An international art project involving renowned artists is taking place in Lviv: artists from the US, UK, Lithuania and Ukraine will paint seven different designs on a 20-metre-long wall, which will eventually form one large panel. The mural is scheduled to be unveiled this Friday.
The creation of the panel in Lviv is part of the MaLonNY project (which stands for Marijampolė, London and New York), an ongoing street art and music festival and creative symposium that has been held in the Lithuanian city of Marijampolė since 2014. For eleven years, MaLonNY has transformed Marijampolė into a creative and street art centre thanks to the contribution of such international artists. This year, thanks to the support of the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture and Lithuanian Cultural Attaché Thomas Ivanauskas, the project will be implemented in Lviv.
Seven artists came to Lviv to create the mural: Judy Tuvaletstiva (USA), Jeff Woodbury (USA), Philip Griswood (UK), Eva Voronetskite (Lithuania), Iryna Vodolazhchenko (Ukraine), Masha Shango (Ukraine) and Ray Bartkus (Lithuania/USA). Each artist paints their own part of the wall in their own style, but it so happened that all the drawings composited into a single “Tree of Life”.
“Thomas, the Lithuanian Cultural Attaché in Ukraine, suggested that I create a project in Ukraine six months ago. I proposed to make a mural the way we have been doing it for 11 years in Lithuania. I will invite artists and they will create the murals together with the volunteers. This is a very important part, making a mural with local volunteers who help us a lot.
When I was recruiting artists for the Lithuanian project, I also asked them if they would like to come to Ukraine as well. Yes, there were some artists who said: “No, I’m sorry,” because they don’t feel it’s safe enough to come to Lviv. But also other artists said: “Of course! I will come to Ukraine!” I think it’s important. You have a lot of projects where Ukrainian artists go to Europe to represent the country. But it’s even more important to bring artists from the US, the UK, or other countries to work in Ukraine to show their support,” said Ray Bartkus, artist and coordinator of the MaLonNY project.
For 5 days (from 1 to 5 July), the artists will paint their works on a 20-by-10-metre wall near the playground.
“When we were looking for a place for the mural, we came to the conclusion that the best place for it would be a public space with a busy and active life. There is a playground and a sports area here. The combination of sports, children’s and art facilities creates a holistic ecosystem for the development and broadening of the worldview. We thank our Lithuanian colleagues for such a good initiative and are already planning further cooperation,” said Oleksiy Taraban, acting head of the Department of Culture at Lviv City Council.
“I am very glad that we succeeded, that the artists agreed, that they wanted to come. Everyone is very happy, you can ask them or see it in their faces. I am very happy that this project happened. My goal, in fact, is to do it regularly, every year.
We have a similar project in Marijampolė, Lithuania. It has existed for 11 years. My dream is to have a similarly long-lasting project here. Perhaps not only in Lviv, but also in other cities. We will also invite more artists from other countries. We are working towards this,” said Thomas Ivanauskas, Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine.
As a reminder, Lviv has fruitful cooperation with Lithuania not only in the artistic sphere: The Lithuanian government will allocate EUR 5.6 million for the development of the UNBROKEN rehabilitation centre in Bryukhovychi.