On August 24, Lviv will host an Independence Lecture by Yurk Vovkohon, cultural manager, author of artistic projects. The meeting is timed to the Independence Day of Ukraine and is a pre-event of the Congress of Culture UKRAINE! UNMUTED, which will be held in Lviv on September 7-9.
This is already the third Independence Lecture – initiated by the Institute of Cultural Strategy in the 2021 format until August 24 – the date that marks the restoration of Ukraine’s independence. The invited lecturer(s) focus on the spirit of our time and the search for what today can strengthen Ukrainians in their thoughts about tomorrow.
“In the last thirty years, for most of us, ‘independence’ was a pathetic abstract word that intersected with reality once a year on August 24 in the form of a day off, mass festivities, embroidery and yellow and blue flags. For some, “independence” was no less a distant concept to denote the legacy of the struggle of previous generations. Now the enemy wants to destroy us because of our desire for “independence”. And it became as real for us as life itself. We see every day what price we have to pay for it, we lose our loved ones and feel pain for our strangers. Only now, seeing the price, we learn to appreciate. Only now are we wondering why we should be ourselves,” says Yurko Vovkogon.
Yurko Vovkogon worked as a cultural manager of several iconic Ukrainian art projects and festivals, from art biennials and jazz festivals to opera. Project manager of the youth organization YMCA Lviv. Author and director of art projects and happenings. In 2014-2015, he fought in the Voluntary Ukrainian Corps, from March 2022 to August 2023 he served in the Armed Forces. On June 30, 2022, he was seriously wounded while defending Lysychansk.
When: Thursday, August 24, at 5:00 p.m
Where: Lviv, the Memorial to the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred on Kryvonosa-Zamkova Street (in case of alarm, it will be possible to go to the shelter nearby – in the Lower Hall in the Puppet Theater).
Moderator: Hrytsko Semenchuk, poet, musician, cultural manager.
To participate, you need to register: https://bit.ly/3OPM1fY
In addition, the Independence Lecture is conducted by the Institute of Cultural Strategy together with the ZMIN Foundation and with its support, as well as with the assistance of the Lviv City Council.