All are welcome to an open discussion with Ukrainian and German art historians Zhenia Moliar, Jeannette Brabenetz and artist-in-residence Vova Vorotniov to exchange thoughts and ideas on the transformations of frontiers. All three participants work across art, urban observation, and cultural analysis. In Narva, they are exploring transformations of an urban space in the unique border context of this city.
Through artistic research, visual documentation, and personal reflection, the participants examine and present how Narva negotiates questions of memory, identity, architecture, and historical heritage in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. The discussion will also draw comparisons with contemporary Ukrainian experiences of “decommunization”, war, displacement, and the reinterpretation of public space after the collapse of the Soviet system.
The event is open to all visitors, the discussion will be in English. It will take place at the Narva Art Residency building (Joala 18), which is currently undergoing renovation. Please keep this in mind when choosing what to wear, as the space may be dustier than usual.
Vova Vorotniov (Kyiv-Berlin)
Ukrainian artist and member of the artists, curators and art historians collective De Ne De. His practice explores Soviet Ukrainian heritage, identity crisis across Europe, the condition of displacement, and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Working with various media. Artist-in-residence of Narva Art Residency.
Zhenia Moliar (Kyiv-Berlin)
Ukrainian art historian, who works on the cultural heritage of the Soviet period, in particular monumental art. As a member of the self-organized initiative DE NE DE study and preserve unrecognized and unobvious cultural heritage in Ukraine. Predoctoral fellow in The Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome deals with the legacy of Soviet monumental art in the contemporary public space of Ukraine.
Jeannette Brabenetz (Chemnitz-Berlin)
German freelance curator, author, art historian, and radio producer, who works at the intersection of museums, public space, and popular culture. Her research, writing, and analyses often focus on the inherent questions arising from contemporary art, museum and collection history and its transformation in the post-Soviet space he preservation of artists’ estates, institutional critique, questions of accessibility.
