Claudia Dathe (translator, Germany), Yuliia Kozlovets (director of Book Arsenal Festival)
Language: English
Organisers: Mystetskyi Arsenal
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 4.1, Stand F79/80
Short description: What challenges do translators of children’s literature face? How can rhythm, wordplay, and humor be conveyed in another language? What should be done with realities that have no equivalent in a foreign culture? And how can the languages of the world be used to talk about war, trauma, and difficult experiences when it comes to children’s books? A conversation between practitioners about how translation makes children’s literature accessible and, at the same time, richer for readers in different countries.
17 October 2025
10:30 – 11:20 Morning Coffee with Translators
Participants: Roksolana Sviato (translator, Ukraine), Claudia Dathe (translator, Germany), Veronika Yadukha (translator, curator, co-founder of Translatorium Festival, Ukraine)
Language: English
Organisers: Mystetskyi Arsenal, Translatorium
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 4.1, Stand F79/80
Short description: Morning Coffee with Translators offers a chance to enjoy interesting stories from translators about their professional experiences and the nuances of translation work in a relaxed morning setting. This traditional event format from TRANSLATORIUM, the literary translation festival that was a guest of Book Arsenal this year, is now coming to Frankfurt, featuring conversation topics that appeal to an international audience of translators.
16:30 – 17:30 Ukraine: A Country of Opportunities. The Ukrainian Book Market, Its Potential, and Opportunities for Cooperation
Participants: Yuliia Kozlovets (Director of the International Book Arsenal), Olena Odynoka (Deputy Director for International Cooperation, Ukrainian Book Institute), Hryhorii Baran (Director of the Social Capital Program, International Renaissance Foundation)
Language: English
Organisers: Ukrainian Book Institute, International Book Arsenal Festival, International Renaissance Foundation
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 4.1, Stand F79/80
Short description: The Ukrainian book publishing market today emerges as a dynamic ecosystem that continues to develop despite war and crises, sustaining its creative energy and professional standards. Ukraine is a country of challenges, but also of opportunities, where publishers build new partnerships, explore international markets, and open up space for cooperation.
The event will present the Ukrainian book market, translation grants, programs for projects of cooperation with Ukrainian cultural actors, the Book Arsenal Fellowship Program for publishers, the Special Program for publishers from Ukraine and Neighboring Countries, and others.
18 October 2025
12:00 – 12:50 Postcolonial Readings: The Legacy of Empires and Modern Warfare
Participants: Mariam Naiem (author, activist, podcaster, Ukraine), Valentyna Sotnikova (cultural manager, podcaster, program coordinator of Book Arsenal Festival, Ukraine), Maksym Eristavi (journalist, writer, and creative producer, Ukraine/Czechia), Kateryna Rietz-Rakul (Head of the Ukrainian Institute in Berlin)
Language: English
Organisers: Mystetskyi Arsenal, House of Europe, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Ukrainian Institute
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 4.1, Stand F79/80
Short description: How does the legacy of colonialism affect our present? Can we read texts in a new way, taking into account the colonial context and the experience of conquered peoples? How did Russian colonialism shape the preconditions for the current Russian-Ukrainian war—and what does the process of decolonization mean for culture?
Participants in the discussion will talk about how empires shape narratives, how literature is “re-written” in a postcolonial perspective, and what tools culture has for resistance and recovery
13:00 – 13:50 Witnessing History: Ukrainian Documentary Nonfiction
Participants: Oleksandr Mykhed (writer, curator of art projects and literary scholar, military serviceman, Ukraine), Myroslav Laiuk (writer and war reporter), Oksana Forostyna (publisher, translator, and author, focus theme program curator at IBAF 2025, Ukraine), Kate Tsurkan (journalist, writer, translator, Ukraine)
Language: English
Organisers: Mystetskyi Arsenal, Ukrainian Institute, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Ukrainian Book Institute, Horizons Without Borders, The International Renaissance Foundation
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 4.1, Stand F79/80
14:00 – 14:50 Geography of Ukraine: lesson learned
Participants: Bohdan Kolomiychuk (writer, military serviceman), Andriy Lyubka (poet, writer, translator, volunteer, Ukraine), Nataliya Marinchak (poet, writer, Ukraine), Yuriy Gurzhy (musician, DJ, composer for film and theatre, producer and writer, Germany), Roksolana Sviato (translator, Ukraine)
Language: German, Ukrainian
Organisers: Ukrainian Book Institute, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Mystetskyi Arsenal, Ukrainian Institute, Horizons Without Borders, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, International Renaissance Foundation
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 4.1, Stand F79/80
15:00 – 16:00 Everything is Translation. Panel Discussion
Participants: Oksana Forostyna (publisher, translator, and author, focus theme program curator at IBAF 2025, Ukraine), Carl Henrik Fredriksson (editor, essayist, translator, Sweden/Austria), Kate Tsurkan (journalist, writer, translator, Ukraine)
Language: English
Organisers: Mystetskyi Arsenal, International Renaissance Foundation
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 4.1, Stand F79/80
Short description: “Everything is translation” is a conceptual idea suggesting that all forms of communication, understanding, and even existence can be viewed as a process of translation, not just between languages, but between cultures, ideas, experiences, and even the self. It implies that perfect understanding is an ideal rather than a reality, as meaning is constantly being interpreted and reinterpreted through different perspectives and contexts.
Being IBAF-2025 Focus Theme, this topic will be addressed here to international audience by the Focus Theme co-curator Oksana Forostyna and guest speaker Carl Henrik Fredriksson, especially focused on the translation of war experiences, interpreting different realities and explaining of untranslatable concepts. Moderated by a journalist, a translator, a reporter at the Kyiv Independent Kate Tsurkan.
19 October 2025
11:00 – 11:50 Ukrainian Voices in Translation. Book Presentation and Authors’ Talk with Yaryna Chornohuz and Artem Chapeye
Participants: Artem Chapeye (writer, reporter, translator, and activist, soldier, Ukraine), Yaryna Chornohuz (poet, writer, and translator, military medic and senior corporal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine), Kate Tsurkan (journalist, writer, translator, Ukraine)
Language: English
Organisers: Ukrainian Institute, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Mystetskyi Arsenal
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 4.1, Stand F79/80