‘The School of Kyiv‘

Mysteskyi Arsenal has unilaterally withdrawn as an organiser of the 2nd Kyiv Biennale, under the title ‘The School of Kyiv‘. This decision was taken without any warning and unexpectedly interrupts a project that involves artists, intellectuals, civil society initiatives and institutions in Ukraine, Europe and beyond. These groups and individuals dedicated their work to an initiative trying to create a space of reflection beyond the logics of the actual conflicts.

Under present political conditions in Ukraine, after the revolution of Maidan and when the country is at war, the political potential of art is needed today more than ever before. The fundamental role of art as a reflexive instrument is to challenge the present political contextdefined by the armed conflict in Ukraine.

The biennale is an open project, which society has a deep need for, aimed at creating a public framework, a space where civil society will be able to reflect on its threatened conditions by means of art and knowledge.

We, together with institutions and initiatives in Kyiv, the Ukraine and Europe, have decided to go ahead with the biennale project, after one and a half years of intense collaboration and exchange, ‘The School of Kyiv‘without the support of Mysteskyi Arsenal. ‘The School of Kyiv‘ will take place this year as planned!

Hedwig Saxenhuber & Georg Schöllhammer
Curators