Contemporary Ukrainian Culture: Creativity and Identity in Wartime

“I struggled to communicate after 24 February. I forgot simple words.” Viktoriia Amelina (1986-2023)

For writers and artists across Ukraine, the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 shattered language into what Amelina likened to “debris” (ulamky) of unpunctuated lines and uneven strophes. Since then, daily Russian war crimes have only deepened and intensified a fraught and urgent struggle for expression.

How do Ukraine's creators and cultural activists navigate the tensions between silence and expression amid the violence of military aggression? As Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine enters its fifth year, what is the role of culture in sustaining and representing the lives of everyday people? And what can we do in the United Kingdom and beyond to listen more closely -- and learn not only about Ukraine, but from Ukraine?

In partnership with the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies, Cambridge Ukrainian Studies presents an extraordinary lunchtime roundtable with some of Ukraine's most visionary thought leaders to confront these questions and much more.

Refreshments will be served; admission is free with registration below.

Please note that area where refreshments will be served is only accessible via stairs.