Legacy of Appropriation

In order to introduce postcolonial criticism into the discourse of perception of Ukrainian culture and to address appropriation, together with the invited speakers, we will discuss the origin and initial appearance of Ukrainian culture in Western Europe.

With

Karolina Wigura Historian of ideas, sociologist, journalist
Kateryna Tarabukina Curator and one of the heads of Vitsche e.V.
Kateryna Botanova Cultural critic, curator, writer
Andriy May Director, actor and theatre curator

Moderation: Eva Yakubovska Director, activist and co-creator Vitsche e.V.

Criticism of appropriation, while not a new discourse in the world in general, sometimes triggers unconscious mental resistance when it comes to the postcolonial subjectivity of countries forced to be part of the USSR in the 20th century. At the same time, unchallenged imperialism and unexamined Russian colonialism are the central reasons for the unprecedentedly high support for military aggression against Ukraine among the Russian population today.
The „inconvenience” of this topic of the legacy of appropriation also stems from the fact that for several centuries, various rulers have tried to justify their denial of Ukraine’s subjectivity by creating the myth that it is not only unable to speak about itself, but also does not exist as a discussion topic. In the process of establishing a discussion, we will address the confirmation bias used to exoticise or sometimes reject Ukrainian culture’s existence as such.