The Mystetskyi Arsenal will again participate in the Frankfurter Buchmesse which will be held this year from October 18 to 22. The Mystetskyi Arsenal’s participation is funded by the German Ministry for Culture and the Media within the Funding project to strengthen cooperation between German and Ukrainian book industries.
With the concept of Presence vs Absence, the Mystetskyi Arsenal will present its stand J103 in Hall 3.1 of the Art Books / Art / Design exhibition area. In February 2022, the Mystetskyi Arsenal started researching the works of Ukrainian artists who in their creative activity witness and reflect on the Russia-Ukraine war from 2014 to the present moment. The collected works later became part of the Ukraine Ablaze online archive, showcasing a cross-section of current artistic practices, as well as the Ukraine Ablaze printed edition that will be presented at the stand. The stand design features the works of Andrii Denysenko, a Ukrainian photographer, from the series Volunteers of Chernihiv Region (2022). Double exposure, used by the author as an artistic method, combines images of people and the background of destroyed buildings. These works are evidence of preservation and renovation. They reveal the invisible work of people who oppose the murderous logic of the war with their existence.
The visual component of the stand was created by Kostya Martsenkivskyi, the Mystetskyi Arsenal designer.
“The Frankfurter Buchmesse is not only a professional event. It is also an important international intellectual platform where ideas are articulated, explained, and debated. Therefore, it is essential for the Ukrainian cultural community to have its own stage in Frankfurt. That is why the Mystetskyi Arsenal, like last year, presents its own stand here, talking about new titles and works of art that help German and other international visitors and readers to immerse themselves in how Ukrainians think, experience, and draw conclusions. And we are extremely grateful for the many years of loyal support from both the Frankfurter Buchmesse and the main institution of German cultural diplomacy, the Goethe-Institut. These are partners who consistently help the entire Ukrainian cultural scene to survive,” says Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, Director General of the Mystetskyi Arsenal.
Pictoric and the International Book Arsenal Festival will present the international illustration exhibition ‘When Everything Matters’ in Agora, C11. Inspired by the focus theme of the 11th International Book Arsenal Festival, the exhibition presents new works by leading Ukrainian and international creators. This project is a dialogue of Ukrainian illustrators and graphic designers with artists from other countries and a discussion of important topics in the language of illustration.
With the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office, during this year’s Buchmesse, for the second time, the Special Programme for publishers from Ukraine and neighbouring countries will be held, a professional programme for publishers and rights managers launched by the Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2022 as part of the strategic partnership and in cooperation with the International Book Arsenal Festival and the Goethe-Institut Ukraine.
Moreover, the Mystetskyi Arsenal together with the Goethe-Institut Ukraine will present the international discussion programme Fragility of Freedom, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. This programme aims to strengthen the resilience of Ukrainian cultural and educational partners.
The program will include 17 events: about the Ukrainian question and perception of Ukraine in the world; the ecological consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine; decolonization; conspiracy theories and propaganda; memory and the limits of collective understanding, as well as about the Ukrainian book market, education and science, and about reading as therapy.
Among the participants of the events, there will be Iryna Tsilyk, Oleksandr Mykhed, Kateryna Mikhalitsyna, Mariana Savka, Kyrylo Bezkorovainyi, Kateryna Shavanova, Maksym Yakovliev, Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Vakhtang Kebuladze, Kateryna Botanova, Svitlana Oslavska, Sevgil Musaeva, Pavlo Kazarin, Lia Dostlieva, Andrii Dostliev, Aliona Karavai, and others.
Together with the Mystetskyi Arsenal, this year Ukraine will be represented at the Frankfurter Buchmesse by the Ukrainian Book Institute, the Goethe-Institut Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Institute. Fragility of Freedom, a joint program of the Mystetskyi Arsenal and the Goethe-Institut Ukraine, as well as the Fragility of Creators program, co-curated by the Ukrainian Book Institute and the Goethe-Institut Ukraine, will highlight the national presence of Ukraine at the Frankfurter Buchmesse under the general slogan Fragility of Existence. Read the full program of Ukrainian events via the link.
The Mystetskyi Arsenal’s participation is funded by the German Ministry for Culture and the Media.
Mystetskyi Arsenal is Ukraine’s flagship cultural institution that brings together various arts — from contemporary art, new music, and theatre to literature and museum development. The mission of the Mystetskyi Arsenal is to contribute to the modernization of Ukrainian society and Ukraine’s integration into the global context based on the axiological potential of culture.
International Book Arsenal Festival is a project of the Mystetskyi Arsenal that has been held annually since 2011. It is an intellectual event in Ukraine, where the book, literary, visual, music, and theatre scenes develop and interact with each other, and important issues of human existence, as well as society and culture, are raised, prompting the proactive position of the participants and visitors.
Frankfurter Buchmesse is the most important international trade fair for publishing and content of all kinds. Here, experts from global publishing meet partners from the technology industry and related creative industries such as film and games. Thus, it is the hub of the international rights and licensing trade, and from here new cooperations and business models take their course.