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 7 to 11. The institution’s team will dedicate its stand to the concept Bear Your Freedom, which was the Focus Theme of the 14th Book Arsenal
For many consecutive years, the Mystetskyi Arsenal has been participating in the Frankfurter Buchmesse program. We consider it an important platform that allows us to bring the Ukrainian voice to a vast audience: visitors, book industry professionals, writers, diplomats, politicians and journalists. This year, we will present both a stand and a series of events, based on the Focus Theme of Book Arsenal
Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, the Director General of the Mystetskyi Arsenal, comments.
The stand H120 of the Mystetskyi Arsenal, located in the section of the fair Hall 3.0 Art. ArtBook. Design and provided on a partnership basis by the organizers of the fair, will feature, among other items, catalogs of the Mystetskyi Arsenal, promotional materials for the International Book Arsenal Festival and its souvenirs. In particular, the team will present for the first time the catalog for artist Olena Turyanska’s solo exhibition—Agape. Absolute Love.
The main metaphor and the Focus Theme of this year’s Festival—Bear Your Freedom—will be revealed in the visual identity of the stand; and aspects of this theme about freedom and responsibility, relevant to an international audience—in particular, regarding person’s inner freedom as the right to choose one’s attitude toward circumstances, the fragility of democratic values in various countries of the world and Ukraine’s role as a bastion of European values—will be explored in the events of the Ukrainian national stand program and in specific discussions at other presentation venues of the fair.
Participants in the events at the Mystetskyi Arsenal stand include human rights activist, journalist, and former prisoner of war Maksym Butkevych, who curated this year’s Book Arsenal Focus Theme, as well as writer and translator Yevheniia Kuznetsova, American historian Marci Shore, Polish poet and essayist Krzysztof Czyżewski, and many other intellectuals and cultural figures.
The Special Program for publishers from Ukraine and neighboring countries, organized by the Frankfurter Buchmesse in cooperation with Book Arsenal and the Goethe-Institut Ukraine, will take place for the fifth consecutive time. This year, the program has been named the VOLIA Program, highlighting its core identity: the Ukrainian word воля/volia, which means both freedom and the will to act, conveys the experience of Ukrainian publishers who today continue working despite the enormous losses and constant risks of war. The program provides tangible support to our industry, and transforms this experience into a shared space for professional collaboration and cultural solidarity in Europe.
The program creates opportunities for intensive learning and networking among publishers, editors, licensing managers and literary agents from Armenia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. This year, publishing professionals from the Baltic states—Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia—are joining for the first time. The program was launched in 2022 and is made possible with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office.
This year, the Mystetskyi Arsenal team has once again contributed to the development of the program of events featuring Ukrainian authors, journalists and artists. Ukrainian culture is an integral part of the European cultural landscape, and this is particularly evident in Germany today, where the number of translations of Ukrainian books is growing and more and more Ukrainian authors are becoming known to German readers. We continue introducing new names, bringing back Ukrainian classics to the European context and highlighting the diversity of Ukrainian culture and its complex history. At the same time, behind this cultural presence there is our publishing industry, which has been operating amid the full-scale war for five years now and has suffered enormous losses due to Russia’s targeted destruction of Ukrainian publishing houses, bookstores, libraries and cultural infrastructure. Therefore, today’s international attention to Ukrainian literature means not only an opportunity for new translations and the discovery of authors but also an important form of professional solidarity and a search for effective ways to support the Ukrainian book industry and its capacity to develop further.
Alongside the Mystetskyi Arsenal, Ukraine will also be represented at this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse by the Ukrainian Book Institute and a collective stand of Ukrainian publishers, the Goethe-Institut Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute, as well as the Osnovy Publishing, the winner of the Chytomo Award.
The full program of Ukrainian events at the Frankfurter Buchmesse is available via the link.
Ukraine’s participation in this year’s fair was made possible due to the support of the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (des Beauftragte für Medien und Kultur), the Frankfurter Buchmesse, the German Publishers and Booksellers Association (Börsenverein des deutschen Buchhandels), the German Federal Agency for Civic Education, the German Federal Foreign Office, the International Renaissance Foundation, the NGO Horizons 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.
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.
International Book Arsenal Festival is an annual project of the Mystetskyi Arsenal, founded in 2011. It is an intellectual event of Ukraine, where the book, literary, visual, musical and theater scenes develop and interact, the important issues of human existence, as well as of society and culture, are raised and explored, encouraging participants and visitors to take a proactive position.
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:
5 — 10 October 2026
Events of VOLIA – The Special Programme for Publishers from Ukraine and Neighbouring Countries
7 October (Wednesday)
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, die Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 3.1, Stand C13
13:00 – 13:50 Unity in Action and Time: Success Story and Future of Cooperation
Participants: Tetyana Berezhna / Bohdana Laiuk, Peter Kraus vom Cleff, Maria Shubchyk, Jakob Racek, Olena Odynoka.
Moderated by Yuliia Kozlovets
Language: English
Organisers: Ukrainian Book Institute, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Ukrainian Institute, Mystetskyi Arsenal, die Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 3.1, Stand C13
8 October (Thursday)
11:00 – 11:50 Children’s literature in the context of European history and contemporary life
Participants: Kateryna Michalizyna, Christiane Raabe, Claudia Dathe
Moderated by: Lawrence Schimel
Language: English
Organisers: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Mystetskyi Arsenal
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 3.1, Stand C13
Short description: The year 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. Drawing on Kateryna Mikhalitsyna’s book *Reactors Don’t Explode* and other publications for children and teenagers, participants will discuss how to convey the lessons of historical and contemporary events to children.
12:00 – 13:00 Presenting fwd: a new European platform dedicated to reaching young readers across Europe
Participants: Frank Tazelaar, Kim van Kaam
Language: English
Organisers: Wintertuin, fwd, Mystetskyi Arsenal
SUPPORTED BY: Creative Europe
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 3.1 Stand C13
Short description: fwd is a new European platform dedicated to reaching young readers across Europe. fwd provides grants to emerging translators and writers, and to publishers. The platform aims to support the dissemination of translated literature in Europe through innovative, international promotion campaigns.This event will introduce fwd and explore the new opportunities the platform opens up for publishers and emerging literary artists, cross-border collaboration and the international circulation of literature for young readers.
14:30 – 15:00 From Apathy to Action: The Fight for Democracy in an Age of Bad News
Participants: Sherif Bakr, Yuliia Kozlovets, Marten Risius, Melissa Fleming
Organisers: United Nations Publications
Language: English
📍 Location: Global Stage (Foyer 5.1/6.1 | A1)
Short description: In an age where algorithms and disinformation increasingly shape what we see, it becomes increasingly difficult to find encouraging stories and inspiring, positive content. Many of us go on “news diets” to cope with the constant avalanche of doom content. Yet this retreat can have unintended consequences, fueling disengagement and apathy at a time when democracies need informed and active citizens.
This panel will explore how publishers can amplify authors and books that offer solutions, diverse perspectives and lessons from history. It will also examine the responsibility of technology companies in fostering platforms that encourage dialogue and exposure to different viewpoints, rather than reinforcing echo chambers.
15:00 – 15:50 What the borderlands know: war, memory and Europe’s changing geography
Participants: Maksym Butkevych, Yaryna Chornohus, Sabina Fati
Moderated by Katharina Raabe
Language: English
Organisers: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Mystetskyi Arsenal, Ukrainian Book Institute, Ministry of Culture of Romania
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 3.1, Stand C13
Short description: Europe often imagines itself from its political and cultural centres. Yet some of the most profound changes in how we understand the continent are taking place at its edges – in Ukraine, along the Danube and across the Black Sea region, where borders, historical memories and geopolitical realities are being violently redrawn. Yaryna Chornohuz, Maksym Butkevych and Sabina Fati bring together three different perspectives on these changing landscapes. What do the borderlands reveal that may remain invisible from the centre?And can the experiences of Europe’s border regions help us imagine the continent differently?
15:30 – 16:15 Young, strong European voices
Participants: Jakub Stanjura, Eugenia Kuznetsova, Anna Beata Háblová
Moderated by Anna Luňáková
Language: English
Organisers: CzechLit, Wintertuin, Mystetskyi Arsenal
📍 Location: Czechia 2026 Pavilion / Shore Stage
Short description: What does “success” mean for emerging European writers? Which topics are they keen to address? What is it like to achieve international acclaim and/or see your works in translation? A discussion with authors involved in the international CELA project.
9 October (Friday)
12:00 – 12:45 Women Leading Cultural Change: Stronger Literary Markets Through European Integration
Participants: Arevik Ashkharoyan, Gvantsa Jobava, Paula Erizanu, Yuliia Kozlovets
Moderated by Yana Genova
Language: English
Organisers: ARI Literature Foundation
📍 Location: Hall 3C, Expose conference hall
Short description: Through the perspective of women leaders working in culture, the event will highlight the role of cross-border collaboration, knowledge exchange, and European values in shaping more open, diverse, and resilient cultural sectors. The conversation will demonstrate how literature and publishing can serve as bridges between societies and how cultural integration contributes to the broader European journey of countries across the region.
13:00 – 15:00 Ukraine: A Country of Opportunities & Cooperation: Connecting the Ukrainian Book Market, ENlit Translation Expertise, and Voices of Ukrainian Military Authors
Participants: Yuliia Kozlovets, Olena Odynoka, Eleonora di Blasio, Volodymyr Kondratiev
Language: English
Organisers: Ukrainian Book Institute, International Book Arsenal Festival, Cultural Forces, ENLit
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 3.1 Stand C13
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.
17:30 – 18:30 Perhaps the future begins with what we preserve
Participants: Maksym Butkevych, Marci Shore, Krzysztof Czyżewski
Moderated by Natascha Freundel
Language: English
Organisers: Mystetskyi Arsenal, Ukrainian Book Institute, Goethe-Institute Ukraine
📍 Location: Inspiration Stage (Halle 3.0)
10 October (Saturday)
12:00 – 13:00 Inventing the Future – in the Midst of War. How Creativity and Innovation Are Ensuring Ukraine’s Survival and What Opportunities This Presents for Europe
Participants: Mareike Müller, Anton Martynov
Moderated by Olaf Kühl
Language: English
Organisers: Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Mystetskyi Arsenal
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 3.1, Stand C13
Short description: Ukraine isn’t waiting for the war to end to build its future. It’s just that during wartime, new technologies, cultural practices, and models of cooperation emerge—often as a response to the urgent need for survival. Anton Martynov and Mareike Müller will discuss what Europe can learn from this extraordinary capacity for creativity and innovation, and how wartime solutions can become the foundation for a shared European future.
16:00 – 16:50 After Empire: Decolonising Culture and Rethinking Eastern Europe
Participants: Tamara Hundorova, Eugenia Kuznetsova, Alex Averbuch
Moderated by Krzysztof Czyżewski
Language: English
Organisers: Ukrainian Institute, Mystetskyi Arsenal, Ukrainisches Buchinstitut, Goethe-Institut Ukraine
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 3.1, Stand C13
Short description: The Russian Empire has left its mark not only on history, but also on language, literature, cultural hierarchies and the ways we see the world — so how do we recognise this imperial lens, and what does it mean to move beyond it? Tamara Hundorova and Eugenia Kuznetsova, in conversation with Krzysztof Czyżewski, will discuss the decolonisation of culture, the rethinking of Russia’s imperial legacy, and the possibility of seeing Eastern Europe beyond the coordinates imposed by the imperial centre.
11 October (Sunday)
13:00 – 13:50 A culture of ‘nevertheless’
Participants: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Marci Shore
Moderated by Kateryna Mishchenko
Language: English
Organisers: Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Mystetskyi Arsenal, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 3.1, Stand C13
Short description: Volodymyr Yermolenko will present his essay on how exchanges between Europe and Ukraine have changed since the start of the full-scale invasion. This goes far beyond mere financial support: Ukraine is also showing Europe ways to resist authoritarianism and appropriation.
14:00 – 14:50 Why doesn’t Remarque know anything? Ukraine’s “Rediscovered Generation” and the new coordinates of the European future
Participants: Volodymyr Kondratiev, Vasyl Karpiuk, Yevhen Lir, Roman Budanov
Language: English
Organisers: Ukrainian Book Institute, Cultural Forces, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Mystetskyi Arsenal
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 3.1 Stand C13
Short description: The discussion draws parallels between the current Ukrainian experience and the European trauma of the wars of the early 20th century. While Remarque’s “Lost Generation” is associated with disillusionment and despair, Ukrainian authors with combat experience embody a “Rediscovered Generation” that, in the face of an existential threat, is redefining its own identity and resolve. The focus is on the significance of this experience for Europe, the process of coming to terms with trauma, and the new values being shaped by Ukrainian military literature.
16:00 – 16:50 Ukraine as a Success Story
Language: English
Organisers: Ukrainian Book Institute, Goethe-Institut Ukraine, Ukrainian Institute, Mystetskyi Arsenal, die Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
📍 Location: Ukrainian national stand, Hall 3.1 Stand C13